Stephen Scott

DANBURY, Connecticut — Danbury resident Stephen Scott knows a thing or two about business acumen and fiscal responsibility. Recently named the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Walden Savings Bank in Orange County, New York, Scott has risen through the ranks in the banking industry since his days as a student at Western Connecticut State University in the early 2000s.

Growing up in Danbury, Scott knew that he had an affordable university close to home. Attending WCSU allowed him to work part-time and attend classes when it was convenient for him. “By commuting, I could work 20-30 hours per week at Union Savings Bank on Mill Plain Road and still take the required classes due to the university’s flexible course schedule,” Scott said. “The flexibility of going back and forth between the bank and WCSU Westside campus plus the abilistudy and get my classwork done taught me time management skills that impact my work performance to this day. Learning how to prioritize your time is critically important as you grow in your professional career.”

When he enrolled at WCSU after graduating from Danbury High School in 2001, Scott started as an undeclared major and took classes in a variety of subjects to see what interested him. By his junior year, he determined that he wanted to focus on management and began to pursue a path toward a Bachelor of Business Administration in Supervisory Management from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)-accredited Ancell School of Business.

“In my senior year at WCSU, I had the best experiences,” Scott said. “The professors and management classes I took were relevant with what was going on in my life at the time. What they were teaching, I was also learning on the job. I used these skills to advance my career with Union Savings Bank and then GE Capital as Senior Manager, Global Loan Operations.”

After several years at GE Capital, Scott said he returned to community banking as Chief Operating Officer at Fieldpoint Private in Greenwich, Connecticut, and later as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at Salisbury Bank in Lakeville, Connecticut. During that time, he participated in the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School Leadership Program at the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and obtained both a Stonier diploma and a Wharton Leadership Certificate.

“I didn’t go directly from my undergraduate degree to graduate school because I really wanted to develop a passion for the field I was working in and be able to make a difference,” Scott said. “I think it’s important to work in a career first before attending graduate school. That way you don’t have the financial burden or accumulate student loan debt without having career direction.

“Even though it had been nearly 15 years since I had graduated from WCSU,” Scott continued, “the Ancell School of Business has a great reputation and, when coupled with strong work experience, the graduate schools take that into consideration. The advantage is not graduating from either with significant student loan debt so you can enjoy other areas of your life. I hope students can learn from my experience at WCSU and enjoy the same career success.”

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.