UNH Senior Awarded Stadium Managers Association Scholarship

WEST HAVEN, CT (07/17/2013)(readMedia)-- Kathryn Ragaisis, of Burlington, Conn., a senior in the sports management program at the University of New Haven, is one of two students nationwide to receive a scholarship from the Stadium Managers Association (SMA), a trade organization that educates professional and collegiate stadium managers.

The scholarship was awarded by the SMA Foundation, headquartered in Des Moines, Iowa, to support outstanding students enrolled in sports administration programs who are studying facility and/or event management.

As part of her award, Ragaisis will be given a 2013-14 student membership in the SMA and will have the opportunity to network with leaders in the field. She will also serve as an ex-officio member of the SMA Board of Directors.

"I am extremely honored to be chosen as one of the recipients of the SMA Foundation Scholarship and would like to thank all those involved in the selection process for their generosity," said Ragaisis. "This award provides me with great financial assistance heading into my final year of college."

Ragaisis worked last summer as a stadium operations intern at Rentschler Field and quickly realized facility management would be an interesting career. She also has worked for Contigo Sports Management, Manchester United, the Claudio Reyna Foundation and MetLife.

After graduation, she plans to work in facility and event management while pursuing a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in sports management.

She is coordinator of fundraising for the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority and a member of the Sports Industry and Golf clubs at UNH.

*NOTE: Photo available upon request. 

The University of New Haven is a private, top-tier comprehensive institution recognized as a national leader in experiential education. Founded in 1920 on the campus of Yale University in cooperation with Northeastern University, UNH moved to its current West Haven campus in 1960. The University operates a satellite campus in Tuscany, Italy, and offers programs at several locations throughout Connecticut and in New Mexico. UNH provides its students with a unique combination of a solid liberal arts education and real-world, hands-on career and research opportunities. The University enrolls approximately 6,400 students, including nearly 1,800 graduate students and more than 4,600 undergraduates – the majority of whom reside in University housing. Through its College of Arts and Sciences, College of Business, Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences, Tagliatela College of Engineering, and College of Lifelong & eLearning, UNH offers 75 undergraduate and graduate degree programs. UNH students have access to more than 50 study abroad programs worldwide, and its student-athletes compete in 16 varsity sports in the NCAA Division II's highly competitive Northeast-10 Conference.

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