Alumni gifts provide students opportunities to visit Silicon Valley companies
In the fall of 2023, student leaders in the College of Business joined the Arthur School’s Immersive MBA students on a trip to New York to learn more about the business world outside of North Carolina. Businesses were visited, and networking opportunities were aplenty.
Armel Agbodjan (ECU chemistry alum), left, speaks with marketing major Nicole Cerezo Santana at a COB networking event in California.
Following their trip, those same students met with the trip’s benefactor, Sanford Bailey, and provided him with their reflections on the trip and what they gleaned from it. Word spread in the COB community about the trip’s benefits, or what dean Mike Harris calls “return on investment.” So much so, a donor reached out to the COB and asked if it would be interested in taking students to the technology center of the United States, i.e., Silicon Valley, and if so, that donor would fund the trip.
Fast forward to May 2024, when COB sent out another entourage of 18 students, this time to San Francisco and San Jose, California.
“There is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with successful companies and innovative people to stimulate students’ views of the world and open their minds to the possibilities of what they can achieve,” said the donor, who wishes to be anonymous. “We are happy to play a small part in the future of the COB students.”
Angela Furniss ‘93, chair of the COB’s Business Advisory Council, also appreciates the importance of these types of trips in a student’s college career.
“When Paige (Hill, COB’s director of outreach) mentioned the COB students were going to the San Francisco area and were looking for host companies, I immediately thought of Rodney (Turner) and Cisco,” said Furniss. “Rodney is a loyal Pirate and has led a very successful career at Cisco.”
“I have a passion for helping early-in-their-career individuals who are willing to work hard, take challenges and push barriers,” said Turner, a senior director with Cisco. “This (trip) was a natural way for me to help give back to the school and the top talent at East Carolina.”
Professional engagement
“It’s clear that COB’s alumni want to help,” said Harris.
COB trips, such as the May ’24 trip to California, provided students with valuable opportunities to engage with visionary companies and professionals.
When Harris hits the road to speak with alums and donors, two items tend to percolate to the top of their discussions: “Please keep telling your story” and “How can we help?” Time, talent and treasures are usually discussed, but recently, experiences have been getting the attention of those who want to give back.
“Sanford’s gift has had exponential benefits,” said Harris. “Not only did the students receive professional engagement with visionary companies, but it (the gift) led to other gifts so those experiences can continue.”
By all accounts, Immersive MBA student Jenna Mallberg took advantage of the situation, owned the Cisco visit, and demonstrated how COB Pirates are ready to take on the business world.
“I knew going into the trip that I wanted to lead a company where I am most aligned with career- and culture-wise,” said Mallberg. “Once I found out we were attending Cisco Systems I jumped right on that opportunity.”
“To prepare for this visit, I consulted the students to see what they wanted to focus on in the conversation: early career, emerging technologies and trends, and culture,” said Mallberg. “Once I had an idea of what everyone was thinking, I jumped on a call with our host and Pirate alum, Rodney Turner.”
From Raleigh, Turner scheduled the Cisco visit, which included tours, lunches, presentations and a Q&A session.
“These experiences provide a perspective and level of realization that the classroom cannot,” said Turner. “Students need to see the humans behind the logos, the personalities they can relate to, and an example of how the real world looks.”
Turner admits there are benefits to Cisco engaging students at this level, as well.
“Engaging with top talent in the university environment is key to Cisco as we look to attract new intelligence, energy and talent into the company.”
Connections
Cisco engaging with the students was the result that Furniss hoped would happen. As the director of national accounts for Dexcom, she understands the importance of connecting and networking for future benefits, whether professionally or personally.
But would a student understand? A COB student did.
“I saw his name pop up on LinkedIn, so I reached out and asked if our group of 20+ students could visit his office and learn more about CoStar,” said Greg Sharafinski, a rising finance senior in the COB. “He said yes without hesitation.”
That name was Dan Clark, an account executive with real estate company CoStar Group/LoopNet.
“I noticed a LinkedIn post where someone liked a post by the COB,” said Clark, a 2018 ECU political science graduate. “I commented and (let them know to) feel free to use me as a resource.”
As with Cisco, this new connection resulted in tours, presentations, lunches and Q&As.
“The students were super interactive throughout our time together,” said Clark. “If there was one thing I’d like for them to have learned, it’s that achieving something is possible if you put your mind to it. You never know what you’re going to see.”
For the trip, students also visited Parthenon Capital, Zoom, Google and Databricks.
“These trips directly impact the learning experience of our students,” said Harris. “And we’re not done. We’re hard at work pursuing new destinations for our students to visit so they can broaden their perspectives and meet with other successful COB Pirates.”
COB trips, such as the May ’24 trip to California, provided students with valuable opportunities to engage with visionary companies and professionals.