Applications are being accepted through March 21 for the Neil Gaston Student Achievement Award.
To be eligible for the award, a recipient must be a graduating senior in the School of Business with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2, both overall and in business courses. Students who graduated in December 2016 and January 2017 may apply, as well as those who are graduating in May or August of 2017. The winning student must also have a significant record of involvement in college and/or community activities, demonstrate strong leadership skills and character, and show great promise for future success.
View directions here; download the application form here. Completed application forms must be submitted in the School of Business main office, in BB 114 or e-mailed to Nicole Beagin at beaginn@tcnj.edu by 4:30 PM on March 21.
The 2017 Neil Gaston Student Achievement Award includes a monetary award and will be presented at the School of Business Commencement Program on May 18, 2017.
Dr. Neil Gaston Student Achievement Award
Until his retirement on January 1, 2001, Dr. Neil Gaston spent almost all of his adult life (about 44 years) at The College of New Jersey. When he first arrived as a freshman in 1956, the College was known as Trenton State Teachers’ College. He graduated in 1960, earning his Masters’ Degree in 1962 from what had become Trenton State College. After graduation he accepted a teaching position at Sparta NJ High School, but in his third year there he was invited to return to the College as a faculty member – an invitation which he, at first, refused.
During the next 38 years Dr. Gaston served as a faculty member at the College. In 1971, while a faculty member, Dr. Gaston received his doctorate in business education from New York University. Also, during this time, he rose from an instructor to a full professor. In 1992 he was appointed Associate Dean for Student Affairs in the School of Business – a position he would not accept if it took him completely out of the classroom. Over the years he taught a variety of courses, including Business Education courses, Business Law, Personal Finance, Risk and Insurance. Additionally, he served as editor of a state professional magazine, wrote and published a number of articles on the teaching of business education, and did some extensive writing for West Publishing Company and the New York Stock Exchange.
Dr. Gaston came to love the College, and especially its students. He took great pleasure in chairing the Student Achievement Award Committee, overseeing the award that now bears his name and consists of a cash award (determined by investment earnings) and a plaque, with an engraved inscription of the recipient’s name, to be displayed permanently in the School of Business.
To be eligible for the award, a recipient must be a graduating senior in the School of Business with a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.2, both overall and in business courses. The winning student must also have a significant record of involvement in college and/or community activities, demonstrate strong leadership skills and character, and show great promise for future success.