About AMP:  Molloy College's Alumni Association began the Alumni of the Month Program (AMP) in 2005. Each month, the Alumni Relations Office of Molloy College features a story about one of our alumni. The program is designed to recognize exceptional alumni who make a difference, either by making achievements in his/her chosen field; philanthropy; balancing work and life; or showing a true commitment to the community and is thereby living the Dominican Tradition of Molloy College and the Alumni Association.

Amanda R. Frisone
Computer Science Major
Class of 2003

I grew up in Lynbrook, Long Island and attended Molloy College from 1999 – 2003.  I recently got married on December 6, 2009 and now reside in Staten Island, NY.  Since I graduated Molloy, many excited events have occurred in both my personal and business lives, and I’m happy to share that attending Molloy has contributed to my success and happiness.

Describe your career/life choices and how you came to be doing what you are now:
As a student at Molloy College, I majored in Computer Science and minored in Business Management.   At the time, I was the only female in my Computer Science classes and knew that I could benefit by being a minority in the computer industry.  I’ve always had a high interest in computers and technology and felt even more empowered as a woman that I could “lead the way” for women in the future who held an interest in this field.   I even worked for Molloy’s IT Help Desk for awhile so I could assist faculty and fellow students with all of their computer needs.

The combination of graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and Business Management has benefited my career choices and encouraged me to open my own consulting company.  Before opening my own business, I applied my computer knowledge and worked in industries including home decorating, automotive detailing and jewelry design.  Although, each industry held great potential and was very interesting on a day to day basis, I wanted to broaden the spectrum on a larger scale and possibly combine every type of industry together.

I decided to use all of my career experiences and opened my own computer consulting company – Frisco Trading, LLC – in order to assist any company in any industry with computer/technology needs.  These services include website designing/maintenance, digital and photo editing, designing flyers/postcards, database organization, SEO Marketing, etc.  Since almost every industry involves computers nowadays, I can apply my experiences and knowledge wherever it is needed and hold different job titles per client.  For example, I am a Business Marketing Analyst for one of my top clients Rising Results, Inc.  This is an online marketing firm in the education and tourism industry, and I assist in designing education/vacation forms for advertising purposes and analyze the data accrued.

In addition to applying my creative talents in the computer and technology industry, I decided to open another business in the Baking industry – Mrs. Crabtree’s Customized Cakes.  I designed my own website www.mrscrabtree.com and feature customized cakes, cupcakes and cookies.  I’ve always enjoyed baking, but as I became older, I knew that I wanted to take my creativity to a whole new level and – again – broaden the spectrum.  Due to my computer background, I was able to design, market and supply the products for my company on my own.   Today’s e-commerce industry allows me to be able to be the owners of both companies and manage everything through the world of technology.

What is the most rewarding aspect of your job?
The most rewarding aspect of my jobs is that I enjoy applying my knowledge/talents in every type of industry and I never know what to expect day to day.  It keeps my jobs “fresh” with new and exciting possibilities all the time.  I love that I can use my creativity in both the business world, as well as, baking industry.  It is rewarding for me to teach and assist others with their own companies by helping them advertise and manage their businesses.  It is also very rewarding to see the smiles on people’s faces once they see and taste a Mrs. Crabtree dessert.  Although both scenarios are very different, they both share the same outcome of happiness and satisfaction.

Who are your role models?
My role models are other strong women and more personally – my mother and sister.  I was raised to always “Shoot for the Stars” and never give up on my dreams.  I tend to listen to my inner-being and follow my heart in all aspects of my life.  My mother is very creative and helped me discover talents that I didn’t even know I had.  She encouraged any interest I had, rather than discourage - which meant growing up I played sports, danced ballet and played musical instruments.  And even though it was obvious I was not too graceful when it came to dancing, my mother still didn’t discourage me (I just learned on my own that I should stick to sports.)

My sister is a role model to me because she also started her own business.  As a Molloy Alumni, she too, has several talents and creativity which has transformed her company into a big success.  She has inspired me to never give up and to always be opened to new ideas. An important motto that she has taught me is that there is always a way to accomplish something – Nothing is impossible.  She’s right.  I’ve learned that as long as I try my best and set my mind to something, I can accomplish my goals.

How do you balance work and life?
As a newlywed, balancing work and life is very important to me.  I don’t want my jobs to take priority over my “new start to life”, but at the same time – they are very important during this stage in life. 

I believe weekends should be taken advantage of as “breaks for the brain”, so I try to leave them open and enjoy them with my husband, family and friends.  My consulting business occupies the work week and baking events are usually held on the weekends, so sometimes things can be very busy.  However, I’m happy to say that I have a very supportive husband who will throw on an apron if I need help baking (smile).

What advice would you give to current students?
My advice for current students is to stay encouraged – not discouraged.  When I was a student at Molloy and realized that I was the only girl in Computer Science at the time, there were times that I thought that this wasn’t a good industry for women.  I also had a handful of people try to convince me to lean towards Teaching or Nursing – Molloy’s strong majors at the time – but I stood by my dreams and followed my heart instead.

It’s very important to understand that not succeeding in something, does not mean you failed.  Success usually results from a string of failures that you learn from in your past. I believe it’s always best to give something your best shot, instead of letting an opportunity pass you by and never knowing what could have been. My best advice for anyone is to be a Leader – not a Follower.  Being a Leader leaves a world of opportunity at your fingertips and an open horizon for a successful future.