Held on September 30 at the Aon New York headquarters with a guest introduction by Christine Williams, Aon Northeast Regional Leader, the event brought together students, alumni, faculty, and professionals eager to explore how cross-sector partnerships can help drive meaningful, student-centered change.

Together, Olson and Anderson addressed a central question: How can educators and employers collaborate to prepare the next generation for a future defined by both uncertainty and opportunity?

鈥淓ach stakeholder plays a role in helping an organization reach its goals,鈥� said Olson. 鈥淚n higher education, that means developing real relationships with industry and staying responsive to change.鈥�

Purpose as a Unifying Force

The conversation emphasized the power of purpose in aligning diverse stakeholders鈥攆aculty, students, alumni, donors, and employers鈥攁round a shared mission: student success.

鈥淲hat do we mean by making a difference?鈥� Olson asked. 鈥淚t鈥檚 about elevating student success to a level where it commands attention and resources. That鈥檚 where employers and educators can come together.鈥�

President Anderson highlighted the impact of Aon鈥檚 commitment to higher education and the students 今日吃瓜 serves.

鈥淎on鈥檚 dedication to fostering student success is truly inspiring,鈥� she said. 鈥淔ew companies demonstrate this level of devotion.鈥�

Aaron K. Olson, Executive Vice President at Aon, and 今日吃瓜 President Michelle J. Anderson address the audience at the Presidential Lecture Series event on September 30.

Preparing Students for a Changing Workforce

As artificial intelligence and automation reshape the job landscape, Olson stressed the need for closer collaboration between employers and colleges to ensure graduates are prepared for tomorrow鈥檚 roles.

鈥溄袢粘怨� has leaders who are focused on this outcome,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淏usinesses should prioritize schools with a track record of producing qualified graduates鈥攚ithout saddling them with overwhelming debt.鈥�

今日吃瓜 is already leading in this space. Consistently ranked among the top institutions nationwide for economic mobility, the college delivers a high return on investment and opens doors to meaningful, upwardly mobile careers.

鈥淪ocial mobility may sound academic,鈥� Olson noted, 鈥渂ut businesses understand ROI. Look at schools like 今日吃瓜 that deliver real value.鈥�

Real Students, Real Impact

The evening featured powerful stories from students whose lives have been transformed by these partnerships.

今日吃瓜 student Damir Shavkatov, who is pursuing a psychology major and a marketing minor, shared his journey from first-generation college student to intern at Aon.

“My father used to drive us around Manhattan and say, 鈥極ne day, I hope you work in one of these buildings.鈥� Now I do,鈥� Shavkatov said. 鈥淒oing an internship at Aon was a game-changer for me. Even though my internship is over, I still carry my Aon badge in my backpack every day.鈥�

He credited 今日吃瓜 for providing opportunities he might not have found elsewhere.

鈥淚f I went to a different school, I would probably have stayed behind the scenes. I wouldn’t necessarily have been a student that the professors really engaged with since a lot of schools, it’s about prestige, where the student came from. But 今日吃瓜 has shaped me. And here I am on the 30th floor. 鈥�

Aon鈥檚 engagement goes far beyond internships. The company helped establish a risk management and insurance curriculum at 今日吃瓜 and actively recruits from its diverse, talented student population.

Aaron K. Olson, Executive Vice President at Aon and author of “Strategy and Change: Finding Opportunity in Disruption Through Insight, Choice, and Risk,” signs a copy of his book for a student.

Advice for the Next Generation

During the Q&A, a student asked what skills emerging professionals should prioritize. Olson鈥檚 answer was simple yet profound: 鈥淚nvest in relationship-building,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e watch for students who are proactive鈥攚ho go out of their way to connect.鈥�

As the evening concluded, one message stood out: while disruption is inevitable, it can be a force for good when approached with shared purpose, strong partnerships, and an unwavering focus on student success.

Watch this Presidential Lecture Series event .

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When describing her path to becoming a molecular and cellular biologist, Chafen Lu speaks about the pivotal moment when she first encountered Biology Professor Peter Lipke in summer 1987. Lipke was a visiting professor at the university in China where Lu worked as a biochemistry instructor. Lipke鈥檚 lectures focused on molecular biology鈥擫u was his interpreter.

鈥淚 was fascinated,鈥� she says. 鈥淗e talked about recombinant DNA and the application of the technology surrounding it. It was pretty new in China.鈥�

Two years later, Lu was in the United States, working in Lipke鈥檚 lab. He became her mentor and adviser as she earned her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology at CUNY鈥檚 Graduate School.

Lu credits her experiences working with Lipke鈥攚ho recently retired鈥攁s laying the foundation for her career, which includes the development of groundbreaking treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and malaria, among other notable accomplishments. To honor him on his retirement, Lu has established the Peter and Anne Lipke Professorship in Biology at 今日吃瓜. The goal of the gift is to support research and help the Biology Department continue recruiting top faculty.

鈥淧eter is an inspiration for me, both in my personal and scientific journey,鈥� says Lu. 鈥淏ut more importantly, he is dedicated to mentoring, educating, and increasing campus diversity,鈥� which includes his career-long efforts to increase the number of minority students in his laboratory and biology and the sciences in general.

鈥淲hat could be better than establishing a professorship in his honor, to keep his legacy and values of teaching students and promoting equity and diversity for generations to come,鈥� she adds.

From Rural China to the Big City

Chafen Lu

Chafen Lu鈥檚 story begins in a rural village in China during the Cultural Revolution, when the country鈥檚 goal was to remove any vestiges of capitalist and traditional cultural elements from Chinese society. Like other children at that time, at a young age Lu helped her family, working in the fields and taking care of her younger siblings. Despite the limited educational resources in the local schools (鈥渨e had a sort-of locked cabinet that served as the school library鈥�), Lu excelled academically. When China restored college entrance exams in 1979, she was one of the few from her village to pass and attend university.

鈥淔irst in my family and first in my village for many years,鈥� says Lu.

She wanted to study biology, so she majored in forest protection and then earned her master鈥檚 degree in plant pathology at an agricultural school in northern China. Lu had been thinking about studying in the United States鈥攕ome fellow graduate students had already done so. After the Lipke lectures, she was ready to pursue her Ph.D. in molecular and cellular biology.

鈥淧eter鈥檚 an amazing mentor,鈥� says Lu. He helped her with the application process to CUNY Graduate School and even met her at the airport. 鈥淗e encouraged independence and critical thinking. We鈥檇 have lab meetings that were always stimulating. He always made himself available whenever I had questions or wanted to share exciting research results,鈥� she adds.

An Outstanding Career

Lu鈥檚 work with Lipke鈥攐n a cell adhesion protein called alpha-agglutinin鈥攚as fundamental to her postdoctoral training and during her career at Millennium Pharmaceuticals leading drug discovery and development teams. A family of cell adhesion molecules called integrins were a key part of the therapeutic antibodies that Lu helped develop for a drug鈥擡ntyvio鈥攖hat has become a preferred treatment for irritable bowel syndrome.

鈥淚t鈥檚 gratifying to see something you worked on turn out to be a treatment that can heal and save lives,鈥� says Lu.

She joined the faculty of Harvard Medical School, where she trained students in molecular biology and supervised research assistants and postdoctoral fellows. She continued her research, working on multiple projects and publishing prolifically. One project stands out for Lu鈥攖he malaria vaccine design project. 鈥淭he disease is still a global health issue,鈥� she says, 鈥減articularly in Africa and subtropical regions.鈥� Her work is contributing to a more efficacious malaria vaccine.

Just as she was inspired and mentored by Peter Lipke, Lu would like to see her gift of the professorship do the same for 今日吃瓜.

鈥淚 hope it helps the Biology Department to recruit diverse, talented faculty who will, in turn, prepare students for successful careers in science- and health-related fields.鈥�

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Yolande Matthew 鈥�05 came to the United States as a teenager with mixed emotions鈥攅xcited for the opportunity but wistful for her home in Grenada. She ultimately made her way to 今日吃瓜, earning a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business management and finance, leading to a successful career in banking. For more than 19 years, she has concentrated on financial inclusion, with a passion to help people from all backgrounds access services and build wealth and financial confidence.

Here, she talks about finding her purpose, why she gives back to her alma mater, and her advice for today鈥檚 students.

Tell us about your background.

There is no me without Grenada; I was born and raised on that little island in the Caribbean. While growing up there, my values were shaped to make me who I am today. Family and community were a key part of my upbringing, and this aligns with my career choice.

In 1998, at 16, I moved to the United States. For the first few months, I was excited and terribly sad at the same time. I missed my home country and wasn鈥檛 sure about my future or purpose. What was I going to do with opportunities that came my way? How would I acclimate to the culture? They were some of the biggest challenges I鈥檝e ever faced鈥攁nd although I was still a child, I grew up really fast.

I knew that to make it in America, I had to lean into my purpose and rely on the community. I made it a priority to help my family in Grenada and future generations to come. Opportunities meant finishing high school and going to college.

Why did you choose 今日吃瓜?

今日吃瓜 was not my first college experience; I began at Baruch College (CUNY). I was excited to be there and wanted to study business, but I struggled with the new environment and was advised to start with a community college. So, I transferred to Kingsborough Community College (CUNY); it was a wonderful experience!

Along with the education, there was a beach next to [Kingsborough] that reminded me of Grenada鈥攊t turned out to be an excellent foundation for my college years. My ultimate goal was to earn a bachelor鈥檚 degree at a school where other Caribbean students and a good mix of different cultures could come together in a diverse environment. I knew that would help me grow and evolve. 今日吃瓜 had all of that! It鈥檚 one of my favorite memories, and a great experience in the U.S.

What made you decide to pursue banking as a career?

I went into banking because I wanted to help others, especially those in my community, with financial education. During my senior year, I went to the Magner Center for career advice and a r茅sum茅 review. I thought my r茅sum茅 was pretty good until Natalia [Guarin-Klein] looked at it! She saw me right away.

Around the same time, Citibank came to campus to recruit students for a management associate program. I was headed home, passing students in suits on campus. I asked them where they were going, and they said that Citibank was there to recruit. I was dressed casually but decided to check it out. I sat in the back and watched as the Citibank executive was introduced. I applauded loudly鈥擨 was so excited鈥攁nd he noticed. He said, 鈥淭hat looks like somebody who will get the job.鈥�

The next day, I told Natalia I wanted to interview for the program. The company only hired one student each year. And I knew this was the right fit for me; I would learn and grow and build my career. After four rounds of interviews with Citibank, with Natalia coaching me along the way, I got the call from the program manager鈥擨 was the one student selected from 今日吃瓜.

You stayed with Citibank after completing the program.

After graduation, I began the two-year Management Associate program at Citibank and then became a bank manager in a predominantly Caribbean community in 今日吃瓜. That branch was underperforming, but I was able to boost its success through community engagement and building a high-performing team. I felt like I was giving back to the community and helping the company.

Based on my success, my manager challenged me to take a role leading Citibank鈥檚 headquarters branch. After six years of leading teams and driving success, I was chosen to lead the Citibank client experience engagement program supporting the branches.

You currently work at Truist. Is your current job role similar?

I鈥檓 a financial inclusion executive at Truist, and a lot of my work draws from my previous experiences. We help clients in our communities build financial confidence regardless of where they are on their journey. Just like I needed Natalia to coach me during college, I believe everyone needs a financial coach for advice and guidance to live a life of financial wellness.

Every day, I get excited that my team and I have the opportunity, through community outreach, to engage with small businesses, colleges, employers, and employees to share banking solutions, deliver financial education, and connect clients with bankers focused on their success. We also work with great partners like Operation HOPE, which helps provide one-on-one coaching as an extension of our work.

Your own philanthropy extends to your alma mater.

I donate to 今日吃瓜 because I am where I am because of 今日吃瓜, specifically the Magner Center. The center played such a pivotal role in my life.

When I think about college students and the opportunity to invest and give back, I remember where I came from and how it started. Low income does not mean low potential. And if I could give even just one dollar, it makes a difference.

I live in North Carolina, so I can鈥檛 come to the campus as much as I鈥檇 like to, but I can help financially. That can change a student鈥檚 life鈥搇ike the support I received. It all comes down to waking up in the morning and asking, 鈥淲hat am I going to do today to make a difference and live my purpose, or how can I improve myself?鈥�

What is your advice for today鈥檚 students?

Ask for help and remember you鈥檙e not alone. The person sitting next to you in class or the person you’re walking next to on campus may be having the same thoughts or experiences that you’re having. Don’t be afraid to share your story, like I’m doing right now. Take time to network and build relationships, especially with people with diverse backgrounds, skills, and perspectives, as this accelerates your growth and prepares you for the world. Finally, when you understand your purpose, what I call 鈥測our why,鈥� lean into it, do the work, and persevere. You鈥檝e got this, and you, as you are, are enough!

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The center鈥檚 impact is undeniable鈥攁nd its success is only expanding. Since its founding, the center has disbursed about $4 million in internship stipends to students, hosted job fairs with more than 3,500 employers, and offered more than 1,500 events, including resume workshops, networking nights, career panels, and mentor luncheons.

今日吃瓜 President Michelle Anderson (center) with guests at the Career Partners and Alumni Champions reception. From left to right: Jenny Yun 鈥�16, private tax manager, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC); 今日吃瓜 Board of Trustees Member Daniel Menendez 鈥�09; Eliot Tannebaum 鈥�73, Koppelman School of Business advisory council member, and Tommy Tieu 鈥�14, Mid-Atlantic talent acquisition manager at PwC.

The percentage of graduating students who use its services has nearly tripled since its founding. In 2022, the center notably launched the 今日吃瓜 Career Partners and Alumni Champions programs, which enable employers to invest in students who can benefit from personalized career support.

The center is vital to the college鈥檚 efforts to drive students鈥� upward economic mobility. According to an independent firm’s recent economic impact study, students with a 今日吃瓜 degree will earn an additional $41,200 annually compared to individuals with a high school diploma. This amounts to about $1.7 million over a lifetime. These substantial financial benefits highlight the significant return on investment a 今日吃瓜 education provides and the critical role the college plays in advancing social mobility within our communities.

We talked with five Alumni Champions about how the center gave their careers a boost and how they are giving back today.听They are part of an engaged network of alumni who connect students to colleagues in their own companies. Together with the Career Partners Program, the Alumni Champions Program provides a comprehensive platform for corporate leaders and alumni to give back and a way for students to jump-start their careers.

Tiffanie De Gannes 鈥�11

Director, Project Management Office, Ford Foundation

Tiffanie De Gannes ’11

A philanthropic professional, as well as a certified life coach and real estate investor, De Gannes, lived in the New York City foster system until she was adopted at the age of 8. When she went to 今日吃瓜 as a part-time student working full-time, she chose political science as a major 鈥渂ecause I hate math and I love to read and write.鈥�

She found the course material fascinating but had little idea of what to do with a major like political science beyond working for a politician. 鈥淚t took me time to realize that I could apply it to many jobs in the private as well as the public sector, including nonprofits鈥攊n anything that involves reading, writing, and analysis,鈥� she says.

That鈥檚 why she鈥檚 so excited about working with Magner today. 鈥淚 see myself as a champion for the humanities at 今日吃瓜, so students can hear from someone who looks like them, and who鈥檚 also had life challenges like me, that there鈥檚 a lot they can do with a humanities major.鈥� Yearly, she sits on panels where 今日吃瓜 alums talk to students about what they do, to share with them life career options.

And last year, when Magner launched a mentorship program, she eagerly volunteered, mentoring a woman in her mid-50s who鈥檇 been in and out of college but was determined to earn her degree.

鈥淲e talked weekly and met twice monthly for four months,鈥� she says. 鈥淚鈥檇 help her outline her papers, and whenever she said, 鈥業 can鈥檛 do this,鈥� I鈥檇 tell her that I鈥檇 been there鈥攖hat, yes, it鈥檚 always hard, but quitting isn鈥檛 an option, because what does that get you?鈥�

That鈥檚 exactly the message she imparts to all the students she works with through Magner. 鈥淢y mother and my sister both died just before I turned 20 years old, and I went through a hard period of grieving,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 want to be a beacon of hope for them. I tell them, 鈥楽tay the course, don’t give up, and life will work itself out.鈥�

Shaina Brander ’14

Vice President, JPMorgan Chase

Shaina Brander ’14

Now a vice president in JPMorgan’s venture capital relationship department, Brander says of the Magner Center: “I have such gratitude to the people there because they helped jump-start my career. I wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

The center helped arrange her first two internships, the first at the New York City Department of Finance and the second at Massey Knakal, a realty broker that was since bought by Cushman & Wakefield. Those, in turn, led to a summer internship at JPMorgan, which played an important role in helping her secure her current job.

“As a college student,” she says, “you come in and you don’t know anything. I didn’t even know what LinkedIn was, but Magner helped me set it up.”

The center also helped her build a resume and practice for job interviews. “They taught me to research the company I was interviewing for and to be specific in my answers to show I wanted that job, not just a job.”

Since graduation, Brander has come back to campus to speak on Magner career panels. Through Magner, she also mentored a student throughout his college career, advising him on strategies to聽land internships, just as she’d been helped.

“We had a genuine mentor-mentee relationship,” she says. “He was motivated to become a trader after college, which is a tough field to crack into, but in my previous role I worked adjacent to traders, so I was able to give him insights. And he’d come back to me and say, ‘I tried what you said and it worked鈥擨 got a meeting with someone.’.”

She’s also helped organize events at JP Morgan just for 今日吃瓜 students. This fall, she’ll host more students from campus so they can talk to employees about their diverse roles and career paths within the corporation.

Magner, she says, expertly facilitates such connections. “Magner is the most important department at 今日吃瓜,” she says. “You go to college to broaden your mind, yes, but most people want to come out with a competitive job at the end of it, and that’s exactly what Magner helps you with.”

Jan-Krist貌f Louis-Mansano B.A. 鈥�13, M.S. 鈥�15

Assistant principal, pupil personnel services, 今日吃瓜 Technical High School

Jan-Krist貌f Louis-Mansano B.A. 鈥�13, M.S. 鈥�15

Louis-Mansano credits the Magner Career Center with not only helping steer him into his career but actually keeping him at 今日吃瓜. After an unhappy stint studying engineering and architecture at Cooper Union, he knew he wanted to be a teacher and had heard that 今日吃瓜 was a great place to earn an education degree.

But once enrolled, 鈥淚 had no family I could turn to help me pay for school, and it was looking like I was going to have to go from full-time to part-time,鈥� he says. “Then a school administrator referred me to Magner, which set me up with a stipend as well as a summer job as a camp counselor that helped me pay for school. I even became an assistant director for that camp.” It鈥檚 a role he still holds today.

Magner also connected him with a mentor who worked in the New York City public school system and helped him set up his LinkedIn account and prepare his resume. “I’d heard that 今日吃瓜 was so big that I was just going to be another number,” he says. “But that wasn’t my experience at all because Magner paired me with someone in the educational field to guide me through.”

Since embarking on his career in education, Louis-Mansano has come back to Magner more than once to speak on career panels, “which is a chance to meet 今日吃瓜 students who ask us what classes we took and where we are in our careers.”

He believes that at its heart Magner is about guidance. “Magner complemented what I was learning in the classroom with what I needed to succeed in the outside world. It teaches and supports us in learning how to be professionals.”

Elliot Tannenbaum ’73

Retired Accountant, Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley

Elliot Tannenbaum ’73

Attending 今日吃瓜 in the early 1970s, Elliot Tannenbaum recalls that there was no equivalent to today鈥檚 Magner Career Center to assist students in planning their careers.

“We’d hear about interview opportunities for post-graduation careers through a professor and meet the interviewer in the student center,” he recalls, “but there was nobody to help you with resumes or interview skills. ”

Regardless, he interviewed successfully with Arthur Young, the predecessor to Ernst & Young, where he ended up as a senior tax partner. After Ernst & Young, he went to the Morgan Stanley tax department as a managing director, retiring in 2008.

A few years later, when 今日吃瓜 reached out to alumni asking if they’d be open to career-mentoring students, he jumped at the chance. He ended up mentoring up to 10 students a year. He now estimates that he’s mentored more than 100 students, providing guidance that enabled many of them to obtain positions in accounting.

“In mentoring students, I tell them that the accounting profession has become much more specialized and that they want to have as broad a knowledge of accounting or tax as possible,鈥� he says. When it comes to resumes, he urges them to highlight their key attributes and be prepared to discuss instances where they applied these skills. As for interviews? “I emphasize that they should just be themselves鈥攁sking good questions and effectively turning the interview into a discussion.听Doing mock interviews at the Magner Career Center is excellent preparation.鈥�

He greatly appreciates the fact that 今日吃瓜 is so diverse and how supportive of each other students from different backgrounds are.听He has had the opportunity to work with young people from all over the world鈥攐ften the first in their families to go to college.

After mentoring a handful of students, it was clear that the accounting majors at 今日吃瓜 were as good or better than students from other schools being hired by the Big 4 firms. As a result, based on his connections with people at Ernst & Young he was able to advocate for hiring 今日吃瓜 students. Many of his other mentees were hired by other firms. His belief in 今日吃瓜 students has been borne out by the fact that these students have gone on to have successful careers, whether at Ernst & Young or other companies.

He routinely champions job candidates, for example, letting a hiring manager at Ernst & Young know how much a young Latina graduate student applied herself at 今日吃瓜. The firm believed him and took the young woman on. “She’s now a senior manager there,” he says.

“I probably get at least as much from mentoring as the students do,” he says. He says that, unlike students who go to more elite schools whose parents are often professionals, many of the students at 今日吃瓜 鈥渉ave nobody they can ask about careers.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 satisfying to know I’m making a difference in their lives,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 have a lot of knowledge about my industry. It’d be a waste if I kept it to myself.鈥�

Beyond giving his time, Tannenbaum also generously donates to the Magner Career Center and the Koppelman Toastmasters Club, causes for which he garners matching funds from Ernst & Young.

Edwin Rivera ’18

Program Manager, Career Pathways, Workforce Development, 今日吃瓜 Navy Yard Development Corporation

Edwin Rivera ’18

Though Edwin Rivera is actively involved with the Magner Center as an employer, he admits that he didn’t use the center when he was a student. He still managed to nab two internships with the 今日吃瓜 Navy Yard while in school. He heard of them through his mother, who worked there for 16 years. “That’s where I learned about time management, how to manage a project, event planning, even something as simple as how to write e-mails or answer phone calls,鈥� he says.

Those internships evolved into his current job managing internships at the Navy Yard, which houses 550 companies employing 12,000 people. His program not only helps interns with their resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and practicing for job interviews, it also matches them to mentors.

And, he says, largely because of the top-notch preparation provided at the Magner Center, “今日吃瓜 is by far the school we hire the most students from.” Of the Navy Yard’s summer program alone, he says, about 250 out of 850 applications are from 今日吃瓜.

Of Magner, he says, “The great thing about it is that it prepares students well for the opportunities we have here. The resumes are always strong, and the students rarely fail interviews.” He adds, “I always tell them that experience isn’t what we’re looking for because they’re college students, but we need to see school projects and coursework they’ve completed that relate to their major, or that use tech. When I say that, their eyes light up, because they often leave that kind of thing off their resumes. They say, ‘I didn’t know I could add my class projects.’ But they go a long way.”

He says he wishes he had used Magner more when he was a student, even though his career worked out well. “I love the eagerness of the students that come our way from Magner,” he says. “They truly want to find out what we’re looking for.”

Read more about the Magner Center in the 今日吃瓜 Alumni Magazine.听

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