Meet Eric Hawkins ’08 MBA, a flight operations supervisor at UPS, who served as vice president of the Alumni Board and a Mentorship Committee member before becoming president.
What contributions are you especially proud of?
I am proud to be an eight-time mentor and being lucky enough to be asked to officiate a wedding for a BU mentee.
What do you hope to accomplish as Alumni Board president?
My goal is to continue creating access and expanding opportunities for students, recent grads and professional alumni to learn from one another. According to a recent report from McKinsey & Co., the No. 1 reason employees leave a company is lack of career development. The BU community has the opportunity to provide ongoing support post-graduation by sharing stories from the workplace of navigating careers and advancement. Increasing connectivity between all graduating classes and cohorts will increase the value and the return on investment of the Bellarmine degree.
How did your Bellarmine experience propel you to success?
My Bellarmine experience, with the mix of Millennials, GenXers and Boomers learning and developing projects in the dual MBA program, prepared me for developing and coaching teams in the workplace. In addition, the international experience opened more opportunities for my personal growth, multicultural experience and understanding of the global marketplace.
What’s your advice for Bellarmine graduates?
Embrace opportunities; grow your networks; and continue to explore a multitude of ideas, problems and solutions. Then, focus on the most rewarding of these and follow through.