Industry Days Bring Business World to Classroom

04/03/2025
By Ed Brennen

The Manning School of Business recently interrupted its regularly scheduled programming — in this case, two days of classes in late March — 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’s 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 minoring in business or taking business courses and members of the Honors College and River Hawk Scholars Academy. 

Rist Family Endowed Dean of Business Bertie Greer, who worked in the automotive industry for almost a decade, created the event to “bridge the gap between the classroom and the real world.”

“By 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,” Greer said of industry guests during the luncheon. “You are helping students understand the creativity and resilience they need to work in this fast-changing business landscape.”

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

Jennifer Menendez, a junior finance student from Waltham, Massachusetts, appreciated learning about how Pendkar has navigated a nonlinear career path.

“She found unexpected opportunities in jobs that she wasn’t expecting to take,” Menendez said. “As a first-gen student, it was awesome to hear that she also wasn’t sure what she wanted to pursue.”

Sophomore finance student Evan Kifor enjoyed hearing alumna Amie Stevens ’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.

“This event really gets you into the headspace of networking and learning how to engage with industry professionals,” said the Westford, Massachusetts native, who transferred to UML this semester from UMass Dartmouth.  

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

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

Information systems alumna Deborah Riley ’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.

“It is possible to retire as a millionaire if you start now. And it doesn't take a lot — even if you can get $100 a month into your 401(k),” Riley told a room of 72 students. “But you have to start young and resist the temptation to spend; you don’t spend yourself to wealth.” 

Originally from Billerica, Massachusetts, Riley was “honored” to be part of the inaugural event.

“Attending UMass Lowell was life-changing for me in so many ways,” she said.

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

“Bringing the real world to campus is a fabulous idea,” said Steele, an Arlington, Massachusetts, resident who earned a master’s degree in finance and financial management services from UML and has worked as an adjunct faculty member in the Manning School. “I put my three kids through college, and I don’t remember them ever talking about something like this.”

Keynote speakers included Fred Lowery, executive vice president and president of laboratory products and bioproduction at Thermo Fisher Scientific; industrial engineering alum John Pantanella ’90, CEO and founder of Chemline Inc. (the event sponsor); and electrical engineering alum Vala Afshar ’94, ’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.

“The most remarkable people I know seek random collisions,” Afshar said. “You spent two days at this conference. How many new friends did you make? How many faculty members did you meet?”

After the final session ended, Greer reflected on an event that started as “just an item on my vision board.”

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