More than $96K awarded to Shidler students at annual Business Night

2024 Business Night Student Committee

From left, Dean Vance Roley, Todd Takayama, Tertia Freas, Reese Kisaba and Steve Petranik

Reese Kisaba

The Shidler College of Business at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa celebrated its 63rd Business Night on May 2, at the Sheraton Waikiki, hosting nearly 500 students and business professionals.

Celebrating the college’s 75th anniversary, the signature event is an evening of mentorship and networking, professional development and recognizing deserving students for their scholastic achievements. With the support of alumni and Hawaiʻi’s business community, 51 sponsored awards, totaling more than $96,000, were presented to undergraduate and graduate students.

The event is student-organized and pairs Shidler students with a professional business mentor whose experience is relevant to their major, and includes a networking hour, followed by dinner and an awards presentation. Shidler alumna Tertia Freas (BBA ‘78), executive director at The Clarence T.C. Ching Foundation, was the keynote speaker and shared about her career journey after college; and talked about the importance of leadership, connecting with colleagues and peers and of serving the community.

“This year’s theme ‘Insuring Business Futures: Lei Your Path to Success’ stems from a sentiment that alumnus Jay H. Shidler, BBA ‘68, previously expressed in a speech at the college last year,” said Shidler senior Reese Kisaba, who served as executive director of the student committee and recipient of the Dean’s Spirit award. “He described Shidler as a starting point, a place that we all come from and can come back to no matter where we end up, or what life throws at us.”

“I look forward to this event every year and this year is of particular significance because we are also celebrating the college’s 75th anniversary, which aligns nicely with this year’s theme,” Shidler Dean and First Hawaiian Bank Chair of Leadership and Management Vance Roley said. “The student committee came up with ‘Insuring Business Futures: Lei Your Path to Success’ to tie into the college’s 75th anniversary giving campaign, which is a maile lei interwoven by the support of our alumni and stakeholders, symbolizing unity and interconnectedness. We are incredibly grateful to everyone who attended this year’s Business Night to support our students, our college and the community.”

First Insurance Company of Hawaii (FICOH) served as title sponsor for the 19th consecutive year and Hawaii Business magazine returned as the media sponsor for its eighth year.

“Thank you to all the businesses who joined First Insurance in recognizing Shidler College’s best and brightest, and congratulations to the student honorees,” said FICOH president and CEO Todd Takayama. “Our Business Night sponsorship has become part of FICOH’s core support of Shidler College. We especially appreciate the mentorship component of the event and the opportunity to get to know the students. As professionals, we learn as much from them as they do from us.”

For a complete list of the 2024 Business Night award recipients and sponsors, visit the Shidler website. If you are interested in sponsoring a Business Night award for a future event, please contact Irina De La Torre at Irina.DeLaTorre@uhfoundation.org.

About Business Night

Since 1961, Business Night has paired students with business professionals for an evening of learning and sharing. Each year, Business Night has successfully led to internships, job opportunities, life-long mentorships, and business partnerships. More than 40 awards, sponsored by companies, organizations and individuals, are presented to top Shidler College of Business undergraduate and graduate students. The event is organized in partnership with students.

About the Shidler College of Business

Founded in 1949, the Shidler College of Business was named in 2006 after alumnus Jay H. Shidler, founder and managing partner of The Shidler Group. Since his initial gift of $25 million in 2006, Shidler has given approximately $238 million to the college in cash, land leases and in-kind donations. His contributions represent the largest individual donation to the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa and the second largest known gift to a U.S. public university business school.

In 2019, the School of Travel Industry Management rejoined the college. The college is renowned for its multicultural learning environment and its expertise in international business education and is consistently ranked among the nation’s top 25 schools for international business by U.S. News & World Report. Long recognized for its Asia-Pacific focus, the college offers a wide variety of degree, certificate and executive programs. The college has the only graduate program in the state of Hawai‘i and Vietnam accredited by AACSB International. For more information, visit shidler.hawaii.edu.

About UH Mānoa

The University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa serves approximately 20,000 students pursuing more than 225 different degrees. Coming from every Hawaiian island, every state in the nation, and more than 100 countries, UH Mānoa students thrive in an enriching environment for the global exchange of ideas. For more information, visit manoa.hawaii.edu. Follow us on Facebook www.facebook.com/uhmanoa and Twitter www.twitter.com/UHManoaNews.

About UH Foundation

The University of Hawai‘i Foundation, a nonprofit organization, raises private funds to support the University of Hawai‘i System. The mission of the University of Hawai‘i Foundation is to unite donors’ passions with the University of Hawai‘i’s aspirations by raising philanthropic support and managing private investments to benefit UH, the people of Hawai‘i and our future generations. Visit us at uhfoundation.org