Alumni
A lifetime of collaboration
At DU, your degree is just the beginning. Our alumni collaborate with each other and the University to improve their world with programs like Day of Action, which works to make college more accessible to low-income elementary students, and Black Women LEAD, which creates leadership opportunities for young black women. An alumni network spanning Colorado to Qatar allows graduates everywhere, from Denver-based brewers to Google operations coordinators, to hire fellow Pioneers.
Wherever life takes you, our alumni community will provide support and development, connection and collaboration, and a multitude of opportunities to improve DU and the world. You'll hit the ground running, using our comprehensive career services and our global alumni networks to find your ideal career while building professional connections and lasting friendships.
As you advance in your life and career, you'll enrich the DU community by offering wisdom and opportunities to current students—the next generation of DU alumni. You'll have the chance to participate in alumni activities, including professional development and cultural and athletic events, as well as continued access to faculty and campus leaders on campus or wherever our alumni live. Our alumni continue to provide a valued voice that helps us excel as we look toward the future.
Career & Professional Development
Whether you graduated this year or celebrated your class reunion, we will help you:
Match your strengths and passions to internship and employment opportunities
-
Develop your professional brand through resume counseling, cover letter and interview preparation, and online persona cultivation
-
Navigate such complex topics as salary negotiation, leadership and asset management, through in-person events and free webinars
-
Discover a wealth of resources related to your career, field and major
-
Build a lifelong network of Pioneer alums, family and friends who want to help you succeed
Connect with Alumni Across the World
As a DU alum, you'll have access to multiple professional communities, including:
Pioneer Careers, a DU-exclusive jobs database that allows alumni to search for open positions at companies ranging from MGM to Toyota. Alumni can also use the database to fill open positions in their offices or companies.
-
University Career Action Network, a group of 21 of the nation's best colleges and universities that share thousands of domestic and international internship opportunities.
-
Pioneer Connect, a grassroots alumni networking community that gives you the opportunity to interact with and learn from graduates all across the world.
Visit Career & Professional Development
Discover how we support our alumni after graduation.
Regan Linton
Regan Linton, who received her master’s degree from DU’s Graduate School of Social Work, made history as the first person in a wheelchair to be named artistic director of a major U.S. theater company. That company, Phamaly, is a Denver-based professional troupe that produces plays and musicals cast entirely of performers with physical, cognitive and emotional disabilities. During her time at DU, Linton recognized that both theater and social work have the primary effect of increasing empathy, a goal she works toward everyday.
Hillary Frances
Hillary Frances graduated in 2009 with an MA in international and intercultural communication. She’s currently helping prepare nontraditional students, many of them immigrants and refugees, to enter the workforce. As instructional dean of adult education and the Language Learning Center at Emily Griffith Technical College, she helps international adult students who worked in STEM and healthcare fields in their countries of origin to learn English in a way that helps them return to their fields of expertise. Her work helps ensure these students are able to fully participate in and contribute to their new communities.
Eva Hakansson
Eva Hakansson is the fastest female motorcyclist in the world. Not only that, she used the master's in mechanical engineering she acquired at DU to build her record-setting electric motorcycle, the Killajoule. The accomplishments of this self-proclaimed "tree-hugging speed junkie" prove the potential of electric vehicles and set an example for young women who want to build the future.
Craig Patrick
Craig Patrick, who graduated in 1969 with a BA in Economics, used his four years of experience on the Pioneer ice hockey team for both a decade-long professional career and a place in the history brooks. As a member of Herb Brooks’ coaching staff, Craig was behind the bench for the 1980 “Miracle On Ice,” where the U.S. men’s hockey team pulled off a stunning Olympic upset against the Soviet Union. He followed up that success with stints as DU’s athletic director and as general manager for two NHL teams, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Rangers.
Carol Tome
CFO of Home Depot and one of Forbes' 50 most powerful women in business, Carol Tome initially didn't see herself helping run a $90 billion company. After her family's independent bank was sold, she began looking for other opportunities. The leadership experience she gained as a teaching assistant at DU gave her the foundation she needed to climb the corporate ladder. Now she sits at the top as the self-proclaimed "Home Depot Queen of Cash and Ruler of Finance," and as a role model for the DU business community.
Sam Estenson
Sam Estenson made his mark at DU, serving as president of Undergraduate Student Government and helping coordinate the 2012 presidential debate on campus. After graduating in 2013 with a bachelor's degree in a self-designed major (intercultural globalization and foreign languages), he came to work for Google as an operations coordinator on a global team that manages the company’s hiring systems and processes. He hopes to bring more Pioneers to Google and has coordinated video chats with current students across many fields who are interested in the company.
Alumni Events
From alumni gatherings in Denver to dinners in Dubai, you'll find chances to network and make lasting friendships with your fellow alumni across the globe. Alumni activities in Denver range from summer socials organized by our Young Alumni to the Alumni Weekend, which recognizes those who've made an indelible mark on DU.
Don't worry if you no longer live in Denver, as you'll find a wide range of events put on by our national and international alumni networks. Whether you're living in Seattle and looking to make career connections or visiting Los Angeles and hoping to find some friendly faces to join for a Pioneer hockey game, our alumni groups will welcome you with open hearts.
One new event we're particularly proud of is Alumni Weekend, which celebrates alumni achievement, welcomes graduating students to the alumni community and gives returning alumni a taste of what we're doing at DU. Central to Alumni Weekend are the Alumni Awards and Pioneer Symposium. Alumni Awards is our opportunity to recognize and celebrate alumni across the world and in any field. Pioneer Symposium is an annual series that brings alumni, professors and other notable speakers back to the classroom to learn about important issues concerning our students, our community and our world.
We also host professional development opportunities for our alumni, covering topics ranging from finding a first job for recent graduates to live resume review to Myers-Briggs testing. The DU Women's Professional Alliance Series also offers career development events, discussing issues like how to succeed in the workplace as a female professional and bringing together women business owners.
Building Connections
Alumni advocacy
Our Alumni of ACTION (Advocating Collaboration Through Inclusive Excellence, Outreach and Networking) supports the black, Asian, indigenous and Latino communities through advocacy and education. By bringing alumni and current students of color together through events like concerts and hockey games, they foster and strengthen a community that works to build a strong on-campus experience that extends to alumni and professional life after graduation.
Lifelong engagement
No matter how long ago you graduated, the DU alumni community offers lifelong benefits. Our alumni networks are rounded out by Pioneer Alumni Legends (PALS), a group of alumni who graduated 50 or more years ago. PALS holds quarterly events on campus for the increasing number of older Pioneers who wish to return to campus and share in a renewed sense of excitement for the University.
