SIUE School of Business Alumni Stories
Department of Accounting
Though he now lives in Belleville, Justin Price still knows SIUE pretty well. He should considering he finished both his graduate and undergraduate degrees in accounting as a cougar. Price graduated with his bachelor’s in 2011 and his master’s in 2012.
Currently, he works as a manager at CLA (CliftonLarsonAllen LLP), a firm that he says fits his career goals perfectly. Even with a successful career, Price balances organizational work and currently serves as the Director for the SIUE Accounting Department Alumni Advisory Board. He balances that with a positions as the Vice President on Executive Committee for Board of Directors of greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce and as a Director at Caritas Family Solutions.
When asked what he enjoyed most about his time at SIUE, Price cited the support the accounting department provided him: “I wouldn’t be where I am today if it wasn’t for all of the support the accounting department provided. They were outstanding not only in providing me with technical skills in practice and theory, but they also helped me navigate how to build my career, what to look for in an employer, how to interview, how to be successful in a professional environment, and many of the other soft skills necessary to make a successful transition into a professional career.”
Department of Computer Management and Information Systems
Jeffrey Loyet, a Glen Carbon, IL resident, spent his time at SIUE putting in the work both a student worker and later as a staff member. He graduated in 2000 with a BS in Computer and Management Information Systems. In this interview Loyet spoke about his experience as an “older, non-traditional” student who focused on his education while still finding time enjoy his college years. “The campus was growing by leaps and bounds and it always seemed like there were new opportunities arriving all over campus almost daily.” Today, he’s part of the Society for Information Management, the CIO Roundtable, and SIUE’s own CMIS Steering Committee
Currently, Loyet works as the Vice President Information Technology of Potter Electric Signal Compan. There, he’s proud to say proud to say that he had a substantial hand in reshaping a piece of the fire alarm market by providing the infrastructure and resources needed to make Potter’s own brand of Fire Alarm Panels. This was a first for Potter and Loyet helped them differentiate themselves form competitors. PESC created panels that were able to communicate via email to those who monitor and maintain them. It was Loyet’s work that made the panels work once they were installed. He credits SIUE for his skill in this: “The basis for this echnology I can take all the way back to my days of working at SIUE and maintaining the campus network and servers.”
Department of Economics and Finance
Currently living in Weldon Springs, MO, Scott Thoma is pretty familiar with the ins and outs of SIUE. He graduated with his BS in Business Administration in 1998 and his MS in Econ/Finance in 2000.
Today he’s working as a Principal for Edward Jones and also leads one of the firm’s Research Department’s Strategy Teams. There, he was named as the co-chair of the Investment Policy Committee. Thoma was also named a St. Louis Business Journal's 40 under 40 in 2016. Even amongst those accomplishments, Thoma cites his role as a husband and father as his most important achievement.
Thoma still takes time to give back to SIUE as he serves on the advisory board for the School of Business. He manages this in between his work on the board for CharacterPlus and his role as a deacon at Waypoint Church.
When asked what he enjoyed most about his time at SIUE, Thoma honed in on the relationships he’d made along the way: “I still keep in contact with several of my professors who were instrumental in preparing me for the career I have today.” There was one more relationship Thoma said he was thankful to SIUE for: he met his wife at Tower Lake (now Cougar Village) building 522.Department of Management and Marketing
Though he now lives in Pontoon Beach, Ill., Josef Bosnyak actually started his own business, JB Smartphone Repair, in 2015 while going to school full-time and working at a motorcycle shop in Edwardsville. He began with purely mobile repairs by doing repairs in customers’ homes, school, places of employment, or anywhere else most convenient for them. JB Smartphone Repair has been in business for four years now and hired its first employee in January.
Bosnyak graduated in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration focused in both Computer Management Information Systems and Entrepreneurship. When asked what he enjoyed most about SIUE, Bosnyak said, “I really enjoyed networking and making friends with students and teachers at SIUE. Networking with people from all walks of life gave me a chance to see the world through other people's eyes and it really helped me to figure out myself and where I stood in life.”
Bosnyak is a member Troy/Maryville/St. Jacob/Marine Chamber of Commerce as well as an active member in many of the local car enthusiast groups. Passion for automobiles is something Bosnyak took to time to explore during his time at SIUE and he says his relationships are better for it, “through the SIUE Car Enthusiast group, I found a community of really great people who support each other in every aspect of life. Without these friends that are practically family, I probably wouldn't have stayed in the area after college.”
