Deborah A. Young, a lecturer in management at California State University, Fresno’s Craig School of business, has received the Dr. Harold Haak Award for Educational Excellence from the Fresno Compact.

Young, director of Internships and Applied Experiences at the Craig School, works every year to provide students with internships and business experience in the local community. Under her direction some students also get the opportunity to intern, gain experience and work abroad.

“Employers want graduates with relevant work experience and we have found that exposing students to the actual business world is transforming,” Young said in receiving her award from the compact.

The organization is an alliance of business, community leaders and schools dedicated to helping students develop skills and knowledge that will lead to higher-education and career success.

Since joining Fresno State in 2000, Young has helped over 250 students a year obtain internships and gain valuable work experience. She is a 1981 graduate of the University of Arizona and worked in health care management before receiving an MBA from Pittsburg State University in Kansas.

The Haak Award honors the memory of the Fresno State president from 1980-91, who died in 2003. He was the Fresno Compact’s first executive director.

The award recognizes someone among the compact’s educational partners who has cultivated business partnerships over a period of time.

(Copy by University Communications news intern Amanda Fine.)