May 24, 2016
Jamie Ponce, Director of Ticket Sales and Service for the New York Red Bulls and Centenary Alumnus, Served as Keynote Speaker for Centenary’s Honors Convocation
“This was a wonderful opportunity to reward our students for a job well-done,” says Dr. Amy D’Olivo, Associate Provost and Dean for Academics at Centenary University. “We have many students here who are stellar scholars and strive for excellence in their field of study. This ceremony showcases great examples of our many success stories.”
Jamie Ponce, an alumnus from the class of 2005, served as keynote speaker. He talked about his journey to Centenary and how receiving the Raymonde Maurice Award his freshman year provided him with the aspirations to be a “game changer.” The Raymonde Maurice Award was inaugurated in 1996 in loving memory of Raymonde Maurice, Class of 1989. The recipient is an individual who most personifies the qualities of Raymonde Maurice: commitment to Centenary, devotion to duty, love for humanity and the fidelity to Christian values. In particular, the recipient must be in need of the scholarship and should be one who has clearly demonstrated that he or she has taken full advantage of the opportunity for a Centenary education.
“The faculty and administration believed in me then,” says Ponce. “As of that moment, I continue to strive to be the best that I can be in my studies and everything that I do. I continue to live my life in that manner today by constantly thinking about making Centenary proud, as well as my family. In addition, I manage my career in a wise and ethical manner. My life changed forever on the day that I received that award.”
Ponce continues to give back to his alma mater. He serves as an adjunct professor who co-developed and teaches Professional Selling in Sports. He has over 11 years of experience in the sports industry. He got his start as an Inside Sales Representative with the New Jersey Nets and quickly became a rising star in the sports world. While he was the Manager of Inside Sales for the Nets, he was able to grow the Inside Sales Team revenue by over 200% and was able to develop nine members of his staff into Account Executives internally and was able to place several members in similar positions externally. From there, he has taken his passion into Major League Soccer with the New York Red Bulls.
Once again, he has been able to rise through the ranks of the club starting as Manager of Inside Sales and growing into his current role as the Director of Sales, Service & Ticket Operations. In this position, he oversees all the new sales efforts for the club as well as the retention of the membership base. At the same time, he is working with the Ticket Operations Department to continue to develop new ways to have the most current ticketing technology and to stay in front when it comes to innovation in ticket sales.
Founded in 1867 by the Newark Conference of the United Methodist Church, Centenary University is an independent, coeducational liberal arts and career studies college distinguished by an accomplished faculty, small class size and diverse student body. Centenary is the only baccalaureate and master’s degree granting institution in northwest New Jersey.
Centenary University’s main campus is located in Hackettstown, N.J., with its equestrian facility in Washington Township (Morris County). The Centenary University School of Professional Studies offers degree programs online and in the following locations: Parsippany, Edison and at corporate sites throughout New Jersey. The School of International Programs recruits international students for study at Centenary and Centenary students for study abroad opportunities.
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