Manning School鈥檚 Inaugural Two-Day Event Connects Students with Professionals

Two women in business attire shake hands in the crowded lobby of a building. Image by Ed Brennen
Manning School of Business Industry Days speaker Deborah Riley '91, left, chats with graduate student Nithya BR during a networking luncheon at the Pulichino Tong Business Center.

04/03/2025
By Ed Brennen

The听Manning School of Business听recently interrupted its regularly scheduled programming 鈥� in this case, two days of classes in late March 鈥� to give students something different: Industry Days, an inaugural event that brought more than 100 working professionals to campus to talk about the trends, challenges and opportunities in their respective fields.

Similar to a professional conference, students could choose from 88 speaker sessions, panel discussions and keynotes over the Wednesday and Thursday schedule. Students were encouraged to dress professionally and were invited to network with industry guests during complimentary lunches in the Pulichino Tong Business Center鈥檚 Colella Atrium.

Overall, Industry Days sessions drew nearly 4,500 registrations, or about 50 students per session. The event was open to all business majors, as well as UMass Lowell students听minoring in business听or taking business courses and members of the听Honors College听and听River Hawk Scholars Academy.听

A woman stands at a podium and holds a microphone while talking to people in the lobby of a building. Image by Ed Brennen
Dean of Business Bertie Greer addresses Industry Days participants gathered in the Colella Atrium during lunch.
Rist Family Endowed Dean of Business听Bertie Greer, who worked in the automotive industry for almost a decade, created the event to 鈥渂ridge the gap between the classroom and the real world.鈥�

鈥淏y sharing your experiences and perspective, you are helping students understand not only the theory, but what's behind business decisions and the practical challenges that you face,鈥� Greer said of industry guests during the luncheon. 鈥淵ou are helping students understand the creativity and resilience they need to work in this fast-changing business landscape.鈥�

Of the industry professionals who gave their time, 44 were UMass Lowell alumni representing the past six decades, from Donald Gill 鈥�75, former CEO and president of Coastal Heritage Bank, to Nyna Pendkar 鈥�22, 鈥�24, a senior financial systems analyst at Insulet.

A man speaks to a classroom full of students seated at desks. Image by Ed Brennen
Manning School of Business alum Sean Roche '91, founder and chief growth officer of Green House Agency, leads an Industry Days session on marketing.
Jennifer Menendez, a junior听finance听student from Waltham, Massachusetts, appreciated learning about how Pendkar has navigated a nonlinear career path.

鈥淪he found unexpected opportunities in jobs that she wasn鈥檛 expecting to take,鈥� Menendez said. 鈥淎s a first-gen student, it was awesome to hear that she also wasn鈥檛 sure what she wanted to pursue.鈥�

Sophomore finance student Evan Kifor enjoyed hearing alumna Amie Stevens 鈥�06 talk about navigating the banking crises of Silicon Valley Bank and First Republic during her time as an executive director at J.P. Morgan.

"It was perspective-changing," said Kifor, who, like many students, signed up for as many sessions as possible.

A young woman writes on a piece of paper taped to a whiteboard while four other students look on. Image by Ed Brennen
Students brainstorm wellness ideas during an Industry Days session led by Nicholas Mirabello, chief inspiration officer at MP.
鈥淭his event really gets you into the headspace of networking and learning how to engage with industry professionals,鈥� said the Westford, Massachusetts native, who transferred to UML this semester from UMass Dartmouth.听听

Nehemie Lucien, a sophomore concentrating in听accounting听and entrepreneurship, found inspiration in the sessions led by women entrepreneurs.听

鈥淎s an entrepreneur myself, it was moving to hear how they got started, what their setbacks were and what empowered them to keep moving forward,鈥� said Lucien, who is from Boston.

Information systems听alumna Deborah Riley 鈥�91, who worked at Fidelity Investments for 10 years before pivoting to a real estate career, gave a talk on personal budgeting and financial planning.

A young woman smiles while shaking hands with a man while people mill around in the background. Image by Ed Brennen
Industry Days keynote speaker Vala Afshar '94, '96, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce, greets a student at University Crossing.
鈥淚t is possible to retire as a millionaire if you start now. And it doesn't take a lot 鈥� even if you can get $100 a month into your 401(k),鈥� Riley told a room of 72 students. 鈥淏ut you have to start young and resist the temptation to spend; you don鈥檛 spend yourself to wealth.鈥澨�

Originally from Billerica, Massachusetts, Riley was 鈥渉onored鈥� to be part of the inaugural event.

鈥淎ttending UMass Lowell was life-changing for me in so many ways,鈥� she said.

Ken Steele 鈥�18, a senior financial planner at Baystate Financial, gave a talk about a day in the life of a financial planner.

鈥淏ringing the real world to campus is a fabulous idea,鈥� said Steele, an Arlington, Massachusetts, resident who earned a master鈥檚 degree in finance and financial management services from UML and has worked as an adjunct faculty member in the Manning School. 鈥淚 put my three kids through college, and I don鈥檛 remember them ever talking about something like this.鈥�

Two college students wearing leather jackets talk to a woman in a blue blazer in a business school lobby. Image by Ed Brennen
In lieu of classes, students chose from 88 speaker sessions, panel discussions and keynotes over two days during Industry Days.
Keynote speakers included Fred Lowery, executive vice president and president of laboratory products and bioproduction at Thermo Fisher Scientific; industrial engineering alum John Pantanella 鈥�90, CEO and founder of Chemline Inc. (the event sponsor); and electrical engineering alum听Vala Afshar听鈥�94, 鈥�96, chief digital evangelist at Salesforce.

In his closing talk on artificial intelligence and the future of business, Afshar told students that the connections they made during Industry Days, and during their time at UML, can shape their careers and futures.

鈥淭he most remarkable people I know seek random collisions,鈥� Afshar said. 鈥淵ou spent two days at this conference. How many new friends did you make? How many faculty members did you meet?鈥�

After the final session ended, Greer reflected on an event that started as 鈥渏ust an item on my vision board.鈥�

鈥淚 had no idea what it would be like, but the team came together and we pulled it off,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody got something out of it 鈥� the students, the alumni, the industry guests, even the faculty and staff. It brought me great joy to see the response.鈥�

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