The Original "Schmitt"
Technology executive Mark Schmitt, '84, remembers his time as a Bona Buddy
During the first 23 years of his life as an alumnus of St. Bonaventure University, Mark Schmitt didn’t have to worry about being mistaken: he was the only person associated with the university to have that name.
On April 10, 2007 — after the hiring of a new basketball
coach at his alma mater — that changed.
Since then, despite a one letter difference in their last
names, an inadvertent link has formed with the man who has led Bonaventure’s
men’s basketball program into a renaissance of winning. And, as far as the
original “Schmitt,” a native of northern Virginia and a faithful follower of
the program his “name twin” now leads, is concerned — it’s not a problem at
all.
"I brought a
couple of guys from my area up to a Bonaventure game last year and they all had
a good laugh when they heard the coach’s name,” he said.
While the man with whom he shares the same verbal name
has certainly found his success on the sidelines of the Reilly Center,
Schmitt’s most satisfying success has come from a life filled with changing the
lives of others — something that began as a college student through the Bona
Buddies youth mentoring program.
“I was looking for ways to get involved in the community,
so as to do something outside of school and intramural sports as a way to try
to find a balance and give back a bit,” Schmitt, a 1984 graduate, said about
his decision to give back while in college.
That “balance” became weekly meetings with his Bona Buddy,
Zack.
“We did a lot of reading and a lot of tutoring,” he said.
“There were these cool things coming out: electronic games — I was fascinated
with them and his parents bought them for us to use. Although they were
electronic educational games, we still did reading with them. It was good fun.
“I think there’s a criticality for being there as a
mentor,” Schmitt added. “This young man had a very intent mom and dad so that
was perfect, but this was another opportunity for him to have a data point and
example.”
Having college friends as a nine-year-old probably helped
Zack’s development, too, Schmitt noted.
“He didn’t know too many college kids, so it was an
opportunity for us to share the college life,” he said.
After receiving his degree in
accounting from St. Bonaventure in 1984, Schmitt went on to become a certified
public accountant before pursuing a master’s in business administration from
the College of William & Mary in 1989. He then started the work chapter of
his life in management consulting at KPMG.
From there, he began a nearly three-decade career as an
executive in the tech industry and today serves as director of strategic sales
at Accenture.
The common thread in his life, however, has always been a
willingness to serve.
“That’s always been a part of the Franciscan tradition
and is something that I do still,” he said, noting his involvement serving on
the executive board and as treasurer of Good Shepherd Alliance, the largest
homeless shelter in Loudoun County, Virginia.
“We built a number of homeless shelters and so I was able
to parlay what I was doing in the Franciscan tradition into this work with a
Christian organization.”
After the graduation of his youngest daughter in 2018,
Schmitt took his longing to serve to another level.
Calling it a “year sabbatical,” Schmitt traveled the
world, choosing to use the time not as a vacation, but as a major service trip.
A volunteer with the Red Cross and a certified emergency
response vehicle driver, Schmitt traveled to help with the aftermath of
Hurricane Florence. His travels also took him through a tour of service duty in
Tanzania.
Schmitt’s mix of volunteer work and travel during this
time received coverage from the BBC, Forbes and other news outlets, which highlighted his choice of
taking a “golden gap year” to more fully explore the world and to give back.
“I did a bunch of adventures,” he said. “I lived in a
Scottish castle for a couple of weeks and worked in their gardens and farms.
They don’t charge you — you work for your place to stay and food. It was just
really fun.”
Schmitt credits his time as a Bona Buddy mentor for
setting him on a path to a lifetime of helping others.
“Bona Buddies was just such a great opportunity,” he
said. “Giving back has just been a huge part of my life and something I still
continue to do to this day.”
By Cameron Hurst, '19