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Alumni Experiences Employee Spotlight MPA Strategy 2017
Honoree Brett Swigert shared the importance of service before self in his acceptance speech.
Alumni LaDon Linde and Justin Oldroyd have always enjoyed a fast-paced work environment. Prior to their current positions, they both spent time at global strategy consulting firms, and Linde played a key role in a San Francisco-based tech company’s growth from twenty to two-hundred employees. Though their jobs were good, both men felt the need for something more—to use their knowledge and abilities for a work close to their hearts.
“Making a difference.” “Making the world a better place.” Use these phrases enough and they start sounding stale. But backed by real results, the work of MPA alumni is proving the skills developed within the walls of the Marriott School can make meaningful—and real—change.
As a child growing up in South Africa during apartheid, Curtis LeBaron, associate professor of organizational leadership and strategy, was exposed to the circumstances and attitudes that defined the era.
Jeffery Thompson stands before a large crowd once again, delivering the words he has prepared. All eyes are on him, but with eighteen years of teaching under his belt, Thompson remains unfazed. As he finishes speaking, the audience rewards him with a roar of applause for his performance. The curtains close, and Thompson can add another playbill bearing his name to his budding collection.