The University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics celebrates the inaugural class of graduates of the new minor in professional selling and sales management. A ceremony held on May 23 recognized the 14 graduates of the Class of 2019 with a certificate of achievement, a convocation cord and a gift.

“You are going to need to be a lifelong learner,” Dean of the Lerner College Bruce Weber said. “You will leave here with the skills and knowledge you need to succeed during your first few years in the workforce. After that, you will need to remember to adapt and change with business, and you are now very prepared for that.”

In 2016, the Harvard Business Review noted that, “More than 50% of US college graduates, regardless of their majors, are likely to work in sales at some point.” The Lerner College introduced the minor in professional selling and sales management in fall 2018 to better prepare all UD students, regardless of their major or college, for unique career opportunities across a variety of industries.

“I wish every student here success,” said Hemant Kher, chairperson of the Department of Business Administration and professor of operations management  “You will be tied to Lerner forever as the first class to graduate with this new minor ... in a sales role you can learn a product and a company inside-and-out and move on to other roles with more knowledge and preparedness.”

The inaugural class included: Gabrielle Acurso, Gabrielle Ayala, Rachel Talcott Calkins, Kyle Peter Delfini, Erin Elizabeth Irving, Charlotte Kempton Jenkins, Matthew S. Lombardi, Anthony Michael Marchetti, Kaitlyn Brenna McCully, Hannah Rose Merachnik, Taylor L. Nelson, Connor David Seaman, Matthew James Taylor and Michael James Zerillo.

For further information, please email Suresh Sundaram at ssuresh@udel.edu.