Corporate relationship Offers scholarships, internships

Ten TCNJ Educational Opportunity Fund (EOF) students, who were the recipients of $100,000 in scholarships from the Schering-Plough Foundation, were honored at an October 18 banquet.

TCNJ President R. Barbara Gitenstein, Schering-Plough Foundation President Joseph Starkey, and TCNJ Director of Academic Support Programs James Boatwright were on hand to congratulate the 10 scholars. 

During the ceremony, Gitenstein commended Schering-Plough for its generous gift. “Because of its support, this program has the potential to advance the careers of these students,” Gitenstein said. “It will open up new types of opportunities that may not have otherwise been available to these students.”

Gitenstein also noted that the program will strengthen the state of New Jersey as well, by keeping “the best and the brightest” within the state.

Starkey, who worked with TCNJ Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs John Marcy in developing the scholarship program, feels that the initiative will allow the company a great opportunity to participate in long-term recruitment. “We realized we had a real treasure right in our backyard,” Starkey said.

In addition to the monetary award, the 10 students were given the opportunity to intern at Schering-Plough. At the reception in October, three of the scholars shared memories of their internship experiences.

David Kong '08, a science intern, conducted research at the Schering-Plough Research Institute. During his time there, Kong had the opportunity to conduct his own experiment. His research involved determining whether ascorbic acid coupled with nasal decongestant could enhance the contraction of nasal tissue.

Elisa Torres '08, a business intern who worked in the global pharmaceutical business staffing division of Schering-Plough, helped produce an informational brochure that will assist district managers in recruiting sales representatives from competitors.

Among other things, Torres discussed how she benefited from participating in the program. “It provided me with real-world experience of material I learned in my business courses,” said Torres. “Moreover, my managers went above and beyond their responsibilities by taking the time to mentor me.”

Marcus White '07, also a business intern, worked in the global supply chain division of Schering-Plough. White discussed how supportive his mentors and coworkers were during the internship and the benefits he received as a participant.

"Sometimes, during class, you see concepts and think of them as just something that’s written in a textbook," said White. "Now I can see it really does happen."