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By John CastelluCCi
Internships are a way of introducing good financial managers and financial analysts to our sector.
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lthough it had been 40 years since he graduated, Steve Hill ’71 had never been back to Bryant. He had never visited the Smithfield campus or written the University a check. His main contact with his alma mater took place at the reception Bryant gives every year for alumni in Houston, where Hill is a Texas oilman, serving as senior vice president for new ventures at the energy company CAMAC . He attended the event regularly but never felt moved to offer Bryant his support. Then everything changed when Hill offered to come to campus to speak, and Associate Director of Planned Giving Edward Magro took him up on the offer. Hill toured the campus, gave a speech encouraging students to seek jobs in the energy industry, and met with President Ronald K. Machtley. He was so moved by the beauty of the campus and the response to his speech, he not only made a gift to Bryant but also encouraged Bryant students to apply for summer internships in Beijing, where CAMAC has an operation, and in Houston, where the company is based. “Internships are a way of introducing good financial managers and financial
S t E v E H i l l ’ 71 senior Vice President for new Ventures, CaM aC
analysts to our sector,” he says, “because we’ve already got all the good engineers.” Hill’s transformation into a fully engaged Bryant alumnus came as people such as Magro and Director of Alumni Relations Robin Torbron Warde intensify efforts to involve more of Bryant’s 40,000-member alumni community in the vibrant life of the University. Increasing alumni involvement is a critical imperative as outlined in Vision 2020: Expanding the World of Opportunity, Bryant’s recently unveiled 10-year plan.
That is why one of the goals of Vision 2020 is to double the percentage of Bryant alumni who make philanthropic contributions to the University, bumping the rate up to 20 percent over the next decade. A series of steps are being taken to accomplish that goal. Among them: •
Using a wider variety of media to deliver news about Bryant
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Providing opportunities for alumni to connect with one another through Bryant’s online community and live events
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Encouraging events that link alumni with students and faculty
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Developing programs that offer guidance to alumni on topics vital to their career interests
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Creating more opportunities that enable alumni such as Hill to become engaged
Alumni Engagement Matters
The connection alumni have with a university is partly emotional, based on school spirit and nostalgia for their student days. But it’s also practical, because alumni participation is a factor in the rankings compiled by publications such as U.S. News & World Report that prospective students and parents use when choosing a college.
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