IC News

The School of Business at Ithaca College recognized five outstanding economics and finance mentors with the Market Maker Business Award. The annual award honors high school teachers and advisers who are committed to mentoring high school students in the areas of economics or finance.

The winners were invited to an award dinner and reception at the college on Monday, November 12. While on campus, they met with the Core Trading Consultants, a student run organization which manages over $50,000 in investments. They also heard from student members of the Equity Portfolio Management II course, which is responsible for managing over $600,000 in equity investments.  Combined with the student managed Fixed Income Portfolio, students manage over $800,000 in market exposure in the School of Business.

The award recipients also toured the business school’s state of the art Trading Room, which has a multitude of investment platforms including Bloomberg, Capital IQ and Reuters. 

“Each of our awardees have made significant contributions and personal sacrifices in order to mentor and support their high school students in the area of finance or economics,” said Jay Muenzen, director of the asset management program in the School of Business. “These award recipients are really stand out performers in the teaching profession helping shape, guide and develop the next generation of leaders in the investment industry.” 

This year’s awardees are:

Corrado teaches business and special education at Berwick Area High School in Berwick, Pennsylvania, where she helped build the school’s business program. Berwick students have won several local business-related contests, and finished in second place in the Ithaca College High School Investment Competition in 2018.

DeCesare teaches college accounting, sports marketing, and personal investing, among other courses, at Irondequoit High School in Rochester, New York. He also serves as the school’s advisor for co-curricular business organizations DECA and the Future Business Leaders of America, and is director of the Monroe County chapter of DECA. DiCesare has been recognized as a Gold Star teacher for each of the past ten years by WISE, an organization that honors excellence in teaching financial literacy. The business department at Irondequoit High School has been named Business Department of the Year four times by the New York State Education Department, and was named a WISE National Top 100 School for teaching personal finance. Prior to teaching, DiCesare was an advertising executive for eight years.

Frey teaches marketing, sports and entertainment marketing, as well as personal money management and other courses at Manheim Township High School in Manheim, Pennsylvania. Her students have excelled in numerous business-related competitions, including a second-place finish in the Ithaca College High School Investment Competition in 2017. Frey has worked in the educational field for 24 years.

Goodelle teaches personal finance, accounting and business at New Hartford Senior High School in New Hartford, New York, where he often invites local business leaders to speak with his students or takes them on field trips to local businesses. Goodelle’s students placed first in Ithaca College’s High School Investment Competition in 2018. He has been recognized by “Who’s Who Amongst America’s Teachers.”