MSU Economics Alumni Return to Campus for Undergraduate Networking Event

Alumnus Joe Orsini (top right) advises students to take coding courses while at MSU if they’re interested in the tech side of economics.

On Thursday, January 30, the MSU Department of Economics hosted their first Young Alumni Networking Event, welcoming sixteen alumni to campus to connect with over 70 current undergraduate students.  

“The goal of the event was to help undergrads learn about how alumni created careers with their economics degree, how to pitch their degree to potential employers, the wide range of companies and job opportunities available to economics majors, and graduate school pathways including law school, MBA and public policy,” said Professor Stacy Dickert-Conlin, event organizer. 

Alumni represented a wide range of jobs including data analytics, investing, policy, health care administration, and banking; in addition to employers, including MClaren Health Care, State of Michigan, Lear Corporation, Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Meijer. 

MSU Alumni ( back l:r) Kendall Uckele, Bryan Britten, Joshua Scott, Keith Lambert, Mike Parsons, Robert Mooney, Kelly Wilcox, Allison Epshteyn (front l:r) Ashely Kuykendoll, Jeffrey Guilfoyle, Isaac Updike, Erica Guynn. (Note: not all alumni who attended are pictured here).

“I’ve held jobs in market research; investigated money laundering, terrorist financing and election interference; I’ve contracted with the CDC, and now I’m in the energy market,” said alum Bryan Britten, data engineer with Consumers Energy. “You can do anything with economics, and I just want people to understand that. I want to really inspire those who are coming up in the program and avail myself as a resource.” 

Alumni members Allisyn Mattice-Eskau (back left) and Bryan Britten (bottom right) speak with economics majors about their career paths.

Alumni had a wide range of advice to share with students about career paths, grad school and courses to take.  

“One piece of advice I have for current students is to say ‘yes’ to as many opportunities as you can while you’re here on campus,” said Michelle Orlando, statistical reports supervisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago. “Being an economics student at Michigan State affords you many great resources and opportunities — Take advantage of them, because you never know how those experiences will help shape your future.” 

Alumna Allison Epshteyn (left) speaks about her career journey to associate attorney with first-year economics majors.

Students expressed how beneficial it was to spend time with alumni. 

“One thing that I took away from the networking event is that econ is so broad, you have so many avenues to build your career, and there is so much support here at Michigan State,” said economics major Jefferson Afante. 

“I had an amazing experience at the MSU Economics Alumni event,” said Leishaa Karaka, economics major. “Connecting with fellow alumni and hearing about their career paths after earning their degrees was truly enlightening. The event was a great reminder of how important networking is and how valuable it can be to build connections for new opportunities. Hearing from those who have been through it was insightful and left me feeling more motivated and excited for what’s ahead.” 

The MSU Department of Economics event organizers were pleased with the turnout and hope this is the first year of many successful networking events in the years to come. 

“We are fortunate to have such a passionate group of young alumni who have given of their time and talents and who want to make a difference in the lives of current undergraduates,” Dickert-Conlin said. “We hope to continue to facilitate a strong alumni network that current undergraduates feel plugged into.”