Alexander Slawinski ’20 is a Saint Peter’s University student and Innovation Fellow through the Ignite Institute at Saint Peter’s University who has already built an impressive resume. Slawinski is a junior finance major and resident assistant, minoring in business administration and philosophy from Carteret, N.J. In addition to working on one major and two minors, he was recently selected for the 2018-2019 CFA Research Challenge with the CFA Institute in Manhattan and for the Goldman Sachs Local College Collaborative program. He completed two internships last summer, is a member of the Division I baseball team and is a frequent volunteer at The Campus Kitchen.
The Ignite Innovation Fellows Program is an initiative that pairs students with local micro-businesses, small businesses, nonprofits and entrepreneurs to strengthen their organizations. The specific businesses are facing challenges that the students are tasked with solving. Sondra Buesing Riley, director of cooperative education and internship program in the Center for Career Engagement and Experiential Learning (CEEL), recommended Slawinski to Joseph Gilkey Jr., M.B.A., chair of the data science and consumer science program and assistant professor of business administration, for the program. Slawinski was accepted and assigned to Cooperative Preferred Realty, owned by Grisell Romero. He has been assisting Romero and her team since October 2017 and plans to continue up to graduation. Cooperative Preferred Realty is located in the Jersey City Heights and has a team of over 10 agents and an abundance of listings. Slawinski helps market their listings and manages Cooperative’s social media accounts. Through his efforts, he was able to acquire five full-time agents with field experience in New Jersey for the realty.
“I came to the realization that social media users preferred posts that emphasized recreation, oppose to vocation,” Slawinski said. “We were able to launch programs such as ‘Mural Monday’ and ‘Foodie Friday’ that showcased murals throughout Jersey City, as well as food dishes from local restaurants. Through quantitative data analytics, interaction on social media increased by over 60%.”
When he was on break from Cooperative Preferred Realty this summer, he worked two internships, one at Hudson Kitchen, a food and beverage incubator in northern New Jersey, as a marketing intern and at Palladium Property Group, an international commercial real estate and private equity firm specializing in luxury real estate based in Manhattan as a private equity intern. At Palladium he analyzed and investigated prospective client financial performance information, tracked market data, prepared quantitative financial modeling analyses 
and investor presentation materials for conferences. Slawinski also fostered the growth of an emerging new fund through in-house and digital research tools to determine potential investors.
“Alex has been our intern for the past four months. During that time he has been a very valuable part of our group,” said Brandon Bressan, founder and president of Palladium Property Group, “Alex has assisted us with marketing, advertising, property analysis and networking and has helped us expand our brand and increase our exposure through investment forum conference attendances. He has been extremely reliable and it was a pleasure to have him join us for the 2018 summer.”
At his second internship at Hudson Kitchen, the brainchild of Djenaba Johnson-Jones, who serves as founder and CEO, Slawinski was the head of a summer social media campaign focused on landing new and reputable clientele. Here, he also conducted individual company research and created new standard operation procedures to enhance the efficiency of Hudson Kitchen by 88%.
“Alex was instrumental in helping to create awareness and grow engagement for Hudson Kitchen through an Instagram direct message campaign. He is intelligent with a strong work ethic. Even though Alex had two internships this past summer, he was still able to deliver favorable results for my brand,” said Johnson-Jones.
“Having the ability to converse with over 170 food businesses throughout New Jersey was an enjoyable experience because I was able to examine problems that each business was burdened with and determine how Hudson Kitchen could remedy those challenges,” Slawinski said about his internship with Hudson Kitchen. “Working and being able to strategize with Djenaba was fantastic because she is very assiduous and goal-oriented,” he added.
It wasn’t always easy for Slawinski, “At first, it was difficult being 19 years old and making recommendations on how to conduct certain business methods, but after establishing trust and pedigree, that challenge disappeared,” Slawinski said of his experience in the Ignite Fellows Program working with Cooperative Preferred Realty. “A prominent reason why I have been so successful at Cooperative is undoubtedly due to the fact that Grisell is such a pleasure to work with and learn from.”
The Ignite Fellows program is supported by the PSEG Foundation. Through their support, the Innovation Fellows Program was able to exceed its annual partnership goal, including working with 16 businesses. Some of the participants include McGinley Square Pub, Brennan’s Florist and Fine Gifts, Jersey Girls Food Tours and Jersey City Veggie Burgers. To learn more about the Saint Peter’s University School of Business and becoming an Ignite Innovation Fellow, click here.