Consulting Club Collaborates with Office of Alumni Relations

The Office of Alumni Relations approached the CC Consulting Club last fall about looking into how their office could effectively increase the number of alumni engaged with the College, with a particular focus on increasing and maintaining the number of relationships with young alumni (those that have graduated within the last six years). Alumni Relations had noticed a lower level of engagement among this demographic and was in search of a solution. After seeing the success the club had had in their work with CC’s Career Center, Alumni Relations hired the group to do a full study.

The Consulting Club stepped up and, after months of conducting research and interviews, compiling data, and analyzing results, returned a 41-page report outlining its findings and final recommendations. The club presented their findings to the Office of Alumni and Family Relations on April 30. Members of this year’s consulting project were: Yumna Ali ’27, Justin Boder ’27, Logan Brunk ’27, Lucas Donahue ’26, Sonia Guliak ’26, Jordan Humphrey ’26, Madron Joyce ’27, Lenny Lehmitz ’28, Alexandra McCarthy ’26, Dana Mulco ’27, Veronica Gonzalez Paris ’26, Will Peterson ’27, Sunya Raza ’25, Leo Rothschild ’27, Emmet Shuman ’26, and Wes Vorley ’27.

“We were delighted the Consulting Club agreed to work on our project regarding young alumni engagement,” says Associate VP for Engagement Cindy Hyman ’82. “The Club listened carefully to our directive, asked great questions, conducted research, and brainstormed possible solutions. Just like professional consultants, they checked in regularly, conducted their own research, and ultimately presented recommendations.”

Consulting Club co-presidents and consulting project co-leaders Emmet Shuman ’26 and Alexandra McCarthy ’26 explain that one of the strengths of liberal arts institutions is the depth of connections the alumni networks provide, and CC is therefore invested in enhancing the quality of its network into the future.

Shuman and McCarthy began the project by evaluating the existing data collected and provided by the Alumni Office. The co-leaders broke down the data and divided the club analysts into groups to analyze specific documents and organize key findings, which acted as contextual evidence for the club’s final recommendation.

“This initial analysis revealed that students who were engaged with academic clubs or affinity groups while on campus were more inclined to maintain relationships within the alumni network as recent graduates,” Shuman says. “That finding narrowed the club’s research to identify how the Alumni Association can use its services to increase engagement within these communities on campus.”

To identify how the Alumni Office could best increase student engagement in campus communities, Shuman and McCarthy asked two questions: 

1. Acknowledging the range of communities on campus, what are some effective strategies that the Office of Alumni and Family Relations could implement to increase engagement broadly?
2. Given the existing resources of the Office of Alumni and Family Relations, which of the suggested strategies are the most feasible and impactful to implement?

Both Shuman, a Mathematical Economics major and Computer Science minor, and McCarthy, a Mathematical Economics major with a minor in Human Biology and Kinesiology, were excited to lead this project as it gave them a chance to experience consulting in a real-world scenario, while also helping a community they care so much about.

Shuman and McCarthy met with Hyman and Associate Director of Alumni Engagement Jacob Sanchez every other week during the fall semester and once a month this past spring semester, which allowed both parties to be on the same page as the Consulting Club narrowed their research.

“Our outreach to on-campus clubs was grounded in a key insight from our client’s data: students who are actively involved in campus life, specifically academic extracurriculars, during their undergraduate years are more likely to remain engaged as alumni,” Shuman says. “Through our outreach, we identified a consistent and actionable theme: club leaders frequently expressed that their responsibilities could be significantly eased if the Office of Alumni and Family Relations facilitated connections with alumni who are interested in engaging with student groups. The Office of Alumni and Family Relations receives a large volume of inquiries each year from alumni eager to give back by speaking with or mentoring current students. However, due to the sheer number of active clubs on campus, the office has lacked a clear, systematic way to match alumni with relevant student organizations.”

Shuman and McCarthy explain that their research addresses this gap by identifying specific needs and preferences among clubs, which can inform a more strategic approach for the Office of Alumni and Family Relations. The co-leaders say that their recommendations not only empower student leaders to focus more of their energy on programming and member development, but also create more meaningful and timely opportunities for alumni to contribute to campus life.

“In turn, alumni who have a positive experience engaging with students may be more likely to deepen their involvement with the institution, strengthening the long-term alumni network and increasing the likelihood of future philanthropic support, mentoring, or volunteerism,” Shuman adds. “Ultimately, this research supports a more efficient and mutually beneficial relationship between students and alumni. It provides the Office of Alumni and Family Relations with actionable data to optimize engagement efforts and positions student clubs to benefit from the knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm of alumni who want to give back.”

Veronica Gonzalez Paris ’26, a Business, Economics, and Society major and Chinese Language minor who was in the Alumni Outreach and the Recent Graduate Analysis research groups, says working on this consulting project gave her a chance to experience what consultant work looks like, as well as was an opportunity to connect with young alumni and help improve CC’s relationship with the alumni community.

“The project was a lot of work, but it was quite rewarding to be able to connect with young alumni and hear their stories, especially about how much they love and appreciate the memories they have from CC,” says Gonzalez. “One of my favorite parts of the project was learning how CC alumni truly loved their time at CC and still hold it very dearly in their hearts.”

“Their proposals were realistic, considered available resources, set short- and long-term goals, and defined success metrics. We are excited to incorporate their recommendations into our strategic planning to see improved engagement with young alumni.”

Cindy Hyman ’82, Associate VP for Engagement

Lenny Lehmitz ’28, a Mathematics Economics major, was part of the Recent Graduate Analysis group, which focused on collecting and analyzing data from peer institutions. He emailed five peer institutions and set up interviews with the Office of Alumni and Family Relations from those schools, where he was able to ask about best practices and determine ways their young alumni network is or is not successful. Lehmitz learned that alumni offices at peer institutions connect with students earlier and more frequently, which seems to help them build a closer relationship.

“My favorite part about working with the Alumni Association has been helping the client solve a problem that directly affects me as well,” says Logan Brunk ’27, a Mathematical Economics major. “As a consultant, my understanding is that most cases you work on are distant and somewhat detached — you are paid to strategize, research, and suggest paths forward, but at the end of the day, you’re often unaffected personally. That’s part of the point of hiring outside consultants: they provide a new, unbiased perspective. I’ve really enjoyed conducting research in this way, but I’ve also found myself personally invested and curious about the outcomes of our analyses, which has been really insightful.”

The Consulting Club presented their findings to Alumni Relations last month. The presentation was an outline of the research and final recommendation and the final deliverable was a formal paper, which went significantly more in-depth into the research and final recommendations. Ten students presented their own individual research, while Shuman and McCarthy presented the final recommendations.

“The entire leadership of the Alumni Association Office, our client, attended the presentation, and they were very pleased with the depth of our recommendations,” Shuman says. “They are specifically planning to implement our recommendations related to budget allocation and modify their metrics to quantify young alumni engagement. Additionally, they seem inclined to follow our recommendations to make young alumni engagement more student-oriented, to keep the CC community more closely connected. This will involve the school taking a more active role in facilitating student-alumni connections and increasing the connection between the office and student organizations on campus.”

“Their proposals were realistic, considered available resources, set short- and long-term goals, and defined success metrics,” says Hyman. “We are excited to incorporate their recommendations into our strategic planning to see improved engagement with young alumni.”

The Consulting Club will have a new client for next year’s annual project and will continue case sessions as a team. Shuman and McCarthy plan to mentor the new leadership closely for the first semester and then become more hands off as the year goes on. “We hope that a few years down the line, the Consulting Club will team back up with the Alumni Association to review the impacts of this year’s projects, and implement any improvements necessary,” McCarthy says.

The Consulting Club is a preprofessional environment designed to provide students with the necessary skills to succeed in management, economics, finance, environmental, technology, or other consulting roles. There are about 25 members. Last semester, the club collaborated with the student consulting groups at the University of Colorado Boulder and Denver University to create and participate in the first-ever Rocky Mountain Case Competition.

Alumni interested in speaking to the Consulting Club can reach out via LinkedIn or email co-presidents Alexandra McCarthy or Emmet Shuman. Students interested in joining the club can also contact the co-presidents.