Accounting alumna Darlene Steffen 鈥�76 had been so busy with her family and career 鈥� 32 years at John Deere before starting her own financial advising firm, Life Planning Solutions 鈥� that she鈥檇 fallen out of touch with her alma mater. That all changed when she attended her 40-year UML reunion in 2016.
Not only did Steffen reconnect with former classmate Joanne Yestramski 鈥�76, but she ended up joining the Manning School of Business advisory board. Ever since, she鈥檚 made several trips to campus from her home in Moline, Illinois, to speak to classes. She鈥檚 also helped endow a scholarship for first-gen business students, and she鈥檚 exploring ways to create a mentorship program for them as they begin their careers.
鈥淭hey are plowing new ground, and they need mentors who can help them network and navigate the corporate environment when they get out of school,鈥� says Steffen, who was a first-gen college student from Connecticut when she arrived on the Lowell Tech campus in 1972. 鈥淲e all have stories about stubbing our toe in our first job out of college, but it doesn鈥檛 have to be that painful.鈥�
Steffen is 鈥渢otally humbled鈥� to be receiving a University Alumni Award for her efforts.
鈥淚 so appreciate the relationship I鈥檝e built with students. I just wish I could do more,鈥� says Steffen, who looks forward to working with new Dean of Business Bertie Greer to continue supporting students. 鈥淭he advisory board isn鈥檛 here for the faculty, the dean or the administration; we鈥檙e here for the students, trying to raise money and mentor them.鈥�
Steffen can relate to the financial struggle that many students face. Coming from a 鈥渓ower-class family,鈥� she chose Lowell Tech over UMass Amherst and UConn largely because of the price tag.
鈥淢y parents did their best to help me, but just like a lot of students today, I was focused on dollars,鈥� says Steffen, who served as editor of The Text student newspaper.
She graduated a semester early and landed a job at John Deere, working her way up to become finance director for the global IT division. 鈥淗ow did I navigate that? I took the jobs nobody else wanted. I traveled and transferred. It鈥檚 what you鈥檙e willing to do,鈥� she says.
Along the way, she got a master鈥檚 in organizational behavior from Webster University in St. Louis and an MBA from Northwestern University. In 2008, she fulfilled a longtime dream of opening her own financial advising firm.
She thanks Executive Director of Alumni and Donor Relations Heather Makrez Allen, '06, '08, '21 for making her feel so welcome at the 40-year reunion and helping her reconnect with Yestramski, UML鈥檚 former senior vice chancellor for finance and operations. Steffen and Yestramski recently spent nine weeks traveling together with their husbands in Southeast Asia and Australia.聽聽
鈥淚t was the trip of a lifetime,鈥� Steffen says. 鈥淵our connections from UML can be lifelong. Just because they drop off doesn鈥檛 mean they can鈥檛 reconnect.鈥�