Dominick Ditoro (Economics Club president), Eric Gavazzi, (’06, vice president of deposit operations at First Commonwealth Bank), and Kelly Szolek (Economics Club secretary)
The IUP Economics Club wishes to thank the alumni and other guest speakers who met with students during the 2023–24 academic year! Some speakers met on campus with students, and others were able to interact with the group via Zoom. From each one, students learned valuable insights about career pathways, tips for greater academic success, and networking suggestions.
Walking backward through the academic year, 2023–24 Economics Club activity highlights include the following:
- April 15: Eric Gavazzi (’06) currently is the vice president of deposit operations at First Commonwealth Bank. He graduated magna cum laude with a BA Economics/Honors degree from IUP. Throughout the last 17-plus years, Eric has taken on various tasks and roles, all within the operations unit at First Commonwealth Bank. In his current role, which he has held for the last nine years, Eric oversees 14 different operational units, encompassing 70 employees.
- April 4: Abby Redlich ('21) graduated summa cum laude with a BA Economics/Honors degree that included a minor in English from IUP. During 2023–24, she is a third-year student at the University of Akron School of Law. She has been working as a law clerk at Reimer Law in the area of creditor defense litigation.
- February 15: Economics Club Pizza Party (featuring locally famous heart-shaped pizzas!)
- November 28: Emily Port (’15) graduated from IUP with a BA Economics/Honors degree that included two minors (applied statistics and business administration). She pursued a law degree from Case Western Reserve University, graduating in 2021. During law school, she was an executive notes editor on Health Matrix: Journal of Law-Medicine, and she worked as a legal intern for the school's clinic, an extern for the Federal Public Defender's Office of the Northern District of Ohio in the Capital Habeas Unit, and a law clerk for the Honorable Justice Rebecca Dallet on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. After law school, she joined Hochman & Plunkett as an associate attorney focused on plaintiff-side workers' compensation disputes.
- October 17: Carrie Arcurio (’06, M‘09) is a senior implementation consultant for Syntellis Performance Solutions. Before joining Syntellis, she spent nearly 15 years in healthcare operations. Having graduated summa cum laude with undergraduate dual degrees (BA Economics/Honors and BS Finance) in 2006, she also completed the MBA degree program in 2009.
- September 26: Résumé Night with Stephanie M. Jozefowicz. This annual Economics Club event includes discussion of tips for building a résumé and taking advantage of the opportunities available both on and off campus to distinguish oneself from other internship/job/graduate school candidates.
The mission of the Economics Club is to promote the interest and understanding of economics among students, to provide opportunity for students to participate in projects benefiting the university community while increasing their own knowledge of economics, and to bring students and faculty members together in an informal social environment. Membership in this organization is open to all members of the IUP community. Jim Jozefowicz currently serves as faculty advisor for the club.