{"id":36088,"date":"2021-02-26T22:04:33","date_gmt":"2021-02-26T22:04:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.golive.clarku.edu\/graduate-education\/2021\/02\/26\/alumni-pay-it-forward\/"},"modified":"2026-02-27T15:37:58","modified_gmt":"2026-02-27T15:37:58","slug":"alumni-pay-it-forward","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/graduate-education\/2021\/02\/26\/alumni-pay-it-forward\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni pay it forward"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Students<\/a><\/p>\n

Throughout the pandemic, School of Management<\/a> Assistant Dean Laura Burgess has been impressed by the efforts of student leaders who have reached out to their peers and planned meaningful virtual student activities. As a way to reward them and provide additional leadership training during this year\u2019s COVID-extended winter break, Burgess created a noncredit Student Leadership Certificate program, enlisting alumni involvement with the help of Laurie Cormier, University Advancement\u2019s SOM liaison.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were many students in club leadership positions who put so much thought and effort into the SOM community and their classmates, despite the pandemic,\u201d said Burgess. \u201cI wanted to find a way to thank them with something useful, something lasting, other than just a token gift.\u201d<\/p>\n

Twenty graduate and undergraduate students were selected for the six week program. With Cormier\u2019s help, Burgess formatted the curriculum to include participation in weekly alumni-led workshops on leadership-related topics, including intercultural communication, marketing and branding, and team motivation. While some topics are included in current coursework, the workshops allowed participants to focus on specific skill sets valued in the workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of our alumni speakers talked to the students about working in virtual teams, which is extremely relevant and important right now,\u201d said Burgess. \u201cBut all of the topics were ones that could have an immediate impact on students\u2019 work and on future leadership roles.\u201d<\/p>\n

To earn the certificate, students had to attend five workshops, and complete LinkedIn Learning modules for each topic. Burgess was thrilled at the students\u2019 commitment as well as the enthusiasm of the alumni speakers.<\/p>\n

Kara Duffy \u201903, MBA \u201904 felt it was important to be involved. \u201cI love sharing what’s happening in real life in the business world. Things change so quickly, especially this past year, so it’s important to share real-time methodologies and examples,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really enjoy doing workshops or lectures for business students because each time I get to be impressed with how knowledgeable and confident they are – which makes me excited to see what they’ll produce in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

The program has created several benefits. Students have an additional skill to add to their resume and have improved networking and leadership skills, while the alumni enjoyed connecting with Clarkies and passing on their own leadership experience.<\/p>\n

Undergraduate management major John D\u2019Eufemia was appreciative of the chance to further develop his talents. \u201cWe received clear direction on different leadership skills and gained a better understanding of what it means to be an effective leader. Connecting with these alumni and hearing about their successful careers post-Clark was valuable and reassuring.”<\/p>\n

MBA student Qingqing Lu, president of the SOM Student Council, agreed. \u201cWhat I enjoyed the most was the insight from our alumni who are currently leaders in their industry. It will help us not only in our positions on campus, but also with life after Clark.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur alumni were fantastic,\u201d Burgess added. \u201cWe can\u2019t thank them enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

Special thanks to the following alumni who took part in the program:<\/p>\n

Bryan Tamburro \u201997
\nSarwar Raza \u201900
\nTaylor Bennett \u201915, MBA \u201916
\nMichelle Cove \u201991
\nKara Duffy \u201903, MBA \u201904<\/p>\n

Alumni interested in working on similar projects in the future, or who wish to donate their time as a course guest speaker, can contact Laura Burgess.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Throughout the pandemic, School of Management Assistant Dean Laura Burgess has been impressed by the efforts of student leaders who have reached out to their peers and planned meaningful virtual student activities. As a way to reward them and provide additional leadership training during this year\u2019s COVID-extended winter break, Burgess created a noncredit Student Leadership […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":36091,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-announcements"],"yoast_head":"\nAlumni pay it forward | Graduate Education | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/graduate-education\/2021\/02\/26\/alumni-pay-it-forward\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Alumni pay it forward\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Throughout the pandemic, School of Management Assistant Dean Laura Burgess has been impressed by the efforts of student leaders who have reached out to their peers and planned meaningful virtual student activities. 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