July 11, 2011
Petrina DiGangi ’91MBA has one major piece of advice for
graduating seniors:
“Stay connected to St. John’s University.”
This alumna certainly practices what she preaches. Since 1996,
DiGangi has been an active member of St. John’s The Peter J. Tobin
College of Business Alumni Association (TCBAA), serving as
Secretary, Vice President and Board Chair at various points. She
cites the Association as one of many reasons she loves remaining
connected to St. John’s.
“A number of my former classmates are still dear, dear friends of
mine,” she said. “This sense of family is what St. John’s is all
about, this sense of community. Throughout my career, I’ve never
hesitated to pick up the phone and call any one of them for advice
or with questions. That’s what made me join the TCBAA back in 1996
and here I am, still a member in 2011.”
DiGangi has had an impressive career in the business world, having
served as Vice President of J.P. Morgan Chase, Interim Executive
Director of The Children’s Hope Foundation and, most recently,
Deputy Commissioner of Parks, Recreations and Museums for Nassau
County. She’s quick to credit her St. John’s education – and
especially her long-lasting St. John’s friendships – with having
helped her achieve this success.
“Having my M.B.A. from a place like St. John’s is huge, because the
University is so well respected and recognized,” she noted. “But
the sense of family was equally important for my career. When I
look back at what many of us on the board have been through over
the years – we’ve had both successes and tragedies in our lives,
and our friends on the board have been with us every step of the
way. It’s a matter of truly being friends outside of St. John’s and
helping each other throughout our lives.”
For DiGangi, staying connected to St. John’s goes well beyond
simply attending alumni events. She strives to help current
students, to ensure that future graduates of TCB will be prepared
to enter the “real world.”
“During my tenure as President, we started to allow a current
student to sit on the board,” she recalled. “This person is an
active, voting member of the board, and we felt that was really
important. It allows the rest of us to hear the student perspective
and tells us how to best reach out to them.”
There are a number of events that are geared towards current
students, including the annual TCBAA Networking Reception, an
instructional presentation on how to use LinkedIn and opportunities
for speed networking. DiGangi hopes that events like these help the
current students to develop strong connections to St. John’s – just
like she did.
“I was asked to be the keynote speaker at Commencement in 2003, and
I was truly honored,” she said. “What I told the students then, I
still firmly believe today. You can put in your four years, get
your diploma and walk out of those gates at Utopia Parkway and
never turn around. If you do, you’ll be doing yourself a huge
disservice. Don’t look at your diploma as a get-out-of-jail
card.”
She added, “Your diploma is actually an invitation to be part of
the St. John’s community. That’s how I viewed it, and I’m so glad I
did.”