Tory McCord: Bradley University
For Tory McCord, her current position-program director of Alumni Relations at Bradley University-is something of a homecoming. The Peoria native earned a degree in marketing from Bradley and then spent time in careers such as sales and the non-profit sector before her dream job became available. "The opportunity came up to go back and work for my alma mater in Alumni Relations. Because I'd been involved with the board of directors of the local alumni chapter, I knew the job would be something I would love," she said.
McCord said that much to her delight, no two days are the same for her. "My responsibilities are very broad, but that adds to the excitement of the job. I'm responsible for approximately 10 alumni chapters across the U.S. Some of these chapters have boards of directors, which are volunteers who help us plan events to keep the alumni in the specific geographic area connected. I advise those boards, help them in their planning, and initiate and do all the planning for the events. I also manage Bradley University Alumni Sharing Knowledge (BU ASK), our alumni-to-student mentor program, and the Bradley Alumni Volunteer Organization (BRAVO!), our volunteer network of alumni throughout the U.S. that staffs college fairs and helps with recruitment.
"I advise the Bradley Ambassadors, which is our student alumni association. After implementing some new programs, the membership has increased from three to 45 members. I'm also the liaison to the Enrollment Management Committee of the Parent's Board and the Student Involvement Committee of the Bradley University Alumni Association Board of Directors," she
said.
The BU ASK program is quickly becoming a popular program on campus, McCord said. "The benefit of the program to students is that they have an opportunity to meet with an alumnus and get information about their desired career. With so many career choices, this is a great way for our students to gain some insight about career paths without working a semester as an intern or spending a summer doing something they quickly find out they aren't crazy about. For our alumni, this is a great opportunity for them to reconnect with the campus. The energy and enthusiasm the students share with the alumni is fabulous. The alumni also enjoy sharing their expertise with the students, as they've been in the students' shoes and they realize how insightful and helpful their knowledge is to them. The other aspect of this program that's so important is the alumni are serving as role models to the students. My goal is when the students who've participated in BU ASK graduate, I hope they'll turn around and become mentors themselves because of their experience in the program."
McCord said the alumni-student matches are solely based on career interests. "For example, if I have a student considering law school, I'd match her with an alumnus who's an attorney. This allows the student to see several different aspects of what life is like as a lawyer. The amount of contact between the matches is left up to them. I encourage our alumni to contact the students at least once a month, which is very easy to do in the world of technology. Usually, this means sending a quick e-mail to check in and see how they're doing. Some of my matches have made it a point to have bi-weekly dinners and have continued their relationship even after the student has graduated. This isn't a job placement by any means, but I've had a few students get job offers through connections their mentors have made for them."
As with the BU ASK participants, McCord said some alumni chapters are more active than others. "I work with our central Illinois alumni chapter, and they're very active. They have monthly board meetings and four annual events. A majority of my other chapters have an event at least once a year-if not more. The activity is very important, as it allows me the opportunity to keep our alumni connected to the university. The connection is what we want, which is why we have programs like BU ASK, BRAVO!, and alumni chapters; it allows them to give back and keep connected to Bradley."
McCord said the most challenging aspect of her job has been finding ways to promote programs to the 6,000 students on campus. "Through programs like BU ASK, we're trying to educate students about the Alumni Association. In the past, the first contact they had with our office was when they received their diploma. We no longer want that to be the case. I'm slowly making a dent in educating the students, and I know it'll only get better with time."
The best part of her job, she said, is the wide variety of people she interacts with on a daily basis. "I have the best of both worlds; I not only get to work with college students on a daily basis, but I also have the privilege of interacting with my fellow alumni. Even better, I get to have conversations with alumni who graduated anywhere from 60-plus years ago to just last May."
Outside of Bradley, McCord is an active community volunteer, and like many women, finds balance difficult at times. "I've had to work on finding balance in my life-especially in my current role at Bradley. With my travel schedule and evening and weekend meetings, I've had to step away from some of my community involvement to make some time for myself. There are so many great organizations that need volunteers; it's hard. I know several women (myself included) who tend to put themselves at the bottom of their 'to do' list. As I became more frazzled, I realized I was forgetting to take care of the most important thing-myself. So I try to take an hour out of every day to get caught up on some reading or just kick back and relax. It's amazing how having that hour of down time is so rejuvenating."
As a young professional in the Peoria area, McCord said she sees the city making great strides to keep young professionals here. "I chose to stay in Peoria after I graduated from Bradley-not only because I have family here, but because I think Peoria is a great place to live and work. Part of my community involvement was motivated by the fact that I didn't want to be one of the young professionals who complained about how Peoria didn't have anything to offer. Thus, I decided I should make the most of Peoria and see what it had to offer. I quickly found that if you're willing and able to help, there are plenty of organizations that need you. And even if you're not willing to volunteer, from cultural to sporting events, there always seems to be something going on. So, to my fellow young professionals in the Peoria area, I hope you stick around. If you're looking for something to do, there's plenty of people to point you in the right direction." TPW
McCord said that much to her delight, no two days are the same for her. "My responsibilities are very broad, but that adds to the excitement of the job. I'm responsible for approximately 10 alumni chapters across the U.S. Some of these chapters have boards of directors, which are volunteers who help us plan events to keep the alumni in the specific geographic area connected. I advise those boards, help them in their planning, and initiate and do all the planning for the events. I also manage Bradley University Alumni Sharing Knowledge (BU ASK), our alumni-to-student mentor program, and the Bradley Alumni Volunteer Organization (BRAVO!), our volunteer network of alumni throughout the U.S. that staffs college fairs and helps with recruitment.
"I advise the Bradley Ambassadors, which is our student alumni association. After implementing some new programs, the membership has increased from three to 45 members. I'm also the liaison to the Enrollment Management Committee of the Parent's Board and the Student Involvement Committee of the Bradley University Alumni Association Board of Directors," she
said.
The BU ASK program is quickly becoming a popular program on campus, McCord said. "The benefit of the program to students is that they have an opportunity to meet with an alumnus and get information about their desired career. With so many career choices, this is a great way for our students to gain some insight about career paths without working a semester as an intern or spending a summer doing something they quickly find out they aren't crazy about. For our alumni, this is a great opportunity for them to reconnect with the campus. The energy and enthusiasm the students share with the alumni is fabulous. The alumni also enjoy sharing their expertise with the students, as they've been in the students' shoes and they realize how insightful and helpful their knowledge is to them. The other aspect of this program that's so important is the alumni are serving as role models to the students. My goal is when the students who've participated in BU ASK graduate, I hope they'll turn around and become mentors themselves because of their experience in the program."
McCord said the alumni-student matches are solely based on career interests. "For example, if I have a student considering law school, I'd match her with an alumnus who's an attorney. This allows the student to see several different aspects of what life is like as a lawyer. The amount of contact between the matches is left up to them. I encourage our alumni to contact the students at least once a month, which is very easy to do in the world of technology. Usually, this means sending a quick e-mail to check in and see how they're doing. Some of my matches have made it a point to have bi-weekly dinners and have continued their relationship even after the student has graduated. This isn't a job placement by any means, but I've had a few students get job offers through connections their mentors have made for them."
As with the BU ASK participants, McCord said some alumni chapters are more active than others. "I work with our central Illinois alumni chapter, and they're very active. They have monthly board meetings and four annual events. A majority of my other chapters have an event at least once a year-if not more. The activity is very important, as it allows me the opportunity to keep our alumni connected to the university. The connection is what we want, which is why we have programs like BU ASK, BRAVO!, and alumni chapters; it allows them to give back and keep connected to Bradley."
McCord said the most challenging aspect of her job has been finding ways to promote programs to the 6,000 students on campus. "Through programs like BU ASK, we're trying to educate students about the Alumni Association. In the past, the first contact they had with our office was when they received their diploma. We no longer want that to be the case. I'm slowly making a dent in educating the students, and I know it'll only get better with time."
The best part of her job, she said, is the wide variety of people she interacts with on a daily basis. "I have the best of both worlds; I not only get to work with college students on a daily basis, but I also have the privilege of interacting with my fellow alumni. Even better, I get to have conversations with alumni who graduated anywhere from 60-plus years ago to just last May."
Outside of Bradley, McCord is an active community volunteer, and like many women, finds balance difficult at times. "I've had to work on finding balance in my life-especially in my current role at Bradley. With my travel schedule and evening and weekend meetings, I've had to step away from some of my community involvement to make some time for myself. There are so many great organizations that need volunteers; it's hard. I know several women (myself included) who tend to put themselves at the bottom of their 'to do' list. As I became more frazzled, I realized I was forgetting to take care of the most important thing-myself. So I try to take an hour out of every day to get caught up on some reading or just kick back and relax. It's amazing how having that hour of down time is so rejuvenating."
As a young professional in the Peoria area, McCord said she sees the city making great strides to keep young professionals here. "I chose to stay in Peoria after I graduated from Bradley-not only because I have family here, but because I think Peoria is a great place to live and work. Part of my community involvement was motivated by the fact that I didn't want to be one of the young professionals who complained about how Peoria didn't have anything to offer. Thus, I decided I should make the most of Peoria and see what it had to offer. I quickly found that if you're willing and able to help, there are plenty of organizations that need you. And even if you're not willing to volunteer, from cultural to sporting events, there always seems to be something going on. So, to my fellow young professionals in the Peoria area, I hope you stick around. If you're looking for something to do, there's plenty of people to point you in the right direction." TPW