When the Covid pandemic began in 2020 and immediately impacted course delivery and extra-curricular services for students, the staff and faculty of Clark University’s School of Business worked to find ways to engage students and help create a positive experience in an otherwise difficult situation.

Assistant Dean Laura Burgess, who oversees the student clubs and the numerous in-person student activities offered in a typical academic year, was particularly struck by how thoughtful some of the student club leaders were, in terms of suggesting ways to reach out to their peers and in organizing virtual student activities.

“There were many students in club leadership positions who put so much thought and effort into the School of Business community and their classmates, despite the pandemic,” Burgess explained. “I wanted to find a way to thank them with something useful, something lasting, other than just a token gift.”

With an extra-long winter break this year due to Covid and not wanting to overburden students or compete with their classes, Burgess created a noncredit Student Leadership Certificate program to more formally provide additional leadership training to the students over intersession.  She immediately reached out to University Advancement’s School of Business liaison, Laurie Cormier, to see how Clark alumni might get involved, and within weeks the program was underway.

About twenty graduate and undergraduate students were selected for the six week program. With Cormier’s help, Burgess formatted the “curriculum” to include one workshop a week with a Clark alumna/us who was matched with a specific leadership-related area. Topics included intercultural communication, marketing and branding your organization and yourself, and building and motivating your team, among others. While some topics are touched on in students’ courses, the workshops allowed them to hone in on specific valuable skill sets crucial in the workplace.

“One of our alumni speakers talked to the students about working in virtual teams, which is extremely relevant and important right now,” Burgess said. “But all of the topics were ones that could both have an impact on students’ work immediately and the types of leadership roles they might take on later.”

To earn the certificate, students had to attend five workshops, as well as complete certain LinkedIn Learning modules for each topic. Burgess was thrilled at not only the commitment level of the students, but the enthusiasm of the alumni speakers. The benefits of the program have been numerous. Students have an additional piece to add to their resume, they’ve improved their networking and leadership skills, and Clark alumni have reconnected and given back to the University.

One of the alumna was Kara Duffy, now a business strategist, coach, consultant, and entrepreneur. “I felt it was important to be involved because I love sharing what’s happening in real life in the business world,” she stated. “Things change so quickly in the business, especially this past year, so it’s important to share real-time methodologies and examples.”

She added, “I 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 create in the world.”

Undergraduate management major, John D’Eufemia, was appreciative of the chance to further develop his talents. “We 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.”

MBA student Qingqing Lu, president of the School of Business Student Council, agreed. “What 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.”

“Our alumni were fantastic,” Burgess added. “We can’t thank them enough.”

Special thanks to the following University and School of Business alumni who took part in the program:

Bryan Tamburro ’97
Sarwar Raza ’00
Taylor Bennett ’15, MBA ’16
Michelle Cove ’91
Kara Duffy ’03, MBA ’04

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. Financial donations to support students can be made via this link.

~Story by Meredith Galena, Communication Specialist, School of Business