Fiscal Year 2021-2022
Fowler Scholars Program Impact Report business.sdsu.edu
Fowler Scholars Program
FISCAL YEAR (FY) 2021-22 POINTS OF PRIDE Message from Faculty About the Fowler Scholars Program
Thanks to donor support, we are now graduating our first student cohort. We have continually and will continue to refine and develop the Fowler Scholars Program. After four years of experience, we have developed a solid foundation. Working with exceptional students and student leaders, their creativity, inquisitiveness, and willingness to discuss different points of view before reaching an opinion or decision is always inspiring and rewarding.
The Fowler Scholars Program was created to educate and prepare a select group of Fowler College of Business students for accelerated and lasting leadership roles in global business and society. Student development is based upon proven best practices in curricular and extracurricular programming combined with exposure and interaction with current business and community leaders. Students are selected holistically on a variety of characteristics — demonstrated leadership, ethical conduct, collaborative nature, initiative, and academic ability. The Fowler College of Business selects the complete student who has the potential to positively impact business and society based on their ethical grounding and well-rounded nature. The Fowler College of Business aims to develop their skills under the direction of top faculty and professional mentors so that their impact will be maximized and potential realized.
2018
INAUGURAL FRESHMAN COHORT The Fowler Scholars Program welcomed the inaugural freshman cohort in Fall 2018 and graduated its first cohort in May 2022.
New Leadership for the Fowler Scholars Program
Peter Shaw Executive in Residence Founding Director of the Fowler Scholars Program (2018-May 2022)
Mark Lindner Lecturer Director of the Fowler Scholars Program (beginning May 2022)
Fowler College of Business
Beginning May 2022, Mark Lindner, who leads personal branding and narrative workshops and is a marketing lecturer at the Fowler College of Business, was named the new Director of the Fowler Scholars Program. In his new role, he plans to expand the students’ projects to include assisting in the development of a social media strategy for the Fowler College of Business, event planning, working with the SDSU Alumni team, and assisting a local company to solve tangible business challenges.
“The stated goal of the Fowler Scholars Program is to develop ethical business leaders, and based on my experience, this is a critical need in the business world,” said Lindner, who counts Ron Fowler as a mentor and a significant influence in his career. “When we do our jobs at the Fowler College of Business, we deliver talented women and men into the workforce prepared to lead teams and companies with a strong moral compass.” - Mark Lindner
Fowler Scholars Cohorts
Inaugural Fowler Scholars Cohort | Class of 2022 Fowler Scholar |
Class of 2023
Natalie is a junior in SDSU's Fowler College of Business
Natalie Soriano
Accounting Major
Fowler Scholar |
majoring in accounting. She is currently involved with the Student Accounting Society and the SDSU Ambassadors. Natalie shares that she joined the SDSU Ambassadors "because I love serving others, and I can’t wait to have the chance to serve prospective students alongside a new family of dedicated peers.” Natalie said the most impactful experience with the Fowler Scholars program was having the opportunity to deliver a speech at a formal donor event. Although it was nerve-racking, with the help of her program advisors and peers Soriano was, “able to craft a concise and impactful speech that resonated with the donors at the event, and that moment made me confident in my ability to succeed as a Fowler Scholar.” Following graduation, Natalie hopes to work for Ernst & Young after completing a summer internship with them as an audit intern. Class of 2024
Rhys is a sophomore majoring in finance. After finishing his first
Rhys Aiem,
Finance Major
Fowler Scholar |
year at SDSU, Rhys became more passionate about his interest in sports and is now looking into the Sports MBA program at SDSU. Rhys credits the La Mesa Youth Advisory Commission with teaching him leadership and how to become an involved citizen as he led campus clean-ups and reading sessions for younger students. Rhys’s parents have served as an inspiration, teaching him “to respect everyone, be open minded, and put myself in others’ shoes.” As he begins his second year in the Fowler Scholars Program, Rhys shares that he has “a higher responsibility to be the best version of myself that I can be while also uplifting my peers and other Fowler Scholars.”
Class of 2025
Isabella is a freshman majoring in business management.
Isabella Murillo
Business Management Major
During her time in high school, Isabella volunteered at her local elementary school and created the Books Beyond Borders club, which collects book donations and sends them to kids in developing countries. The club has collected over 600 donations that are being sent to Belize. After finding her passion through the Associated Student Body, Isabella hopes to obtain an influential leadership position for a company in which she can “work against the weight that is poverty, which has significantly influenced the day-to-day life of families like mine.” Isabella shares that she’s excited to be part of the Fowler Scholars Program because she will “become educated on what is expected of an ethical business leader and how to work with others towards a common goal.”
Landon Delgadillo Accounting Major, Minor in Management Information Systems
Landon is a recent graduate who majored in accounting with a minor in management information systems. He was involved with both the Entrepreneur Society and the Accounting Society. Landon explained that the most impactful experience as a Fowler Scholar was “meeting business leaders such as Ron Fowler, Fred Pierce, Mark Lindner, and many more. I have been exposed to so many different aspects of the business world, areas involving social entrepreneurship, commercial development, and banking.” Upon graduation, Landon aspires to join one of the Big 4 accounting firms to develop his skills in audit accounting and to pursue data science. He also has dreams of starting a commercial real estate company and helping bring Fortune 500 companies to San Diego in hopes of growing the town into a more globalized city.
Fowler Scholars Program Student Spotlight: Brian Martinez
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Fowler Scholar? Class of 2025
Becoming a Fowler Scholar is the greatest honor that I have received in my years of academia. This honor is something I will cherish forever and never take lightly. I am excited to exhibit strong moral values and become an ethical business leader in the future. I am also excited to work with the other members of the Fowler Scholars Program to help sharpen each other’s skills. The Fowler Scholars Program will help me become a leader in my classroom, community, and the business world. Being selected to be in this program has made me realize that I have the potential to make a positive impact on others. After realizing this, I know that I mustADVISING not waste my potential and use all of my energy to try to STUDENT APPOINTMENTS improve the world forThree thosestaff around conducted me. 684 appointments (in-person/virtual) in AY21-22 compared to 819 with five staff in AY20-21. More than 70% (21%) andand Seniors (51%). you decided to pursue Q: Can you describe awere littlewith bit Juniors about yourself how/when
Financial Services as an area of study?
Brian Martinez, Financial
Services Major, Double Minoring in Accounting and Information Systems
I always knew that I wanted to work in business, but I needed to determine what areas of business interested me the most. My favorite aspects of business are investing and helping people with their finances. The investing interest I have came from learning about the stock market at an early age. By pursuing financial services as an area of study and a career, I can help people generate wealth by investing in assets, maybe even the stock market. I want to pursue a career as a financial planner, advisor, or analyst and the financial services major will allow me to pursue those careers.
Q: If you’re involved in SDSU student organizations on campus or affiliated with any organizations off-campus, can you share why you got involved and what your experience has been like so far?
I am currently involved with the Student Accounting Society and the Aztecs Trading and Investing Club. These two organizations have given me the opportunity to meet likeminded individuals who have similar interests as mine. I have also met students from foreign countries, and I have been able to learn about their culture and their perspectives on American life. Interacting with other students enables me to become a well-rounded individual. I think it is extremely important for students to get involved at an early stage in college so that they can realize what they do and do not like. I wanted to get involved because I wanted to meet other individuals who can inspire me to become a better version of myself.
Q: Who inspires you and why? Dedicated to developing tomorrow’s ethical business leaders who will have a positive influence on business and society.
The individuals who inspire me the most are the members of my family. No one in my family has ever gone to college, so I am proud to be the first one to make it. Seeing my family struggle with their financial situation despite working 84 hours a week has led me to become determined in my goals. Whenever I think I am going through a rough patch, I take a look at my family’s situation, and I become fueled with the desire to succeed. My parents have worked too hard for me not to become the best student I can become. I am indebted to my parents forever for the sacrifices that they have made for me and my siblings to have a fulfilled childhood.
Q: What is the best advice you have received during your time at SDSU?
During my time at SDSU, a wise man that I met in line at Starbucks told me that “I must do what I gotta do, to be where I want to be.” If I want to be leading the financial industry in the future, I must make sure that I always give my best shot at the assignments and challenges that I am given. Having this cause-and-effect mentality has helped me weigh the pros against the cons and push through whenever I am struggling.
Martinez bowling with the Student Accounting Society. Student Spotlight (cont'd) | Key Program Activities
Q: What career aspirations do you have following your time at SDSU?
After graduating from SDSU, I will pursue a career in the wealth management industry. After gaining enough experience and knowledge, I plan to establish my own business, which will focus on providing financial services such as investment advice or financial planning. Once I have scaled my business, I will start my own mutual and hedge fund so that I can generate capital to build a worldwide nonprofit organization that aims to help struggling communities with financial literacy.
Making an Impact
Martinez bowling with the Student Accounting Society
Great leaders acquire AND apply knowledge. Fowler Scholars are provided the advantage of advanced and directed learning within a small learning community, and in turn, will apply this knowledge in practical, real-world settings.
Key Program Activities
Weekly Seminar/Discussion Style Meeting with the Director and/or Guest Speaker: Speakers are successful business and influential community leaders, subject matter experts, as well as senior faculty and alumni. A typical semester would have 2-3 topical discussions, 1-2 case studies, and 6-8 guest speakers.
Networking: One of the most important aspects of the program are the networking
opportunities, both on and off-campus. These events offer students a grand opportunity to meet successful leaders in business and the broader community in professional settings.
An International Experience: Each Fowler Scholar will experience a winter semester
travel abroad trip where they will gain a global perspective and understand the nuances of conducting business with differing cultures and social mores.
Mentorship: Each student will be matched with a professional mentor, faculty mentor, and peer (upper-class) mentor.
Internships: A professional internship is an important element of and a requirement to
complete the Fowler Scholars Program. Internships provide students the opportunity to apply their classroom experiences in the real world and gain skills and competencies that will allow them to launch a successful career. Internships help identify the types of jobs and tasks that students like and dislike and may also lead to a full-time position after graduation.
Service Learning: Service learning experiences offer students another opportunity to
apply knowledge gained to real-world problems. Each student will work on one or more service-learning projects that benefit the community.
Thank you for supporting scholarships, internships, research, and international experiences for students selected to participate in the Fowler Scholars Program.
Thank you for your generous support.
For questions regarding this report please contact DonorRelations@SDSU.edu or call (619) 594-2448.
Donor Relations University Relations and Development San Diego State University 5500 Campanile Drive San Diego, CA 92182-8030 SDSU.edu