The Shenandoah University School of Business Class of 2022 hosted the Second Annual Legacy Golf Tournament at the Winchester Country Club on May 6, raising $54K for an endowed scholarship to benefit first-generation, high-achieving local and regional applicants who want to pursue a degree in business. The event attracted 25 teams, more than 100 players, and many corporate and private sponsors from the Winchester area, Northern Virginia, and beyond. This year’s fundraising initiative significantly topped its 2021 inaugural event, which raised $20K for endowed scholarships.
“This isn’t just a golf tournament, it’s an opportunity for students to learn skills that will be useful for them for a lifetime. They are learning how to organize and fundraise. They are going out to businesses and making connections, and inviting people to be part of a bigger project.”
Tracy Fitzsimmons, Ph.D., President of Shenandoah University
(left to right) Perry Engineering President W. Michael Perry, BBA student and first-year Legacy Golf Tournament scholarship recipient Paula Dominguez, and Dean Astrid Sheil
First-year business administration major Maria (Paula) Dominguez ’25 from Winchester, Va., received a $2,500 award as the first recipient of the proceeds raised by the Shenandoah University Legacy Golf Tournament.
Business School Dean Astrid Sheil, Ph.D., originally envisioned the golf tournament as a fundraiser and capstone learning experience for students taking her Advanced Management Practice and Theory class.
“This is our second year, and it has expanded to twice as big as last year. We learned a lot based on the great foundation laid by the Class of 2021, and we added new dimensions to the curriculum that enhanced our performance this year.”
Astrid Sheil, Ph.D., Dean of the Shenandoah University School of Business
In addition to the teamwork and hands-on elements of the course, students completed survey work with HBDI (Hermann Brain Dominance Instrument), a thinking styles assessment tool, and Thomas-Kilman, a conflict resolution model, which demonstrate how individuals learn and react while working with others.
“It was the framework for learning how to do sales, how to do marketing, how to follow through, how to take a ‘no’ and walk away to reframe and come back, how to work in teams with people you don’t know very well, and how to take a leadership role. Overall, it’s been a great experience for the students and also for the players. It’s also been a wonderful way for the Business School to engage with the community.”
Astrid Sheil
School of Business Board of Advisors participants and avid golfers Chelsea Hester (left) and Anita Shull provided valuable coaching and instruction throughout the semester-long class.
Business School Advisory Board representatives Anita Shull and Chelsea Hester, both avid golfers and seasoned entrepreneurs, guided the class through the logistics of running a golf tournament from planning to execution.
“Chelsea and I both love golf and are passionate about playing. We helped students to visualize where we needed to go by creating processes and systems that would take us down the path to our end game. It was exciting to see them grow, especially when they began to see the numbers come together, how many players and sponsors were involved, and how we were going to make our target goal. It was a great team effort and collaboration.”
Anita Shull, CPA, business consultant, and co-founder of Project MyVibe and Golf myVibe, and a member of the School of Business Advisory Board
Hester, also a co-founder of Project MyVibe and Golf myVibe and a member of the School of Business Advisory Board, said she was impressed to watch students grow as they applied solid business principles in a real-world application.
“It’s an experience that showed them what drives the numbers in a business, and how a business makes money, grows, and thrives. To have 100% of the class achieve their goals was just so impressive.”
Chelsea Hester
Engaging Community Support
In addition to Shull and Hester, a number of local businesses and individuals supported the event as players, sponsors, or donors, including Perry Engineering Company inc., the tournament’s Legacy Sponsor.
“A non-traditional class such as this teaches you a lot of the real-life skills that you need in business. We’re glad to see business students learning all the nuances of executing and performing in order to achieve their end goals.”
W. Michael Perry, president of Perry Engineering and chair of the Shenandoah University Board of Trustees.
Yet it was the week-to-week, day-to-day efforts of the students collaborating in class and out in the community that brought it all together.
“Going out into the community and engaging with the public helped us to build confidence and our leadership skills. We definitely learn the theoretical knowledge, but when you go out into the real world, it puts all of that into perspective. It’s a valuable experience that I think every student needs.”
Emily Hernandez-Ventura ’22, BBA/Concentration in Information Systems & Technology and Class of ’22 Finance Committee Member
Dominguez, who served on the 2022 class sales committee, said she is proud of how the class worked together to achieve a vision to benefit future business students.
“It’s more than just a golf tournament. It’s taking charge of your education for the next students and the next generation, to leave a legacy.”
Maria (Paula) Dominguez ’25, BBA/Concentration in Accounting, minor in Psychology and Class of ’22 Sales Committee Member
The Third Annual SUSB Legacy Golf Tournament is scheduled for Thursday, May 11, 2023. For more information or to donate to the Legacy Scholarship, visit the Legacy Golf Tournament.
