Allie Schadoff ’22 lays out her post-graduation plans to make dream weddings come true
In a moment when people across the U.S. are racing to get back to activities they put off during the worst of the pandemic, one recent SUNY New Paltz graduate hears a business opportunity in the sound of wedding bells.
Long Island resident Allie Schadoff ’22 (Entrepreneurship; Accounting) spent much of her time at New Paltz mastering the fundamentals of business management and entrepreneurship, laying the groundwork for her own wedding planning firm, Supernova Weddings, which she hopes to launch soon.
Perhaps most impactful was her experience in the College’s Entrepreneurship and Business Planning course. This capstone experience for business students requires research and teamwork, and culminates in presentations on campus and at competitions. Schadoff was part of a team that won a first-place prize at the 2021 Mid-Hudson Valley Business Plan Competition, and received the “Minority and Woman in Business Enterprise Award” from the New York State Business Plan Competition.
“I took a lot of what I learned from my entrepreneurship and business planning course, where we created a business from scratch, and applied them to my Supernova Weddings project,” Schadoff said. “New Paltz really helped me in not only sounding confident, but actually being confident in my skill set.”
She supplemented that work with engagement in the School of Business and beyond. The Honors Program member served as president of the New Paltz Management Association, member of the Business Dean’s Student Advisory Board, teacher’s assistant for the Entrepreneurship Program and the Center for Student Engagement‘s virtual event coordinator, all while maintaining a 3.85 GPA.
“It has been my pleasure to watch Allie evolve from a nervous student to competent businesswoman,” said Chris Napolitano, lecturer in entrepreneurship and one of Schadoff’s faculty mentors. “She is one of those people who will always try and land on her feet, even if she gets knocked down or faces difficulty.”
Preparing for the “wedding boom”
All indications are that the time is right for a young professional looking to enter the wedding planning industry. With the peaks of the pandemic behind us, Schadoff is anticipating a “wedding boom” and positioning herself to support couples who have been waiting for their moment to walk down the aisle.
“The next few years are projected to be the busiest wedding period ever recorded, and Supernova Weddings will be there to guide couples on their special day,” said Schadoff.
More than just a business opportunity, this is a passion project for the recent graduate. Schadoff grew up fascinated with weddings, a fan of popular TV shows such as “Say Yes to the Dress,” and has held jobs in the past assisting wedding planners on site.
“I think I’m just a hopeless romantic,” she said. “I love love.”
More information about the new Bachelor’s in Entrepreneurship at SUNY New Paltz is available here.