I’ve conducted several interviews for the Kogod news website over the past few years, and at the end of every interview, I ask each alum if they have any advice for current students. Brontè Burleigh-Jones, a double Kogod alum with a BS in finance and an MBA, made her return to American University earlier this month as chief financial officer and had a particularly heartfelt response to my seemingly routine question.
“Always show up as your best self no matter what the endeavor is–volunteering, class, an interview–because you never know who is watching,” says Burleigh-Jones. “I can’t tell you the number of times that a door was opened from being at a place where I could never have known that someone was paying attention to me.”
The advice she imparts is the same she followed from undergrad through to a presentation that caught AU’s attention and helped her earn the new role as CFO.
Recently, Burleigh-Jones was presenting at the National Association of College and University Attorneys (NACUA). She’s not an attorney, but she was there to provide a CFO’s perspective. She had no idea who would be in attendance that day, but someone saw Burleigh-Jones being her best self on stage, took her photo, and sent it to the AU search committee with the line: “This is who we need for the job.” She’d already been on the AU hiring committee’s radar, but her presentation performance further highlighted the potential match.
When asked if she thought her presentation at NACUA would have sparked a return to American University, she said it wasn’t impossible, but it wasn’t a consideration at the time. Luckily, Burleigh-Jones believes not everything has to be planned. “And this is coming from a planner!” laughs Burleigh-Jones.