Avon Lake Couple’s ‘BGSU Outstanding Senior Award’ Celebrates 30 Years

Bill Ficken

Thirty years ago, Bowling Green State University alumnus Bill Ficken ’63 and his wife, Eileen, residents of Avon Lake, developed and presented the first BGSU Outstanding Senior Award, along with the BGSU Alumni Association. This award, supported over the years by the Fickens, recognizes a graduating senior who has demonstrated a commitment to BGSU through campus and community involvement and academic achievement.

Since this is the 30th year, Outstanding Seniors over the last 29 years came back to campus for an anniversary celebration during Senior Week. They watched as the 30th BGSU Outstanding Senior Award was presented to Cameron Friedman, College of Arts & Sciences, during the Beyond BG event on May 6.

Bill Ficken, a realtor with Howard Hanna Real Estate Services in Westlake, has more than 30 years of housing industry experience and has been a member of the BGSU College of Business Dean’s Leadership Council for 28 years, the only Emeritus member.

The BGSU alumnus explains why he started this outstanding senior recognition. “During my term as a member of the BGSU Alumni Board of Trustees during the mid to late 1980’s, I was involved in many award presentations which were primarily focused on GPA.”

“There was growth in the number of student organizations and in student participation in these organizations,” Ficken states. “Students were applying and supporting their classroom experiences within these organizations, while benefitting BGSU at the same time. This type of student performance needed to be recognized because it reflected the total BGSU experience.”

This year three of the ten nominees for the award are business seniors and a fourth finalist is minoring in economics. They are: Matthew Manocchio – marketing; Rachel Renou – international business and marketing; and Angela Perry-Hudson – supply chain management and applied economics; and Paul Garbarino is minoring in economics.

Outstanding seniors are nominated by faculty and staff. Out of the 50+ applicants, a committee reviews the applications and selects the Top 10. Those selected students go through an interview process with a committee comprised of students, staff, and alumni, including Bill and Eileen. The winner of this prestigious award receives $1,000 and campus-wide recognition.

The College of Business is among the top 1% of business programs in the world and is ranked as the 29th best public undergraduate business program in the United States. You can learn more at http://www.bgsu.edu/business.

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