Carol Fischer: Class of '80

"Blessed to be a Bonnie" 

      

Carol Fischer

Class of ’80 

Carol Fischer has always been someone who enjoys reading a good book and grabbing any type of opportunity to learn something new. Her drive and love for education and learning are what made her so successful and proud of her career. She relates so much of her success back to her years as a student at St. Bonaventure University.

Carol first came across St. Bonaventure University on three separate occasions. The first visit was with her high school when Carol and a group of students came for Press Day. The second visit was for Modern Languages Day and the third was when she and four other friends (including Lauren Matz from a previous blog) did an overnight visit to the college. During her three visits to the university, Carol really enjoyed the school activities, busy events, and beautiful campus. Carol also grew up outside Buffalo in Kenmore, NY so she thought that the campus was a perfect distance away from home.

“The true clincher was what others were saying about the campus. I received letters and phone calls from current students asking me about my decision and really giving me good details of the programs. Hearing that from people my age confirmed that St. Bonaventure was the school for me.”

Carol Fischer started her freshman year at St. Bonaventure in the fall of 1976 as a psychology major but in her sophomore year switched to accounting. As Carol reminisces about her favorite moments spent as an undergraduate, a few memories came to mind.

“My favorite memory would have to be going to basketball games with my floor. Basketball games were the thing to do and each floor would have their own shirts with nicknames printed on them. All the students would fill the wooden bleachers down by the court in the Reilly Center. It was a mad house but always a great bonding experience. Along with our floors, we would also do a lot of fun events like cocktail parties which were my personal favorite.”

Coming from a household of seven siblings, Carol has always had a big place in her heart for family. Being away from them at school was difficult for her at times but she found peace with her home sick feelings by attending mass on campus.

“Since I am one of seven, it was hard for me at first to be living away from my family. I found, however, that when I attended the masses on campus, people from town would bring their children. This always made me feel better because it eased the feeling of missing my family. I was able to surround myself with kids who were close to my siblings’ ages and it gave me a sense of comfort.”

  Carol graduated from St. Bonaventure University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in Accounting.

 Carol moved to Buffalo after graduation and started working for the accounting firm Price Waterhouse. She later left what was then one of the big eight accounting firms to go work for a client of the company called Merchants Insurance Group. During this time she also applied for, and got accepted into MBA at SUNY Buffalo.  

Carol received her Certified Public Accountant license (CPA) and her Master of Business Administration (MBA). At this point, Carol was interested in the teaching aspect of accounting and wanted to pursue that type of career.

“What appealed to me about teaching was the flexibility. I had already done my time in the office setting and I was ready to experience a new aspect of accounting.”

Carol taught as an adjunct at Damon College until her five-year reunion when she shared with her old professors that she wanted to be a teacher.

“I was sitting with old professors of mine and discussing how I had just accepted a position at Daemon College and really wanted to pursue the field of teaching. As soon as I said those words, my professors were eager to say how there was an opening here at the university for me to teach. So by the fall of 1985, I was teaching in accounting and finance.”

 By the fall of 1988, Carol and her husband came to the realization that they wanted to pursue their PhDs. Both she and her husband, who was also teaching at Bonaventure, took a leave of absence and moved to Pennsylvania to attend Pennsylvania State University.

“We chose Penn State because it was a practical distance away and we believed that the PhD program could be completed in a reasonable amount of time. My husband received his PhD in four years and I received mine in four and a half. During this period, we also had our first two children so it was a very busy time for us.”

After being involved with the program for awhile Carol and her husband returned to Bonaventure where she finished her dissertation and began teaching again and still is to this day.

Now that Carol is back teaching at the school where it all started for her, and has taken on the role as Dr. Fisher, she does view the university differently.

“I have more of a balanced view. I see St. Bonaventure’s strength and weaknesses. There will always be a place in my heart for this university. One of the main things that I learned from being a teacher is the sacrifice professors give for their students.”

Looking back on her teaching career, Carol says that the favorite aspect of her career always comes back to her students.

“The biggest reward for me is when I have students come up and tell me that I have made a difference in their lives. This feeling of reward has evolved over time with years of experience and age as a teacher. We teachers are here for the students and when you are told that you are doing it right, it’s the most humbling feeling. I will never get over that type of emotion.”