The Jandoli School of Communication will honor senior strategic communication major Tierney McGilvray as the 2019 Mary A. Hamilton Woman of Promise on Thursday.

McGilvray will receive the award at 4 p.m. ceremony Thursday in the auditorium of the William F. Walsh Science Center on campus. The program is free and open to the public.

St. Bonaventure alumna Mary Jo Polidore, ’78, owner and president of Executive Management and Communications in Roanoke, Texas, will deliver the keynote address.

The annual award is named in honor of Dr. Mary Hamilton, ’59, retired associate professor and professor emerita with the Jandoli School of Communication. The Woman of Promise Award recognizes a female student from the Jandoli School who has excelled in and out of the classroom, set an example for peers and demonstrated great promise for success in future endeavors.

McGilvray, who is from Buffalo, is president of the university’s American Advertising Federation chapter and president of Her Campus SBU.

Her passions for creativity and leadership have led her to pursue a career in the realm of advertising post-graduation.

This summer, McGilvray plans to take on a graduate-intern position in advertising in a major city where she can explore her interests across advertising including creative, social media, media, PR, and planning.

“I’m so incredibly honored to be named a Woman of Promise by my J-School professors and mentors,” said McGilvray. “I’ve always believed everything I do is a reflection of how I was raised. I owe this award to the people that raised me —  my parents, my brother, and my J-School professors.”

McGilvray is grateful for the wisdom and confidence she’s gained from her McGilvray and Bonaventure families.

“Accepting this award is a promise to them. I promise to be a reflection of their undying support and encouragement in my next unwritten chapter,” she said.

Polidore has led strategic communications for nonprofits and Fortune 500 companies for more than 40 years. Graduating with a B.A. in journalism and mass communication from St. Bonaventure, she began her career in banking, then broadened her experience to industry leading corporate communications for organizations like Crouse-Hinds Division of Cooper Industries, Lockheed Martin, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.

She has also owned and operated her own communications firm. Throughout her career, she has led her teams in award-winning programs earning Cooper Industry and Lockheed Martin communication awards, International Business Awards, American Business Awards, Airports Council International Awards and various industry PR awards.

Polidore has been active in the communities in which she has served, was Volunteer of the Year for Onondaga County, earned the Dallas chapter’s Women of Visionary Influence award for corporate leader, and has volunteered with arts and human service agencies such as the United Way. 

A member of the Advisory Council for the Jandoli School of Communication, Polidore and her husband, Chris, live in Keller, Texas, and have four adult children.

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