How A Strong Alumni Network Shapes Careers And Communities

Business schools routinely tout robust alumni networks in recruiting materials and reports on career outcomes, and rankings organizations often factor alumni support into their scores. The idea is that a strong alumni network is a selling point for prospective students. However, for many graduates, the value of a strong alumni network may not be fully appreciated until years after they leave campus – when relationships, mentorships, and shared experiences begin to shape not just careers, but entire lives. 

Butler University’s Lacy School of Business (LSB) students are fortunate to learn the benefits of alumni relationships long before they become alums themselves. They begin connecting with alumni and building their network from the moment they arrive, rather than simply “tapping into” it after graduation.  These connections are formed due to real-world learning that allows students to work on live business challenges, collaborate across disciplines, and engage directly with industry. Such experiences create strong bonds and a common language between students and with alumni; one rooted in building knowledge and skills while engaging and doing. 

LSB’s experiential learning focus means students are expected to act, test ideas, and lead – sometimes before they feel ready. As Poets&Quants 2026 Best & Brightest Business Major, Eric Bedrosian (BS Marketing & Finance ’26) puts it: 

“LSB didn’t just support me, it pushed me to go further. The faculty here don’t just teach; they mentor, challenge, and open doors. At LSB, you’re expected to show up, think boldly, and make things happen.” 

That culture of initiative – to show up and make things happen – doesn’t end at graduation. It becomes the connective tissue across generations of graduates and informs the way alumni engage with each other, with students, and in their professions. 

 

One of the clearest ways to understand the strength of an alumni network is to look at the success of its members in building careers and businesses and how they stay connected with each other along the way.

Matt Arnold (BS Marketing ’94) grew his company into the nation’s largest enclosed cargo trailer manufacturer. When he reflects on that success, he is unable to separate it from his time at LSB. “So much of my life traces back to the Lacy School of Business,” Arnold says. “The support I received as a student continued long after graduation, guiding me through major career milestones.”

His experience highlights something many MBA and business graduates discover: the most valuable networks are not transactional. LSB alums don’t engage only when you need a job or deal, but are consistently available – offering perspective, guidance, and connection at pivotal moments. Continuity and relationships that remain active, relevant, and personal over time have made LSB’s alumni network stronger than most. 

Erin Roth (BS Accounting ’98), now a senior executive at Modine Manufacturing, echoes that sentiment. More than two decades removed from graduation, she describes her connection to LSB not as a past occurrence, but as an ongoing engagement. “The Lacy School of Business has never been just a place where I earned a degree – it has been a community that consistently shows up for one another, for more than 25 years.” 

In many ways, the truest test of a powerful alumni network is whether people feel compelled to give back to their alma mater, not out of obligation, but out of belief. At LSB, that “full-circle” effect shows up in significant ways.

 

 

Sara Omohundro (BS Economics & Finance ’16) is an investment strategist, a nonprofit leader, and the founder of an organization supporting women entering the investment field. She’s also back at Butler teaching as an adjunct professor. Her return isn’t coincidental; it’s intentional. 

After an undergraduate experience that blended rigorous academics with leadership, research, and mentorship, she chose to reinvest her time in the same community that shaped her. “I want students to understand that what we’re doing in class isn’t just theory,” Omohundro says. “These are the conversations and decisions they might have to make in their careers.” 

Christina Fugate (BS Finance ’04), now a partner at the law firm of Ice Miller, also remains deeply engaged with LSB as Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council. Her perspective reflects a broader philosophy that extends well beyond one school: “We are the eyes and the ears of the community. It’s on us to help develop Lacy around such values.” Her role, advising, mentoring, and shaping direction, is a reminder that alumni networks don’t just support individuals – they influence how institutions evolve. 

For students,  a learning environment where alumni are involved is transformative. For institutions, it’s instructive. When alumni participate as collaborators, guest speakers, educators, and mentors, and are embedded in the student experience, the line between classroom and career disappears. For business schools navigating changing student expectations, shifting industry demands, and increasing competition, alumni engagement is an invaluable asset. It creates a feedback loop between the classroom and the marketplace – allowing programs to remain dynamic, current, and relevant.  

The long-term impact of that approach is visible in the quality of careers LSB alumni pursue. Graduates lead in consulting firms like Deloitte, innovate within companies such as Eli Lilly and Salesforce, and launch ventures of their own. For Tabitha Richardson (MSRI ’21),  obtaining her master’s degree was beneficial to her career both technically and personally: “Butler wasn’t just a degree, it was a community of like-minded professionals who spoke my language, challenged my thinking, and reminded me why I love this industry.”

Across the business education landscape, there’s a broader question embedded in all of this: What makes an alumni network truly work? A large alumni base, geographic reach, and great career outcomes are important but not sufficient. The key is whether people have a lasting affection for the institution. At LSB, that affection is formed via transformative experiential learning opportunities, valuable relationships that develop among students, faculty, and alumni, and institutional support during the student years and beyond. Once those feelings and relationships are in place, it is much more likely that graduates will remain involved and invested enough to give back. 

At the Lacy School of Business, strong bonds to the institution and each other that form early in the student experience compel alumni to mentor, teach, hire, advise, and advocate and allow them to see their alma mater as part of their ongoing story, not just their past. 

The most powerful alumni networks aren’t built after graduation. They’re built over time, through shared experience, mutual support, and a collective belief that success is something you create – and sustain – together. 

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Whether you’re hoping to advance your current career or transition to a new one, the Lacy School of Business’s programs can prepare you for your next step. Lacy School programs are grounded in experiential learning and are designed to meet market needs, giving students the tools to build their business acumen, sharpen their skill set, and stand out with employers.

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