November 12, 2012
Valerie Sodano ’49CBA has always been determined to turn
challenges into opportunities, and opportunities into
success.
She
was a gifted student in high school, and when she realized that her
family didn’t have the means to pay for her college education,
Sodano decided that her only choice was to get a job during the day
and earn her undergraduate degree at night. Taking evening classes
after a full day of work wasn’t easy, and most of her studying took
place on the subway during the trip from Manhattan to St. John’s
Brooklyn campus on Schermerhorn Street.
“I worked full-time during the day for my entire education,” she
recalled, “and took all of my classes at night, up until the day I
graduated. I went to night school at St. John’s for my B.S. in
Management, and then to NYU for my M.B.A. and Ph.D. It took
me 14 years to get my three degrees, but I enjoyed every minute of
it. I learned so much in the business world, and that helped me to
really appreciate what I was getting in the classroom. I won’t say
that it was easy, but my education meant so much to me that it was
definitely worth the effort.”
Sodano’s connection to St. John’s spans more than 60 years. She
readily acknowledges that her undergraduate degree, which she
earned summa cum laude, provided a solid foundation for two
successful careers, first in business and later in higher
education. After a successful stint in the corporate world, serving
as a Financial Analyst for Mobil Oil Corporation, she became a
Professor of Management at St. John’s University, followed by her
appointment as Chair and Professor of Management at the University
of Bridgeport.
Never a professor who used precious classroom time to simply
paraphrase the textbook, she incorporated her extensive business
experience into each of her lectures, strongly believing that her
students would benefit from the values that she learned in what she
always referred to as “the real world.”
“The students appreciated that I had so much business experience,”
she said. “I always told my students that I didn’t teach from the
textbook, because the textbook was primarily for background
reading. My students really enjoyed that approach, and I think that
they were able to carry that information with them when they
started out on their own careers. That sense of practicality is one
of the best things that I got from my own education at St. John’s,
and I’ll always remember fondly my time here on both sides of the
classroom desk.”
And that’s not the only reason the University holds a special place
in her heart. It was here that the outgoing and vivacious Valerie
Marek met Gerard Sodano ’49CBA, a fellow classmate in St.
John’s College of Business Administration who would one day become
her husband.
“I was late for one of my classes and ended up taking a seat behind
this handsome young man,” she remembered. “We started speaking to
each other and nearly got tossed out of class by our professor, who
didn’t appreciate the disruption. We were certainly attracted to
each other and enjoyed being together, but our paths took slightly
different directions after graduation. I was working and going to
graduate school and Gerry was establishing himself in his career,
and so it wasn’t until a few years later that we were finally able
to marry. We had a wonderful life together, and St. John’s has
always been a part of it.”
Sadly, Gerard Sodano passed away in 2010.
The Sodanos have always been among St. John’s most loyal alumni and
generous donors. Maintaining her own commitment and her late
husband’s legacy, She continues to support the University as a
member of The Loughlin Society, a premier group reserved for St.
John’s most generous donors, and as a member of The McCallen
Society, an exclusive group of donors who seek to ensure the
University’s future by including it in their estate plans. Most
recently, her generosity provided for the establishment of the
Sodano Coffee House on the Queens campus.
“Gerry and I both had a love of education,” she said, “and we both
appreciated what was done for us. I think that from the day Gerry
and I graduated we were making donations to St. John’s. Every year
we gave a little bit more, and then when Gerry passed away I wanted
to have him remembered because he really loved St. John’s. A lot of
our success was because of St. John’s, and not only the fine
academics. We were also taught and encouraged to believe in
ourselves.”
Over the years, a grateful University has conferred a number of
awards upon these very special members of the St. John’s
family.
In 1995 she received the President’s Medal, awarded to outstanding
individuals in recognition of the extraordinary service and support
that they have rendered to the University as well as the external
community-at-large. Four years later, both Valerie and Gerry
received the Pietas Medal, awarded to outstanding graduates who
have demonstrated a lifetime of extraordinary loyalty and fidelity
to the University. St. John’s honored them again in 2004 with the
Fidelitas Award, presented to alumni couples who have demonstrated
exceptional fidelity and love for each other and St. John’s.
“Looking back, I really appreciate what St. John’s has done for so
many people, and that includes my husband and I,” she mused. “Gerry
and I would like to be remembered simply as two people with a love
of education, and a dedication to giving students the opportunity
that they wouldn’t ordinarily have. I know that today’s students
are working just as hard to succeed as we did, and if I can help
them along the way, I’m ready to do it. Gerry would feel the same
way.”