STUDENTS ENGAGEMENT WITH ALUMNI

This spring, students had the opportunity to join a discussion between prominent alumni Don Burdick and Mike Hayhurst, who were visiting as part of the College’s Executive in Residence series.

Both accounting alumni, Burdick and Hayhurst have high-level leadership backgrounds and were able to share their insights with students during the panel. Burdick is a retired Senior Vice President of eCommerce and Travel at Costco while Hayhurst is the Managing Partner at KPMG’s Boise office.

During the discussion, each alumnus was able to share some valuable insights with students from failures and successes in their professional journeys. Overall, the opportunity to ask questions and speak to two leaders and fellow business Bengals was a chance for students to envision their own paths to success.

“Having the opportunity to hear from two successful Idaho State alumni was very inspirational,” said Master of Business Administration student Keegan Sullivan. “It was evident that through hard work and perseverance, anything is possible.”

“The Executive in Residence (EIR) program is useful for students in many ways,” said Kristine McCarty, Director of Graduate Studies and the organizer of the event. “For me, the most important of those is that our EIRs remind students that they can go anywhere and do anything with a degree from Idaho State University. When you’re sitting in your fifth lecture of the week, it’s difficult to see and understand the great impact your education will have on your life. These returning alumni share their journey with students and help them see how many doors a degree from Idaho State will open for them.”

Mike Hayhurst