Scholarship Helps Accounting Major Stay at the College She Calls “Home”

Ashley Reddington ’22, ’22 (MBA) has been a Jasper at heart ever since childhood, when she visited campus every October for Safe Halloween, the annual children’s trick-or-treating event hosted by the education honor society Kappa Delta Pi.

“I have clear memories; I knew the entire campus,” the Inwood, New York, native recalls. “I absolutely loved it as a kid, and I just knew, ‘When I get older, I’m going to be a Manhattan College student.’”

In due course, upon graduating from Saint Vincent Ferrer High School, Reddington enrolled at Manhattan, choosing to major in political science with a minor in accounting. A commuter student, she enjoyed the quick and convenient access to campus via the No. 7 bus. After completing her classes for the day, she was a short walk away from her daily tutoring job with a Riverdale family — one she has held since high school.

However, as it did to so many students, the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of her sophomore year brought complications to Reddington’s college experience.

“The environment was tough for learning because I live in an apartment and have two sisters and two dogs,” she recalls. “The dogs would be barking, and I could hear my sisters while I was participating in my remote classes. We managed to get different desks and figured it out.”

“It was hard not seeing people in person, but all of the professors were extremely helpful during that time,” she continues. “They would always be consistent with their emails, reaching out, making sure students were doing well.” Virtual breakout sessions, she says, helped foster communication with her classmates.

It was during this time that Reddington began to reevaluate her career options, and decided to switch accounting from her minor to her major, with political science as a minor. “I realized I was interested in finances and how money works,” she says. “I wanted to open as many doors as I could, and I knew accounting offers a lot of opportunities.”

Aileen Farrelly, assistant dean of the O’Malley School of Business, proved especially helpful, Reddington notes, as was Amanda Sanseverino, assistant professor of accounting, CIS and law.

“Professor Farrelly is just always there for me, and Dr. Sanseverino talked to me about the MBA program,” she says. “I had to catch up on my math and accounting classes, and each and every professor definitely helped me.”

The pandemic proved challenging in other ways, too. Reddington’s family was contending with unexpected medical bills, and the household income was impacted when her father, a retired New York City police officer, had his hours as a court officer temporarily reduced.

Unbeknownst to her family, Reddington reached out to the Financial Aid office to apprise them of her circumstances.

“I take my academics very seriously, and I didn’t want anything to change,” she says. “I wanted to continue my classes and my whole college experience.”

Happily, she was awarded the Linda M. and Peter M. Musumeci Jr. Foundation Inc. Scholarship, which was founded in 2007 to assist students enrolled in the O’Malley School of Business during their junior and senior years.

“My family was really shocked; it was a great surprise for them,” Reddington recalls. “They were very grateful and happy to hear about it. I’m very grateful, too, because it kept me on track to finish my degree.”

Now a senior, she has decided to continue at Manhattan for her MBA after graduation. She’s taking a heavy courseload of six classes, including a graduate-level accounting class, and is focused on the future. As a member of Beta Alpha Psi, the honor organization for financial information students and professionals, she attends information sessions with representatives from corporate and accounting firms to learn as much as she can about career opportunities and potential internships, for which she is currently interviewing.

A fitness enthusiast, when not studying at the library, she can often be found in the campus fitness center in Kelly Commons. “I love the people I’ve met; I feel like this is home,” she says. “I convinced my younger sister to come here next year!”

Looking back, the scholarship Reddington received has further cemented the affection she has felt for Manhattan ever since her trick-or-treating days. As she wrote in her thank you letter to the Musumecis: “I’ll forever remember this gift I was blessed to receive.”