There's no better partner than a Bryant Bulldog. Both on campus and off, Bryant university alumni know they can always count on their fellow grads to out think, out grit, and out innovate the competition — and they're always willing to extend a paw in support of the next generation of innovators.
Below are some examples of Bulldogs who found they were stronger together and that teaming up creates success for everyone.
Think globally, act with friends
When Ryan Letourneau ’11 decided he wanted to help change the world, he knew who he had to turn to. He had first met Jason Dodier ’09 as student senators and they remained connected when they both joined the multinational energy management company Schneider Electric.
“He’s the best salesperson I ever met,” Letourneau marvels.
So, as he developed Grain Ecosystem, a tech-based sustainability startup that streamlines the carbon offset process for project developers, Letourneau knew that Dodier was the right choice to help launch the eco-friendly start-up. Now, together, they’re working to make a global difference in the climate space.
A touch of inspiration
Both first-generation college students, Alexia Brandao ’24 and Julia Di Natale ’22 formed an immediate bond when they met on Bryant’s Honors Council.
When Brandao began applying for jobs, an analyst position at Goldman Sachs, where many Bryant grads have built long careers, was of immediate interest. But securing the position would be a big leap, she worried. In need of support, she turned to Di Natale, who worked at the firm as a senior analyst. “She would always tell me ‘Just be yourself and you'll be perfect,’” Brandao recalls.
After graduation, Brandao started her dream job just a few desks down from Di Natale.
Good friends make good neighbors
“I'm thrilled to be here representing two institutions that mean a lot to me,” noted Adam Joffe ’93, ’95MBA, head of asset management compliance, risk and business operations at Fidelity Investments, at the grand opening of the university’s Business Entrepreneurship Leadership Center.
Access to Bryant students is one of the reasons Fidelity came to Smithfield in the first place and, today, more than 700 Bryant grads are employed by Fidelity. It was this powerful relationship that led Fidelity to gift Bryant their building adjacent to campus where the BELC now resides — just the latest expression of a strong shared bond, suggested Joffe.
Takes one to know one
Nobody knows the value of an education better than Bryant grads. Accounting firm PwC US and its partners who are Bryant University alumni recently funded the $1.5 million PwC AI in Accounting Fellowship program, a cutting-edge experiential learning initiative that offers undergraduate students a unique opportunity to explore artificial intelligence within the accounting profession.
“This program further illustrates the strong relationship between PwC and Bryant University, where so many of our partners and staff began their career journey in accounting,” says Bob Calabro ’88, a Bryant University trustee and PwC US partner who helped to spearhead the development of the program.