Organization for young alums makes its pitch

On April 8, the Young Business Professionals Council (YBPC) of JMU’s College of Business crossed an important threshold in its evolution as an organization committed, according to its mission statement, “to fostering a dynamic environment for recent graduates and current students to connect with, engage, and empower one another.”

Members of the YBPC got together that evening for a first-time networking event. The student-alumni mixer was staged in the bustling Tysons Corner area of Northern Virginia.

Formed in November 2022, the YBPC's goal,"is to cultivate a vibrant community that is deeply invested in the success of the College of Business, its current students and young alumni." Today, the YBPC has a full roster of 28 young alumni.

One of them, John Meade (’17), is a principal with Blue Delta Capital Partners, a venture capital firm based in McLean, VA. He says his own involvement with the YBPC dates from the summer of 2023, when he was approached by Samantha Collier, director of the CoB’s Office of Professional Development and Engagement (OPDE). Collier asked him to consider taking a seat on the YBPC for a three-year term.

“Since then,” he says, “I have participated in board meetings and strategy sessions focused on understanding the demographics of JMU’s business students and young alumni and developing plans for engaging them.” 

The YBPC’s purpose is to cultivate a community of leaders who can draw on the experience and knowledge they have acquired during the early stages of their careers to enhance the prospects of alumni even younger than themselves, as well as current students.

YBPC members must demonstrate a passion for service to the college, including participation in at least one CoB event annually. Each member is also expected to provide financial leadership through an annual donation to a self-selected CoB department or program.

Meade, a Finance and Economics double major during his undergraduate days, is quick to note that “JMU has a fantastic reputation among its alumni,” adding that he has “never met anyone who regretted their decision to attend.”

However, erosion of that strong connection may occur, according to Meade, when alumni fail to grasp how many ways are available to them to connect with current students and the university.

“I’ve managed to stay involved with a number of fellow Finance graduates,” he says, “and constantly hear that they also are interested in giving back some of their time.”

Meade says the YBPC is providing a mechanism for doing that when it engages with young alums and shows them how to continue being a resource to the university after they have graduated, and vice versa.

For example, YPBC members made a positive impression on faculty and staff last fall when they participated in one of the CoB's semi-annual “town halls.” Mike Yankey, senior lecturer in Business Management, says he was particularly struck by their candor. They were "very up-front,” Yankey says, “about what they had learned was working for them" in professional settings at the outset of their careers.

Meade says that, as the YBPC becomes better established, it is starting to engage with several key constituencies. For example, the YBPC and OPDE have begun planning webinars for students and alumni on professional development topics.

Meade says webinars and networking mixers are just two examples of events that can help students build strong alumni networks.

“The OPDE has made it easy for us to get involved,” Meade says. “Its leaders deserve all the credit for providing a friction-less experience, and for the overall progress of the YBPC so far.”

If you’re an alum of the College of Business and want to be sure you are invited to future networking events hosted by the YBPC in your current city, please check to see that your contact information is up to date in the university’s records.