For our Career Champion Spotlight, we would like to highlight the involvement and contributions of Leah DeLorenzo.
Leah is an alumna of UConn and holds a Master’s in Accounting. Before being hired at her current position she worked as an auditor at a Big 4 firm, later realizing that she wanted to work in recruiting. According to Leah this transition “to an entirely different field was pretty terrifying” but she found confidence in her network of UConn alumni who stepped up to help guide her career in a new direction. She now works as a University Relations Consultant at The Hartford in their University Recruiting & Talent Mobility department.
“When I was a student, I would always look to Brandy Nelson, My UConn School of Business Academic Advisor turned wonderful life mentor, for advice.”
Her experiences as a UConn student also informed her desire to help students achieve their career goals. Leah has found that through the Career Champion program, she can “serve as a resource for students who don’t quite know where to begin their career journey.” She found it especially rewarding to work with first generation college students like herself, watching them gain the confidence to pursue their career goals and land their dream job.
Working in tandem with the Career Champion Program and The Hartford’s Early Careers recruiting program, she is happy to find herself interacting with students on a regular basis, often meeting them on UConn’s campuses to discuss their career goals, and how The Hartford can support them as an employer.
“I like to consider myself a Career Coach because one of my favorite parts of my role at The Hartford is being able to help students understand the many opportunities that are available to them, and once they’ve determined what their career goals are, offer guidance to get them on track to reach those goals.
When looking for potential candidates for The Hartford’s Early Careers, Leah says that candidates who stand out are students who are both analytical and skilled communicators who have a passion for helping others. The best candidates are eager to learn new skills, they’re “independent self-starters… actively involved on campus” including leadership roles in organizations that have a deeper meaning to them.
As a Career Champion, Leah has found value in the different offerings of the program, specifically the Career Everywhere Conference, where presenters discussed what resources students typically get career advice from and how to better guide them to students of different backgrounds. She notes that joining the Career Champion Program has helped her to gain a wider perspective of the career space, outside of a corporate setting, and the program’s offerings have helped to facilitate an “open dialogue around the gaps and inefficiencies that exist in connecting talented students to roles post-graduation.”
From navigating her own career goals with help from her UConn network to guiding students in her own professional capacity, Leah DeLorenzo has been a key player in the Career Champion Program.
Her final piece of advice to students? “Take advantage of every opportunity that presents itself. You will be surprised to learn how many doors open from taking on new adventures.”
