University at Buffalo School of Management

Buffalo Business - Spring 2019

The magazine for alumni and friends of the UB School of Management

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Alumni Impact As founder and CEO of Rycar Media, Ryan Carr, BS '12, MBA '14, has spearheaded digital marketing cam- paigns that have brought his Western New York clients nearly $3.5 million in revenue. Rycar is Carr's second startup venture since gradu- ating. His first, Body Shop Nutrition, manufactures and sells nutritional supplements online, and was the inspi- ration to ultimately build a business that helps other firms enhance their digital presence. "Aer starting Body Shop, I quickly realized I had a lot to learn about e-commerce," he says. "When I dove into online advertising I fell in love with it, and two years later I've made it my full-time business." Carr credits his experience in the Western New York Prosperity Scholarship program for giving him the confi- dence and skills to take the leap into entrepreneurship. "Being a Prosperity Scholar plants a seed in your mind that you're going to help the community," he says. "The incredible support of this scholarship inspired me to give back to the community exponentially." For 10 years, the Western New York Prosperity Scholarship program has been helping the region rise by assisting UB students who are actively preparing for careers that further local economic development and growth. Generously supported by the Prentice Family Foundation, the program provides professional devel- opment opportunities, as well as resources and access to local business leaders and the community. In total, the program has supported 165 UB students, and of those, 72 are from the School of Management. While originally a scholarship, the program has recently evolved into the WNY Prosperity Fellowship program—a change that is key to building the WNY Prosperity community, according to Hadar Borden, who directs the program at UB. "A scholarship just supports your education; a fel- lowship is a community," she says. "Fellows can pick up the phone and call someone for advice, and there's always someone who says, 'I'm in, how can I help you?'" WNY Prosperity Fellows are awarded a paid sum- mer internship, scholarship support up to $25,000 based on their unmet financial need, and an enrichment fund of $1,000 to participate in experiential learning opportuni- ties related to their academic interests. Helping Buffalo rise WNY Prosperity Fellows boost regional resurgence 24 Buffalo Business Spring 2019 Jill Clark, MBA '10 Marketing Project Manager Erie Canal Harbor Development Corp.

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