Small school, big networking connections

Albion College, like many small, liberal arts colleges across the nation, is known for boasting strong connections between alumni and students. By the time students cross the graduation stage and walk into the alumni association, they enter a network of individuals eager to help them take the next steps in their career.

Several companies have become home to networks of Albion alumni that grow every year, including Ernst & Young (EY) and the Grand Teton Lodge. Albion College talent pipelines exist across the country at companies like Caster Concepts, Enterprise, Corewell Health, and Plante Moran.

Ernst & Young

The connection between Albion and EY has been around for decades, according to Mike Juchno ’93, a consulting partner at the firm. Grassroots campus-recruitment strategies in the late 1980s and early 1990s developed into a talent pipeline to help interested students get their foot in the door for a first interview. 

“It started before I even came to Albion,” Juchno explained. “Obviously, when it comes to the interview, you have to sell yourself, but there were already many Albion alumni at EY who helped connect Albion students into opportunities in EY’s audit practice.”

Juchno, though, wasn’t sure that audit was something he wanted to do. After graduating he was in the process of evaluating what he wanted his career to look like long term. Having played football for Albion, the Troy, Michigan, native never studied abroad in his college years. So, shortly after graduation, he decided to study abroad while backpacking around Europe for the summer. When he returned, he started his career working at a smaller, IT-consulting firm for five years before deciding he was ready to take on his next challenge.

When the time came, the Albion alumni network was ready for him.

“It was an Albion friend of mine and ATO fraternity suite-mate who was working at EY,” Juchno said. “He connected me to EY and introduced me to consulting leaders to learn more about a consulting career. He helped me prepare for the interviews, and after multiple rounds of interviews, I got the job. That was back in 1999, and I’ve been here ever since.” 

And ever since, Juchno has been paying it forward, helping countless students and alumni find their way to EY. Since Juchno joined EY, the pipeline has expanded from audit to audit and consulting, to other areas of employment within the firm.

“To this day, there’s a very strong Albion connection to EY audit. I was one of the first ones on the consulting side. What’s really exciting is that in the past couple years, it’s really expanded even beyond some of the traditional areas of consulting.”  Juchno said. “For example, there was a student with a psychology major and a marketing minor, and when he heard that we do change management consulting, he was like, ‘Wow tell me more about that.’ We got him connected to the right people to learn more, connected him to our recruiting team where they took him through various interviews, and now he’s been with EY for three years and doing amazing things.” 

Juchno mentioned several other stories of students finding unique paths within EY, including one student interested in environmental matters who is now working in EY’s climate change and sustainability practice. As for why Britons tend to be a great fit for multiple areas within EY, Juchno has no doubts.

“Consulting is about solving problems, right?” Juchno said. “Consulting is about finding the answer, but to get there, it’s all about asking the right questions.” 

And an Albion education, Juchno said, sets students up to know how to figure out what the right questions are.

“It’s as I tell the Albion students I work with,” he continued. “Don’t worry about the fact that you’re learning something that you may forget in, say, three months. You’re learning how to learn. You’re learning how to think. It’s less about memorization. It’s more about Albion training you how to think and how to learn and how to apply what you learned.”

Each year, Albion students and alumni continue to prove that the liberal arts mindset makes them a great fit for the company. 

“In the past, Albion has had about 50 alumni working at EY,” Juchno said. “That number can be higher or lower depending on the year.”

As for how many students Juchno has individually worked with, though, the number is much higher. 

“I was thinking to myself, is it over 100 students?” he said. “I’ve been a mentor to students even if they haven’t come to EY, so I think it’s easily over 100.”

Grand Teton Lodge

A pipeline that has been developing in more recent years is from Albion to the Grand Teton Lodge. The connection began with Grace Szmania ’23, a corral foreman at the company.

Szmania, a former member of the Albion College Equestrian team, saw videos of other corral foremans at the Tetons on TikTok before applying to the job herself. She was looking for a gig to keep her busy between her junior and senior years at Albion, but once she stepped foot on the job site, she knew she’d found a new place to call home.

“I went there and had the absolute best time of my life,” Szmania said of her first summer working at the Tetons. “Of course, I was posting all over social media, and all my friends and teammates were like, ‘Oh my gosh that looks like an incredible place to live to work.’”

Loving life in the Tetons herself, Szmania–like Juchno–wanted to pay it forward and share her experiences with other Britons. The best way to do that, she figured, was to simply get them there.

After her first summer working at the Tetons, Szmania was promoted to manager, which gave her additional say in who was hired.

“My first year, two teammates came and worked for me, and then this last year, we had another three,” Szmania said. “I have two more coming on board this year. It’s nice, just bringing my friends and acquaintances and people that I know would like it here, giving them references, and kind of starting to bring a piece of Michigan to Wyoming.”

Similar to Juchno, Szmania noted that the culture of the Tetons mirrors that of Albion, allowing her to know that the people she’s bringing in are well-suited for the environment.

“One of the girls coming this summer started at Albion the year after I graduated, so I’ve only ever really met her a couple times,” Szmania said. “But there is that connection that bridges us to Albion, which builds that immediate trust.”

It’s the Albion experiences they share that allows Szmania to vouch for Albion alums applying to work at the Tetons.

“Briton culture is such a unique-and-incredible one. It is a benefit to any company who can have these students. Albion does a great job of preparing the students both in the classroom and outside of the classroom, so they’re just very well-rounded people. They’re very smart. They’re very inquisitive and very kind. They just do a great job,” Szmania said. “The Briton way is just a great way, and I think that companies having that little Albion microculture is infectious.”

The Briton microculture that Szmania is working to create at the Tetons is one that is not only beneficial to graduates who might be interested in working there, but to the company itself as well.

“This is such a fantastic place to work and such an incredible stepping stone for young grads coming out of college,” Szmania added. “And then, of course, the amazing Albion students are great candidates for jobs here, so it’s kind of a win-win. We’re getting great candidates to work great jobs at a great place.”

Paying it forward

Alumni like Juchno and Szmania want to ensure that students and recent graduates are privy to the same opportunities they had during their time at Albion–and that starts with helping students find their way within their careers.  

“When people have a positive experience they want to continue that for others,” Juchno said. “It’s an ability to truly make an impact on another person’s life.”

Especially in times when the job market might not be stable, support within the Briton network is critical. 

“I know how stressful that is, trying to get a job after graduation, and I think a lot of people feel very pressured to immediately try to get a job that is exactly pertaining to their degree,” Szmania said. “It’s just been really cool to start this pipeline and be able to support new grads.”