Engaging for impact

By Alexandra Richter

Steffan connected Schultz with Rebecca Brady, a 2018 graduate of the M&T Bank Emerging Entrepreneurs program and founder of Top Seedz, an artisan brand of crackers and roasted seeds. Top Seedz won the $1 million grand prize at the 2021 43North competition, and as the brand expands, Brady’s engagement with CEL allows her to tap into the talent pool of the UB School of Management.

“It’s been a dream of mine to work in plant-based food manufacturing, using my engineering and management knowledge to make a difference. Helping others access vegan and nutritious products is an easy way to reduce our carbon footprint,” says Schultz. “Being able to start my journey as an engineer at a woman-owned company in my hometown is amazing.”

Like Brady, many School of Management alumni remain engaged at every stage in their careers — making an impact on student success around the globe by hiring graduates, welcoming prospective students, partnering on research and more.

Jayaprakash Balakrishnan, MS ’12, is co-founder and cloud architect of Digital Peak and serves as vice president of the UB Alumni India Network. His engagement as a School of Management alumnus is extensive. He has organized a day of service in India; mentored students through Connect-A-Bull, the online portal created by the UB Career Design Center to connect alumni and students; served as a resource to help UB students connect with friends and relatives in India during COVID and more.

He also participates in the school’s recruiting events in India, where he shares insights and inspires prospective students.

“Jayaprakash’s participation in our events is invaluable because it allows prospective students to find a connection with someone who has been in their shoes,” says Jennifer Gammell, assistant dean for enrollment management. “Often, speaking with an alumnus in your home country eases fears and doubts about taking the leap to study in the U.S., specifically at UB, and it allows prospective students to envision the path their lives can take after they graduate.”

Balakrishnan says that connecting with students at events and discussing the financing of a UB education helped him understand the value of fundraising. He has also been able to leverage his own network to answer student questions about living in the United States.

“When students have experienced challenges along the way, I have been able to connect them with someone in my network to offer support,” says Balakrishnan. 

Emily Grijalva, associate professor of organization and human resources, Min-Hsuan Tu, assistant professor of organization and human resources, and Sara Hoseingholizade, management doctoral student, used alumni partnerships for research when they connected with Miranda Hyzy, MBA ’18, senior business analyst at HarbourVest Partners.

The researchers sought to provide a more nuanced understanding of how employees express their personalities in unique ways that have distinct organizational implications.  

“Miranda followed up with us at every step of the data collection process,” says Hoseingholizade. “She genuinely cared about the research.”

Dozens of management alumni contributed to the study, which offered professional growth opportunities for participants and valuable insights for researchers.

“I really enjoyed answering the questions each day because it allowed me to check in with myself in the morning and then reflect on the day,” says Hyzy. “In doing that I learned more about myself, and areas I’d like to keep working on professionally and personally.”

The School of Management’s new Projects Clinic offers an opportunity for alumni to partner with students to solve problems and create organizational change through experiential learning.

Robert McCormack, EMBA ’14, professor and chair of emergency medicine at UBMD, says Projects Clinic students provided expertise that no one else in the business had.

Jess Lin and Mounika Govindu, who graduated from the MS in Management Information Systems program in May, leveraged skills they mastered in the classroom in their work for UBMD. Using Excel, BatchGeo and Google Maps, they created a mapping solution to enhance operational efficiency and user experience.

“This project pushed our clinic interns to examine solutions outside of their comfort zone, while also being an excellent first step in assisting UBMD in creating operational efficiency among their various clinics,” says Michael Krupski, clinical assistant professor of operations management and strategy.

The clinic interns worked with UBMD to consolidate and organize information to create a singular, user-friendly map displaying more than 50 UBMD locations and the services available at each.

“I know I will work with the projects team in the future,” says McCormack. “Working with students was coordinated, productive and free. They took on a task that we couldn’t handle and produced.”

If you are a School of Management graduate and would like to engage with hiring, international recruitment, research or the Projects Clinic, send an email to mgt-alumni@buffalo.edu.