First-Year Students Take Isenberg Pledge

“Maybe you want to work on Wall Street, maybe you want to work for a Big 4 firm, maybe you want to use an analytic model to understand consumers,” Dean Anne Massey said to a crowd of first-year Isenberg students and their families during Parents Weekend on October 14. “At Isenberg, we find and create opportunities and experiences—in and out of the classroom—that help build your skills and competencies and that, in turn, build your confidence.”

Massey was followed by alumna Colleen Collins ’20, who told students about her own experience starting a new club on campus—Smart Women Securities—with the support of faculty members and administrators. She assured the new students that Isenberg would provide them with similar opportunities, which will prepare them for professional careers.

“I work for an asset manager that has hired many Isenberg students for decades,” she said. “My firm is one of many that does this, because they understand the caliber of student and professional that Isenberg creates.”

After hearing from Associate Dean for Undergraduate Programs Janet Fink, Assistant Dean of the Office of Career Success Holly Lawrence, and a more experienced student about the resources available to them at Isenberg and through the university, all the first-year students stood to recite a pledge that was created by the Undergraduate Student Advisory Council. The council is a group tasked with assisting Isenberg’s leadership team in developing strategies that enhance the experience of undergraduate students and support the school’s vision as a top business school:

I, my name here, am a member of Isenberg, UMass Amherst, the state and nation, and the world. To contribute to each, I will:

Include others and actively co-create an inviting community

Promote accountability through my own actions

Lead with compassion and respect diverse thought

Encourage my classmates on their journeys to self-actualization

Demonstrate integrity and resilience when I encounter challenges

Grow beyond my comfort zone because Isenberg has my back

Effect positive change

We pledge to uphold these ideals of Inclusion, Integrity, and Innovation in Isenberg, UMass Amherst, the state and nation, and the world. Go UMass!

Dean Massey closed the ceremony with a final tip to students: “Be curious, be engaged, embrace discovery.”

Click here to view the video of the Induction Ceremony.