A few questions I’m often asked are: Why should I be involved as an alum? What is the benefit to me?
Graduates of the David Eccles School of Business who actively participate in the alumni network find many benefits including building their network, finding top talent early, continued learning, finding jobs, business opportunities, and more.
Building Your Network
With more than 31,000 alumni across the globe, the opportunities for networking are endless. By participating in any of our regional or affinity alumni clubs, you’ll have the opportunity to meet graduates of the U in your area or industry with whom you can connect. We have alumni groups across the U.S. and in Norway, please make sure to update your contact info so we can send you invites to these events!
In addition to these events, you can network virtually with fantastic alumni through LinkedIn and other social media groups. Recently, Jason Wood, MBA ’11, shared his experience contacting a fellow Ute via LinkedIn:
“I just started as a Senior Financial Analyst with Intuit in the Bay Area. The only reason I received an interview was because of the connection I had made through LinkedIn with a fellow alum. We met in person for the first time at my interview!”
In addition to finding jobs, many of our alumni have combined together on business deals and start-ups. Younger alumni find mentors in their profession and many of our graduates form lasting relationships.
Community
Access to Top Talent
Involvement in the alumni network also provides access to top talent coming out of the college. Alumni who support Connect U, SMART Start, and other student-focused programs have the opportunity to work closely with our outstanding students and get to know them early on in their academic career.
Out of state alumni have had much success in hiring our students after hosting them at company site visits. Each year, our accounting students have the opportunity to visit top accounting firms with many of their hosts being “Utes.” After a few years of this trip, we now place 12 of our top accounting students in Dallas each year!
Continued Learning
With the opening of our Spencer Fox Eccles Business Building, we’ve had many alumni come back to campus and say how jealous they are of our students and all the opportunities they have available to them. Fortunately for our alumni, we have many opportunities for them to continue to learn from business professionals.
For example, at this year’s Spencer Fox Eccles Convocation, Nolan Archibald, Chairman of the Board for Stanley Black and Decker shared his experiences as the youngest CEO of a Fortune 100 company. Recently, alumni have been privileged to hear from Greg Miller, CEO of the Larry H. Miller Group; Scott Kapur, a leading venture capitalist; Bob McDonald, CEO of Procter & Gamble; and many more.
In addition to hearing from leading business executives, the U’s Alumni Association also provides free career advice webinars for all Utes. To get on the list for these webinars, please click here.
Volunteer and Leadership Opportunities:
In addition to giving back to your alma mater, helping students at the David Eccles School is a great way to add volunteer and leadership experiences to your resume. Alumni can volunteer by joining the SMART Start and Connect U groups to mentor and provide advice for students. Additionally, alumni can apply to join the University of Utah Business Alumni Association Board of Directors and lead the activities of the alumni association. Applications are accepted and reviewed annually. For questions, please contact me at (801) 581-5292.
Alumni participation helps the school provide so much for our current students, and we look forward to continuing to grow this amazing network!
Go Utes!
-Lindsay Nelson
Manager, Alumni Relations