22 TOWER | FALL 2022 Sonya Smith M’12 is the SUNY state director of the New York Small Business Development Centers. She travels to each of the state’s 22 centers to evaluate programs, develop further educational opportunities and, most importantly, to work with entrepreneurs and small business owners to advance their business to the next level. “I really love what I do, so I find something good in each day,” Smith said. “When I went on a tour of New York City with commissioner Kevin Kim for the NYC Department of Small Business Services, and NYC Mayor SONYA SMITH M’12 helps entrepreneurs achieve big dreams ALUMNI SPOTLIGHTS Eric Adams, we visited every borough, speaking with community members. It reinforced my conviction that small businesses are the backbone of America. It’s our responsibility to connect people with resources, eliminate the red tape, and help them grow in their communities.” In 2010, Smith had a job offer in hand and was poised to begin working for a regional accounting firm in New Jersey, where she grew up. Fate intervened when Ernie Post, the state director for the Pennsylvania SBDC, suggested she go to graduate school and encouraged her to apply to the MBA program at Kutztown University. Post remembered Smith from an internship in 2008, and thought it would be a good fit. Smith agreed, and a graduate assistantship at the SBDC office on Kutztown University’s campus helped cover her tuition costs. “I needed to take some marketing courses as prerequisites, because my focus had been accounting and finance,” she recalled. “That was an entirely new experience. I gained a foundation that helped me understand marketing on a new level, and how to use it for business. But my favorite class was Labor Relations, and it has helped me immensely as I’ve moved through the ranks. We talked about management, union roles, how to negotiate, understanding the collective bargaining agreement – and that course taught me how to communicate with my staff and discuss expectations and regulations, as well as address any issues when they arise.” It was during her graduate assistantship that Smith gained the experience that set the trajectory for her future career. She worked directly with small business owners at the SBDC, developing their portfolios and determining where there was room for growth. “Experiential learning is really important,” Smith said. “It’s hands-on experience that takes what you learn in the classroom and use it in the field. My role at the SBDC evolved and as I moved up the ranks, I really wanted to work with the grad students, placing them, and working with the consultants. I had been in their shoes, balancing class and being in the workforce. I’ve probably worked with 80 students over the years, and still keep in touch with many of them.” After graduation, Smith began working for the Office of Grants and Sponsored Projects at KU, and then served as the associate state director of programs for the Pennsylvania SBDC, before assuming her current position with SUNY. In the future, she imagines pivoting from helping small business owners to becoming one – she hopes to start a business with her father, and also pursue her own dream of launching a company that specializes in maternity fitness. For anyone interested in obtaining their MBA, she has some advice: “Try to connect with your classmates and establish relationships,” she says. “Building a community will help you get through the class and over any hurdles. Find your people or person – the ones going through the program understand it. And stick with it - it goes by so quickly!” BY ESTHER SHANAHAN & VICKI MAYK
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