On Friday, March 22, 2019, The Suffolk University Graduate Business Association (SUGBA) hosted the Graduate Alumni Networking Event, to give graduate students the opportunity to speak to Suffolk alumni who were sharing their business insights and career advice with all current graduate student! This event had so many honorable guests among whom Irene Cook and Jeffrey Cook were the speakers of that night.
Both Mr. and Mrs. Cook leaded the group through a discussion about their personal journeys, career paths, and business advice. They both went on to earn their MBA’s from Suffolk while simultaneously working full time. With no business experience prior to this first job at Fidelity, Mr. Cook explained the importance of hard work to get ahead, where planning is one of the most essential components. On the other hand, Mrs. Cook despite being the wife of Mr. Cook chose a different career path, in which she found hospitality sector to become a match with her goals. Working for more than 12 years at Panera Bread lead her eventually to join Dig Inn, where she is currently COO.
Mr. and Mrs. Cook were both engaging, honest, and sincere. The biggest take away from their discussion was an emphasis on finding the opportunity and leveraging it whenever there is a chance to do so. As they said that working your hardest, and then working even harder from there, will open a lot of doors.
These short pitches prepared us then to speak to other Suffolk alumni who also attended that event. It was so great to hear from leaders coming across different industries among which were Marketing, Accounting, Business and Entrepreneurship. Some of those people that I had an opportunity to speak with were Morgan Williams, Kenneth Mooney, Michael DiPietro, and Erica Mattison. All of them were saying that networking should be always done by an individual, as this is the only way to let the whole world know who you are. Some of them started as clerks at grocery stores, but became great leaders eventually, only because they have spoken with right people at right time.
Thanks to Suffolk University and SUGBA for hosting this amazing event! It is a great pleasure for me to join your events, as they let me stay motivated throughout the semester and beyond. I encourage everyone to keep an eye out on SUGBA’s Social Media outlets for future events in the series!
-Nikita Smirnov, MBA/MS in Marketing ’19