Albers Brief Summer 2024

The Albers Mentor Program turns 35 this fall. That’s three and a half decades of one of Albers’ most distinctive traditions, and one of the most memorable exercises our students embark upon. Long after their school days are over, alumni tell us of how mentors influenced their thinking, career trajectories, and lives. A good number find the experience so rewarding that they become mentors themselves.

In March we convened the group we fondly call The Originals, the four mentors who have served the longest in the program, for a pictorial. Jesse Tam, Willie Aikens, Craig Macdonald, and Mark Pinkowski have accumulated an impressive 114 years of mentoring between them. All of them say they learn as much from their mentees as these students have benefited from their knowledge. 

The current crop of mentors who we tapped for their stories are just as engaged. Matt Iseri, Chris Longston, Maegan Ortega, Scott Severs, and Katrina Phiri find mentoring an ideal way to stay connected to Seattle University while helping to shape the next generation of leaders. 

Erik Moore, the program director of our new MS in Cybersecurity Leadership degree program, says his mentor is the NSA’s head of Cryptanalytics, Dickie George. He talks about the program, his unique background, and why cybersecurity is more critical than ever.

This year’s undergraduate Commencement at Climate Pledge Arena on June 9th saw Albers students receiving major awards. One of them, Chance Michael Mendoza Ringor, won the President’s Award for having the top academic performance among four-year undergraduate students campus wide. Chance’s most memorable mentor lesson was “Pressure makes diamonds.” Read more about this exemplary Hawaii native’s story and how he chose to double major in Marketing and Business Analytics.

This edition of the Albers Brief talks to three Albers faculty members with new leadership roles. Colette Hoption took over as Associate Dean in January; Gabe Saucedo is the new department chair for Accounting; while Viviane Lopuch is the new Executive Director for our Center for Leadership Formation. 

Finally, thank you to everyone who helped in funding the Bill Weis Legacy Scholarship. Bill closed out his remarkable 51-year career with Albers at the end of June. A mentor to many, Bill’s legacy is best expressed by Nils Petersen: “When people leave their time with Bill, they like themselves better.” Long after the school lessons have been forgotten, what mentors leave with us truly endures.

P.S. Have you always wondered how you can give back and support the future of Albers? Gifts to the Dean’s Fund provide flexible funding to allocate to the most pressing needs throughout the year. The Albers Alumni Scholarship provides financial support to selected Albers students with need. Or you can support any of our academic departments to support enriching out-of-classroom student experiences. Visit our Giving Page to see the options, and thank you for supporting Albers!