news

Career Paths: How Luke St. John Became a Natural Networker

Jane Majkiewicz — Fri, 07 Feb 2025 20:18:11 +0000

Career Paths: How Luke St. John Became a Natural Networker Jane Majkiewicz Fri, 02/07/2025 - 13:18

Luke St. John (Fin’25) built a robust habit of networking while pursuing his passions at Leeds. That ultimately helped him secure a job before graduation.

For senior Luke St. John, launching his career this spring has boiled down to two things: Doing what he loves and talking to everybody.

This May, St. John will graduate and begin his new role as a business analyst at McKinsey and Company in Denver. He attributes this success partly to his involvement in various student organizations at CU. Since his freshman year, he has served as vice president on the board of the Boulder Freeride ski and snowboard club—the largest student organization on campus. He has also been an active member of Leeds Student Government and has participated in the Leeds on Wall Street group.

Turning dreams into milestones

Joining clubs helped St. John navigate a challenging start to his freshman year, fostering friendships and cementing valuable connections to craft a positive college experience. His spring semester of junior year was another turning point: Realizing he had enough credits to graduate early, he took time off to pursue his travel dreams—skiing in Japan, surfing in Bali and exploring Europe. That didn’t thwart his plans to graduate—but instead expanded his curiosity and confidence.

To fund his travels, St. John worked nearly every day at a restaurant for two months, a lesson in financial planning and perseverance. And navigating the unknowns of travel became a strong talking point during interviews. That semester off ultimately paid off. His new role at McKinsey will involve significant travel, and St. John feels ready for the challenge.

Follow your passions

St. John credits his parents for instilling in him an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for doing meaningful work. His father started a company more than 20 years ago building drift boats for fly fishing.

“I think that was so cool for me to see my entire life growing up … [my father] has been so focused and dedicated to his company. He has good days and he has bad days, and I get to see those firsthand. I know that deep down, he loves what he does.”

His mother works as a curator and grant writer for the Steamboat Art Museum, a job she loves and one that has inspired St. John’s interest in nonprofits.

“Having both parents doing something they're so passionate about … it’s kind of hard not to think, ‘They made it work 100% doing that. So why can’t I?’”

Network with peers

Early on, St. John recognized the value of Leeds’ career resources—he was in Leeds’ career coach Susan Brodnicki’s office at least an hour each week, he laughed. She worked tirelessly to help connect him with leads and contacts. Also, he never underestimated the power of collaborating with peers to practice and build skills.

His involvement with Leeds Student Government proved to be a fertile ground for learning and leadership. “It was so cool that I could go in, and not really knowing much … the juniors and seniors were able to guide me to where I wanted to go, and then they let me take the reins on stuff that I was really passionate about,” said St. John.

Through student government, St. John first learned about McKinsey from a junior who had secured a job there. That influenced his decision in freshman year to focus on finance and business. His involvement in the investment banking club starting sophomore year further honed his networking and interview skills.

"You need to put yourself out there. The worst that’ll happen is people won’t respond."

Luke St. John (Fin’25)

“They trained us that you need to put yourself out there. The worst that’ll happen is people won’t respond,” said St. John. He learned how to “take that ‘no’ and move to the next company or reach out to somebody else that might be more helpful.”

Stick with it

St. John estimates he’s sent over 500 emails for coffee chats in the last three years.

“I probably had 30 or 40 calls with companies before I even got to McKinsey,” he added. While he reached out to contacts from other schools, he found conversations with Leeds alumni to be the most productive.

“On other calls, they didn’t necessarily have the understanding about classes or looking out for me as much as people at Leeds,” said St. John. “That’s what’s so cool: Buffs looking out for Buffs.”

When St. John had his first interview with McKinsey, he reached out to a couple of students in the Leeds Consulting Group, even though he isn’t a member. Those students happily devoted a couple of hours each to help St. John practice.

Explore options through internships

Internships helped St. John gain clarity about his career path.

“I knew I wanted to do something in finance, but I didn’t necessarily know what,” St. John said. Interning with both private and nonprofit organizations allowed him to discover his preferences and envision his future. Gaining that professional experience has allowed him to feel confident going into his new role, knowing how to gauge expectations.

Looking ahead

St. John will spend two to three years as a general business analyst for McKinsey, following the company’s track to consultant, senior consultant and engagement manager roles.

No matter where the path ultimately takes him, St. John knows he’ll benefit from the experience.

“I am incredibly excited just to be able to touch a variety of industries,” he said. He hopes to pair the business knowledge he develops with his passion for the outdoors and sustainability. He dreams of starting a company to make skis, inspired by his father’s entrepreneurial journey.

One certainty: Networking will remain a cornerstone of St. John’s path. Here’s some proof: After the interview for this story, he followed up with an email to share contacts for other articles, including his younger brother, a current CU student transferring to Leeds this fall.

That’s “Buffs looking out for Buffs” in action, which, for St. John, comes naturally.

Want to put your networking skills to work? Connect with the Leeds Career Development Office.

Luke St. John (Fin’25) built a robust habit of networking while pursuing his passions at Leeds. That ultimately helped him secure a job before graduation.

Traditional

White

CU-Boulder’s undergraduate business program at the Leeds School of Business lands at 22nd among public universities, 34th overall

Anonymous — Wed, 10 Sep 2014 14:57:26 +0000

CU-Boulder’s undergraduate business program at the Leeds School of Business lands at 22nd among public universities, 34th overall Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/10/2014 - 08:57

CU System news release

DENVER —University of Colorado campuses and undergraduate programs historically earn high marks on U.S. News & World Report’s annual Best Colleges lists, and the 2015 edition -- released today -- again shows national and regional recognition of CU’s sustained excellence.

The University of Colorado Boulder is No. 38 among top Public National Universities. CU-Boulder is 88th among all public, private and for-profit universities in the country. No other university in the state rates higher on the list than CU-Boulder.

The University of Colorado Denver is among the institutions included on the list of second-tier schools, those that immediately follow the list of Best National Universities.

The University of Colorado Colorado Springs is No. 13 on the list of Top Public Regional Universities of the West, and 51st overall among Regional Universities of the West.

Other Best Colleges highlights from U.S. News & World Report:

· CU-Boulder’s undergraduate engineering program comes in at 20th among public institutions whose highest degree is a doctorate, 36th overall. Within engineering, recognition went to aerospace (No. 9 among public institutions, No. 14 overall); environmental (No. 10 among publics, No. 17 overall); and chemical (No. 12 among publics, No. 18 overall).

· UCCS’ undergraduate engineering program is sixth among public engineering schools whose highest degree is a bachelor’s or master’s, including military service academies.

Among public, private and for-profit universities combined, the undergraduate engineering program ranks 14th.

· CU-Boulder’s undergraduate business program at the Leeds School of Business lands at 22nd among public universities, 34th overall.

· CU Denver’s undergraduate business program is 93rd overall among national universities.

· The undergraduate program in the UCCS College of Business is No. 113 overall among national universities.

· The list of Best Colleges for Veterans has UCCS at No. 17 among Regional Universities of the West. These are the top schools participating in federal initiatives helping veterans and active service members apply, pay for and complete their degrees.

· CU-Boulder is listed among A-Plus Schools for B Students, a guide to the highest quality institutions affording opportunity to B students.

· CU-Boulder also is listed at 91st among high school guidance counselors when asked what colleges they think offer the best undergraduate education among all public, private and for-profit universities in the country.

U.S. News & World Report rankings are based on its measures of academic peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, faculty resources, student selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving. “National Universities” are the 280 institutions – 173 public, 100 private and seven for-profit institutions – that offer a wide range of undergraduate majors as well as master’s and doctoral degrees; some emphasize research.

The rankings are posted at http://colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com/best-colleges.

The 2015 edition Best Colleges book is available for purchase online.

U.S. News’ annual rankings for graduate programs are issued in the spring.

Contact:
Jay Dedrick, 303-860-5707, Jay.Dedrick@cu.edu- See more at: http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2014/09/08/cu-boulder-earns-high-marks-us-news-world-report#sthash.6EwcUC0R.dpuf

Traditional

White

Assistant Professor David Hekman's study on workplace courage

Anonymous — Wed, 03 Sep 2014 14:20:42 +0000

Assistant Professor David Hekman's study on workplace courage Anonymous (not verified) Wed, 09/03/2014 - 08:20

Workplace courage: more process than personality, says study involving CU-Boulder

September 2, 2014 • Press Release

Unlike the cowardly lion in the book The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, who simply drank a potion to muster courage, people in real life deliberate through a process when deciding whether to act bravely in the workplace, according to a study involving the University of Colorado Boulder.

“What’s surprising about the findings is that they tell us courage is not just a personality trait, it’s a behavior that can be learned,” said David Hekman, assistant professor of management at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business and co-author of the study. “Also, courage is very social. You compare yourself with the people around you and ask, ‘Do I identify with the victim, or am I more powerful than the other people?’”

Acts of courage in the workplace might include admitting a mistake to one’s boss, divulging that a product is faulty during a sales meeting with a client, or ordering a superior commander in the military to step down because of inappropriate handling of a mission.

When faced with danger or wrongdoing in the workplace, people first ask themselves if they’re personally responsible to act, the study found. People’s level of attachment to the victim or level of power in the workplace is often what determines their sense of responsibility to step in.

Once a sense of responsibility is established, people then try to assess the costs of behaving courageously, such as job security and professional relationships. People tend to go forward with their acts of courage despite anticipated costs, according to the paper, forthcoming in the journal Organization Science.

“What’s surprising about the findings is that they tell us courage is not just a personality trait, it’s a behavior that can be learned,” said David Hekman, assistant professor of management at the CU-Boulder Leeds School of Business and co-author of the study. “Also, courage is very social. You compare yourself with the people around you and ask, ‘Do I identify with the victim, or am I more powerful than the other people?’”

Four major types of workplace courage were found in the study including standing up to authority, uncovering mistakes, protecting those in need, and structuring uncertainty, or taking a stance on a problem that has no clear solution and possibly serious repercussions.

Pauline Schilpzand, an assistant professor of management in the College of Business at Oregon State University led the study. Terence Mitchell, a professor of management at the University of Washington Foster School of Business, co-authored the study with Hekman.

The researchers interviewed 94 professionals, including executives and military personnel, from a range of private, public, government and nonprofit organizations.

The interviewees were asked to talk about incidences of courage in the workplace, either acted out or observed -- data that were crunched by the researchers to find common patterns and categories of bravery.

One participant, who managed regional sales plans for her company, told a story about refusing to adjust the assigned sales quotas of her colleagues per the request of her boss, who wanted to favor some staff members so they’d reach their targets and receive bonuses, and cause others to struggle.

Another participant talked about how at a company party, the CEO unexpectedly got on stage, took the microphone, told the band to stop playing and admitted his own leadership mistakes, promising to make changes, in front of a shocked audience of hundreds. The participant said things improved at the company after the confessional outpouring.

Of the four types of courage, standing up to authority was the most commonly reported by study participants with 67 incidences. It also was the most harmful, with 34 percent of the participants feeling they suffered repercussions for their courageous behavior. The second most common form of courage was protecting those in need with an 11 percent harm rate, followed by uncovering mistakes with a 38 percent harm rate and structuring uncertainty with an 18 percent harm rate, according to Hekman.

While managers naturally might not value courage in the workplace because it often involves subordinates speaking up, which is uncomfortable, they -- and ultimately the organization -- should because it’s beneficial, say the researchers.

“Managers might better grasp the significance of our findings by thinking of courageous workplace behaviors as a type of organizational immune response that identifies and corrects power abuses, errors, ambiguity and needs before they metastasize and threaten the system as a whole,” said Mitchell.

Contact:
David Hekman
david.hekman@colorado.edu
Elizabeth Lock, CU-Boulder media relations, 303-492-3117
elizabeth.lock@colorado.edu

- See more at: http://www.colorado.edu/news/releases/2014/09/02/workplace-courage-more-process-personality-says-study-involving-cu-boulder#sthash.UsOOBUHv.dpuf

Traditional

White

CU ranked in top 20 of America's most entrepreneurial Universities by Forbes

Anonymous — Thu, 31 Jul 2014 14:47:03 +0000

CU ranked in top 20 of America's most entrepreneurial Universities by Forbes Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 07/31/2014 - 08:47

Forbes 7/30/2014

Startup Schools: America's Most Entrepreneurial Universities

This story appears in the August 18, 2014 issue of Forbes.

Additional Media Coverage

Boulder Daily Camera

Denver Business Journal

The Denver Post

For the second time, Stanford University out-muscled its East Coast rivals to top the FORBES 2014 most entrepreneurial universities list. Silicon Valley’s reach has extended across California, as the state’s schools took over half of this year’s top ten spots.

FORBES ranked the nation’s most entrepreneurial research universities based on their entrepreneurial ratios – the number of alumni and students who have identified themselves as founders and business owners on LinkedIn against the school’s total student body (undergraduate and graduate combined).

Here are the highlights of the top 20 start-up schools on our list:

1 Stanford University

Its entrepreneurs don’t always wait for degrees. Among its famous dropouts: Google's Larry Page and Sergey Brin; Yahoo’s Jerry Yang and David Filo; and Snapchat’s Evan Spiegel.

2 Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Its student-run $100K Entrepreneurship Competition has led to the creation of more than 130 companies and 2,500 jobs.

3 University of California, Berkeley

Berkeley has three startup incubators on campus, including SkyDeck, a joint effort of the university’s research office and its business and engineering schools.

4 Cornell University

Founded in 2001, the Cornell Entrepreneur Network has organized hundreds of events for about 20,000 alumni, students, staff, parents and friends (read my colleague Natalie Robehmed’s profile on Cornell).

5 University of California, Los Angeles

State school UCLA hosted 4,000 developers
in April for the second annual LA Hacks hackathon.

6 California Institute of Technology

Caltech boasts 32 alumni and faculty Nobel laureates despite a total student body of fewer than 2,300 in Pasadena.

7 Brown University

Popular professor Barrett Hazeltine has been teaching entrepreneurship and engineering for about half a century. Former students include the founders of Nantucket Nectars.

8 Princeton University

Summa cum laude grad Jeff Bezos was president of its Students for the Exploration & Development of Space. He donated $15 million to build its neuroscience research center.

9 Pepperdine University

Associated with the Churches of Christ, this private school in California counts among its alums eHarmony founder Neil Clark Warren.

10 Dartmouth College

Dartmouth’s Entrepreneurial Network (DEN) has provided support for over 500 projects and companies since 2001.

11 Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

RPI, established in Troy, N.Y. in 1824, claims to be the oldest science and technology school in the English-speaking world.

12 Yale University

Telecom mogul John Malone got his start as an electrical engineering student at Yale; he has since donated $74 million to the engineering school.

13 Clark University

Matthew Goldman turned his economic lessons at Clark into Blue Man Group, now a multimillion-dollar show across the country that he cofounded.

14 Syracuse University

Private equity titan Daniel D’Aniello, a magna cum laude graduate, funds an internship program that gives 20 students hands-on entrepreneurial experience each year.

15 Southern Methodist University

Selected students at SMU’s business school gain firsthand venture capital experience by running the Cox MBA Venture Fund.

16 New York University

NYU will open a 5,900-square-foot Entrepreneurs Lab in the heart of Greenwich Village this fall for students to exchange ideas.

17 Howard University

Sean “Diddy” Combs got his honorary doctorate degree earlier this year almost 25 years after dropping out of the school to build his music empire.

18 San Diego State University

Rubio’s Grill cofounder Ralph Rubio enjoyed his first fish taco while on spring break from SDSU; the company now has more than 190 restaurants nationwide.

19 University of Colorado, Boulder

The university got a $4 million grant from Blackstone Group to build an entrepreneurs network for the state.

20 University of California, Santa Barbara

In July UCSB and the nearby city of Goleta opened a 4,500-square-foot incubator in Oldtown Goleta.

The rest of the top 50 universities are:

21 University of San Francisco

22 University of Southern California

23 The University of Texas at Austin

24 Carnegie Mellon University

25 University of Miami

26 Northwestern University

27 University of Denver

28 Boston University

29 American University

30 Brigham Young University

31 Miami University-Oxford

32 Brandeis University

33 Florida Institute of Technology

34 Harvard University

35 University of Maryland-College Park

36 Hofstra University

37 Southern Illinois University Carbondale

38 University of Tulsa

39 Tufts University

40 University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

41 University of Notre Dame

42 University of Pennsylvania

43 University of Washington-Seattle

44 Clarkson University

45 Lehigh University

46 Pennsylvania State University

47 University of San Diego

48 Boston College

49 Colorado State University

50 Rice University

Additional reporting by Paige Carlotti, Frank Manning, Cara Newlon, Zheyan Ni, Chase Peterson-Withorn, Natalie Sportelli.

Follow me on Twitter @chen_liyan or on Facebook.

Traditional

White

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2014 Indicators Report

Anonymous — Fri, 25 Jul 2014 13:54:37 +0000

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2014 Indicators Report Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/25/2014 - 07:54

BRD's Q2 indicators report released by the Colorado Secretary of State's office

Contact:

Brian Lewandowski, Leeds School, 303-492-3307
brian.lewandowski@colorado.edu

Rich Coolidge, Colo. Dept. of State, 303-860-6903
richard.coolidge@sos.state.co.us

Andrew Cole, Colo. Dept. of State, 303-860-6903
andrew.cole@sos.state.co.us

Elizabeth Lock, CU-Boulder media relations, 303-492-3117
elizabeth.lock@colorado.edu

July 25, 2014

Continued Colorado employment growth expected in 2014, says CU-Boulder report

Moderate employment expansion in Colorado for the second half of 2014 is expected based on a second-quarter report by the University of Colorado Boulder Leeds School of Business, released today by Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler.

“Coloradans continue their entrepreneurial spirit and are putting their creative ideas to the test,” said Gessler. “Their leadership and innovation should translate to moderate employment growth through the rest of the year.”

The Quarterly Business and Economic Indicators Report is prepared by the Business Research Division at the Leeds School using data from the secretary of state’s central business registry.

During the second quarter, a total of 24,601 new businesses filed with the secretary of state’s office -- a decrease from the previous quarter, but an increase over the same period last year.

Download The Current Report

“Weakness in new entity filings in late 2013 and early 2014 caused us to pause somewhat in our outlook,” said economist Richard Wobbekind, executive director of the Leeds School’s Business Research Division. “But strong filings in subsequent months have reaffirmed healthy employment expectations for the rest of 2014.”

The quarterly report is based on an analysis that found a strong correlation between new entity filings and total nonfarm employment.

Colorado recorded 92,569 new entities during the past 12 months ending in June -- a 4.8 percent increase from the previous 12 months.

At 98,230 for the second quarter, existing entity renewals also were up by nearly 4 percent compared with the same period in 2013. The second quarter finished with 538,571 total entities in good standing in the business registry, a 0.9 percent increase from the prior quarter and a 5 percent increase from the previous year.

Visit the secretary of state’s website at http://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/quarterlyReports/index.html to view current and past reports or to sign up to receive reports by email.

List of Media Coverage

Denver Post
Denver Business Journal
The University of Colorado
KUNC
7News Denver
CBS Denver
Boulder County Businss Report
The Boulder Daily Camera
The Durango Herald
The Colorado Springs Gazette
The Miami Herald

-CU-

Traditional

White

news

Career Paths: How Luke St. John Became a Natural Networker

Turning dreams into milestones

Follow your passions

Network with peers

Stick with it

Explore options through internships

Looking ahead

Related Articles

CU-Boulder’s undergraduate business program at the Leeds School of Business lands at 22nd among public universities, 34th overall

Assistant Professor David Hekman's study on workplace courage

Workplace courage: more process than personality, says study involving CU-Boulder

CU ranked in top 20 of America's most entrepreneurial Universities by Forbes

Forbes 7/30/2014

Colorado Secretary of State Q2 2014 Indicators Report

Related Articles