January 30, 2012
Spend one minute with Desiree Henry ’10MBA and you’ll see just
how passionate she is about higher education.
As an
undergraduate student at Stony Brook University, this Queens native
never hesitated to get involved in campus activities, organizations
and sororities. And in her six years working at St. John’s
University, she’s brought that same level of energy and commitment
with her every day.
“I always wanted to work in higher education because I find it
to be such a warm and encouraging environment,” Henry said. “And
the great thing about St. John’s is precisely how easy it is to get
involved, whether you’re a student or an alumnus.”
Henry first came to St. John’s as Senior Advancement
Coordinator, where she assisted with several administrative
activities relating to the Annual President’s Dinner, the
University’s premier fundraising event.
Since 2011, Henry has been tackling a new role: Assistant
Director of Academic Constituents in the Office of Alumni
Relations. In this position, she works to create programming that
appeals to students and alumni of St. John’s The Peter J. Tobin
College of Business and St. John’s College of Professional
Studies.
In particular, she creates Alumni Insider’s
View…Programs (AIV), bringing together students and alumni in
an incredibly unique way.
“It’s amazing to see how much our students learn from alumni,”
Henry said. “Graduates come back to campus and share their insight
on how to succeed in the real world, and that’s something I wish I
had when I was in college. They give students the real deal on
what’s going on in their particular industry.”
In addition to AIV events that bring alumni back to campus,
Henry also spearheads programs that take students on-site to where
alumni work. These unique opportunities provide students with an
even more comprehensive view of today’s hottest professions.
One of these events, AIV…Investment Management, brought students
on-site to
BlackRock, a mutual-fund company based in Manhattan. Another
was the
AIV…Day on Wall Street program, where students were able to
tour some of Wall Street’s most renowned institutions, including
the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, Standard &
Poor’s and the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange.
“When I see the students so engaged in the program and learning
so much, it’s a really rewarding feeling,” Henry said. “And the
information our alumni give is great – administrators like myself
even learn a lot from it, too!”
Henry is a firm believer in the Vincentian mission,
participating in the University’s Service Day and various other
charitable endeavors. In fact, Henry views the Vincentian mission
as a major reason for the success of the Alumni Insider’s
View...Program.
“Service is such a big focus here, and you see that clearly in
our alumni,” she noted. “Alumni come back and help our students,
and they point to that Vincentian mission as a reason that they
want to get involved.”
Although Alumni Insider’s View… has been incredibly successful,
Henry hopes to make the program even more popular and implement new
ideas – a testament to her dedication and passion for higher
education.
“I’d like to see AIV expand even further to allow for more
student development,” she explained. “This includes additional
on-site trips and programming that encompasses even more majors and
career paths.
With Henry involved, the future certainly looks bright for
AIV.
“It’s an exciting time for our students and alumni,” she said,
“and now there are more ways than ever to get involved.”