by Meredith Carroll | Nov 14, 2023 | Connections, Features
Shuler at the 2023 Purpose Pitch competition
Gretchen Shuler, a junior entrepreneurship student at DePaul, has taken a whirlwind journey from ordinary student to student and entrepreneur. One emotion stands out above the rest.
For Shuler, entrepreneurship is joy.
“Entrepreneurship is enjoying what you do,” she reflects. “Entrepreneurs create companies because they want to do things in a different way. They want to bring their ideas to life and share them with others. That’s such a big part of it.
“Shuler is in the final stages of opening her business: ReBrewed, a fair trade and sustainable mobile coffee cart that will empower foster youth through employment and mentorship. ReBrewed is brewing every cup with a purpose.
The vision for ReBrewed is uniquely Shuler’s own.
As a high school student living in a single-mother household, Shuler relied on her job at a local coffee shop. There, she discovered her passion for coffee and experienced firsthand how flexibility and support at work made it possible to stay engaged in schoolwork and in her community while saving for college.
Supporting foster youth is central to Schuler, whose extended family includes several foster and adopted children. Throughout high school, Shuler also cared for and mentored foster children through an organization that started in Chicago, RePlanted.
The experience gave her an in-depth understanding of the challenges many foster youth face. Many lack access to reliable transportation, making it difficult to participate in extracurriculars, access employment or even attend school regularly. According to the Juvenile Law Center, over 50% of foster youth face incarceration by the age of 17. Children moved to five or more placements are at a 90% risk of being involved in the criminal justice system.
ReBrewed aims to change that.
Shuler envisions a workplace built around the emotional and financial needs of foster youth. Mentorship for employees will be part of that.
“Integrated into the workday, there would be an hour of meeting with your mentor,” she says. “Or you do your homework assignments while you’re at work, rather than when you’re in a home environment that might be chaotic, unsupportive or unsafe.” Shuler’s vision of mentorship is expansive. It’s not only about connecting youth with volunteer mentors, she says; it’s about connecting them to networks of support.
Shuler serves up one of ReBrewed’s first cups of coffee at the CEC’s Welcome Back Market
In this way, Shuler’s vision reflects her experiences at DePaul’s Coleman Entrepreneurship Center (CEC).
“If I had not been mentored throughout this process, I would be so lost,” Shuler says. CEC Program Manager Kathia Hernandez (BUS ’22) guided her through the process of setting up her LLC. The center’s mentorship program connected Shuler with Jazmyn Lopez, a Chicago-area growth strategist specializing in marketing and operational solutions. Lopez was instrumental, Shuler says, in supporting Shuler as she established her online presence and her continuing steps in opening ReBrewed.
CEC’s pitch competitions acted as their own form of mentorship. Shuler competed in, and won, the Student Innovation Expo in February 2023. She placed third in the student category of the Purpose Pitch competition later that spring. Over the summer, she was selected as the DePaul student representative for Pitch Madness. She placed fourth in this competitive, regional competition.
A ReBrewed cup, designed and sustainably produced in collaboration with Sharath Kalappa (CDM ’24)
Feedback from these competitions helped Shuler refine her business model. It got more streamlined. It became more focused on doing good, not only for the foster youth she’ll employ but also for the environment. She collaborated with Sharath Kalappa, founder of EcoPlate and a student in the M.S. in Business Analytics program at the Kellstadt Graduate School of Business, to create cups from sustainable materials. She sourced her coffee from Alma Coffee, a sustainable, farm-to-cup operation founded by Leticia Hutchins (BUS ‘16), whose family has been farming coffee in Honduras for five generations.
When Shuler reflects on her entrepreneurial journey, it’s about dualities: a willingness to ask for help paired with the ability to stand your ground. She has figured out how to delegate even as she found herself taking on role after role: founder, accountant, designer, barista.
“Entrepreneurship,” she reflects, “is that sense of holding your own ground, even when people don’t necessarily believe in you or in what you’re doing. It’s collaboration, independence, innovation, iteration – just a whole mosh pit of self-reflection.
“One last thing I’ll say: It’s about never getting comfortable. Never settling. There’s always something you can do better or affect more people. It’s about being open to change.”
by jlansber | Apr 19, 2018 | Connections
College graduates who, as students, were encouraged by mentors to pursue their hopes and dreams are twice as likely to feel engaged in their careers and fulfilled in their lives, according to a national Gallup-Purdue University survey.
That’s certainly the case for students, alumni and business professionals who participate in mentorships across the Driehaus College of Business. Business Exchange profiles three of these mentorships and how they have inspired both mentees and mentors.
Stories by Andrew Zamorski
by jlansber | Apr 18, 2018 | Connections
Greg Warsek, group senior vice president at Associated Bank, and real estate major Mary Hendrickson.
Everyone should get a mentor. It makes the world smaller, it gives you connections to the industry and it helps you find your direction.”
Real estate major Mary Hendrickson is no stranger to working with mentors. She was assigned to a commercial banker mentor in her real estate career management course for a short-term classroom project. Seeking even more advice about careers outside of the classroom, she jumped at the opportunity offered by Professor Stephen Bell, associate director of The Real Estate Center, to be paired with a second mentor.
“I was hoping to get more knowledge about the industry since I was just starting my first internship,” says Hendrickson. Since she was interning in the capital markets group at Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), a global commercial real estate services firm, Hendrickson was paired with Greg Warsek, group senior vice president at Associated Bank, who manages a commercial real estate loan portfolio.
“Greg helped me figure out the grand scheme of what I was doing in my internship. He also helped explain his role in the banking industry, which made my job easier,” Hendrickson says.
Warsek serves on three university advisory boards, including DePaul’s Real Estate Center board. In the last 30 years, he estimates, he has mentored between 50 and 75 students, focusing on young professionals who are trying to make the right decisions as they go back to school or make job moves.
“When I first started looking for a job, I was helped by a friend of a friend who didn’t need to help me, but did it anyway,” says Warsek. “Now I am at the point in my career where I can make phone calls and introductions and get students’ résumés moved to the top of the pile.
“Being a mentor gives me a really important perspective (about working) with young people because I have three different generations of employees to manage,” says Warsek. “I learn a lot from them. They teach me how they view the world and what is important to them, and it makes me a better leader for Associated Bank.”
Hendrickson is now in her second year working at JLL and continues to meet with Warsek regularly by phone or in person to talk about business school, future plans and industry topics. Networking is a huge part of their relationship. While selling raffle tickets at a gala to raise money for stomach cancer research, Hendrickson ran into Warsek, and he immediately introduced her to his friends, colleagues and other contacts
Making contacts can be intimidating, but Hendrickson says that she feels comfortable asking Warsek for help. “Everyone should get a mentor,” says Hendrickson. “You have no reason not to. It makes the world smaller, it gives you connections to the industry and it helps you find your direction.”
By Andrew Zamorski | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
by jlansber | Apr 17, 2018 | Connections
Kim Kozeny (BUS ’09) and Jake Glover (BUS ’17)
Last spring, Jake Glover (BUS ’17) was a senior marketing major quickly approaching graduation when he went to see MaryAnn Gibney, who was the manager of student and alumni engagement at the Center for Sales Leadership at DePaul.
Glover was interested in working for Jellyvision, an interactive employee communication software company, and sought Gibney’s help in finding a connection at the Chicago-based company. Serendipitously, Gibney had just returned from lunch with Kim Kozeny (BUS ’09), who expressed an interest in becoming a mentor and was working at that time as a Jellyvision account executive.
“Really good mentors genuinely want to help mentees,” says Glover. “(They) take them under their wing and rise up with them.”
That is what Kozeny did for Glover. During casual conversations that spanned a range of topics, Glover asked Kozeny what it is like to work at Jellyvision, how to get a job there and what he could do to stand out as a job candidate. Kozeny knew how much Glover wanted to join Jellyvision, so she introduced him to her sales leadership team. Glover made a great first impression and was invited to return the following week for an interview.
“As a mentor, it’s important to understand what your mentee wants out of your relationship,” says Kozeny.
It is my job to help them find out what they are passionate about and to help fulfill that passion.”
Kozeny prepared Glover for the Jellyvision job interview, giving him feedback on his sales pitch, suggesting resources to read about the company and going over the interview process.
“I’ve been very lucky with the people who have mentored me in the past,” says Kozeny. “They gave me confidence to follow my own career aspirations. To do that for someone else is extremely fulfilling.”
Glover landed a job at Jellyvision as a business development representative and has been working there for more than a year. He now hopes to move up into an account executive role and continues meeting with Kozeny for career advice.
One of Glover’s former classmates has recently expressed interest in working for Jellyvision, so he has reached out to her in what he calls a “mini-mentor” role. Glover says it is his chance to pay it forward.
By Andrew Zamorski | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
by jlansber | Apr 16, 2018 | Connections
Hospitality major Rana Irfan Zaid and John Economos
Rana Irfan Zaid moved to the United States from Pakistan during his sophomore year of high school and got a part-time job working at a local hotel. He enjoyed working in the hospitality industry, and his manager recommended that he pursue it as a career.
Following in the footsteps of his older brother, Zaid decided to study at DePaul’s School of Hospitality Leadership. The senior loves all facets of the hospitality industry but is currently interested in food and beverage.
Having the best guidance in the industry was really important for me to find success within a niche industry,” says Zaid.
“I wanted to pair up with a mentor in hospitality who could help me navigate through challenges and guide me toward my goals.”
Through the hospitality school’s mentorship program, Zaid was connected to John Economos, a partner at Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises (LEYE), the Chicago-based, family-owned restaurant group that manages and licenses more than 120 restaurants.
“I like being a point person for someone looking for guidance in the industry,” says Economos. “If I had a mentor in college, I probably would’ve started my career much earlier and with more confidence.” Economos, the general manager at Beatrix in Chicago’s Streeterville neighborhood, studied communication management in college and had no hospitality experience. Through LEYE’s internal management training program, he worked his way from carryout clerk at Di Pescara restaurant into management through a series of positions with various LEYE restaurants.
“I come from a family of teachers, but I have never been a great teacher until I started mentoring students,” says Economos. “I am in a role where it’s not about me, but how I help develop others. I enjoy when Rana asks me for advice.”
Economos and Zaid met frequently at LEYE restaurants to talk about the industry, the interviewing process and opportunities throughout the company. Economos also let Zaid shadow him at Beatrix to see how to manage a restaurant. He then helped Zaid land a hosting job at LEYE’s upscale RPM Italian restaurant, as well as a spot in LEYE’s management intern program this summer.
“I was really lucky to find a mentor who I aspire to be like,” says Zaid. “John has helped expose me to different parts of the industry and become more informed. He has helped complete me.”
By Andrew Zamorski | Photo by Kathy Hillegonds
by jlansber | Oct 19, 2017 | Connections
Dimitri Eliopoulos (BUS ’01), managing director of Central Midwest, left, and Benjamin J. Albrecht, CFP, Vice President, Wealth Advisor at RMB Capital, right.
When Dimitri Eliopoulos (BUS ’01) began attending DePaul University to study finance, he knew he wanted to work with money and people. So, at the start of his senior year at the Driehaus College of Business, Eliopoulos began applying for internships in the wealth management industry through the DePaul Career Center. He soon scored a summer internship in Chicago working with a small team at a large financial services firm.
Now, more than a decade later, Eliopoulos is working with the same team of people who founded RMB Capital, an independent firm that specializes in wealth and investment planning for organizations and individuals. Previously a senior wealth manager, Eliopoulos was promoted to managing director of Central Midwest at RMB Capital, overseeing the firm’s wealth management business in the Central Midwest region.
Eliopoulos credits his success to getting his foot in the door through an internship. “My internship was very hands-on,” he says. “The individuals who led the team that I joined years ago are mentors to me and they’re my partners today. I was able to do everything from job shadowing to helping prepare investment and financial planning recommendations for clients or prospective clients. I had the ability to make mistakes and learn from those mistakes.”
Fostering Career Success
According to a report released by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, 63 percent of college graduates who completed a paid internship received a job offer, compared to 35 percent who never interned.
“Internships are a crucial component for business students, especially for those who are looking to start their career or make a transition,” says Enrique Guerrero, assistant director at the Kellstadt Career Management Center. “At face value, internships provide beneficial, real-world experience. With that experience comes the chance to get a feel for an industry that may be new for you. It isn’t uncommon for students to complete an internship knowing that it wasn’t something they see themselves doing long-term, and that is okay.”
To prepare graduate students for post-graduation employment, the Career Management Center hosts career strategy sessions and recruiting and networking events, and connects students to Kellstadt’s extensive employer and alumni network. The DePaul Career Center helps undergraduate students by providing similar career coaching services.
Courtney Hubbard’s (MBA ’17) transfer pricing internship at Ernst & Young led to a full-time job.
For Courtney Hubbard (MBA ’17), taking advantage of Kellstadt’s resources played a large role in determining her career goals. Hubbard enrolled in Kellstadt’s full-time MBA program after working in public affairs in Washington, D.C., for more than six years. The Career Management Center connected Hubbard to an alumnus working in transfer pricing at a large accounting firm through DePaul’s Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) alumni mentor program. The connections eventually confirmed Hubbard’s interest in transfer pricing and led to a summer internship in transfer pricing with EY, one of the Big Four accounting firms. Following her internship, Hubbard landed a full-time position with EY.
“The good thing about transfer pricing is that people come from a lot of different backgrounds,” says Hubbard. “It was a great place for me to use my experience in an area that was open to someone with a unique set of skills.
“Utilizing the Kellstadt Career Management Center and using the DePaul ASK network were crucial for me,” she continues. “I would not have gotten this job if the Career Management Center had not had my back (when) I came in and asked for help.”
Persistence, Communication and Networking
Eliopoulos, who is the first in his family to graduate from college, says, “One of the skills that I think is critical and necessary, in addition to learning a trade and getting a degree in a specific field, is to learn how to be a great communicator. You could be the smartest person and have the greatest idea, but if you can’t communicate or articulate it, you’re not going to be as successful.”
Being intentional about expanding your network and utilizing professional development events and workshops are keys to securing an internship and full-time employment. Hubbard advises students to use Handshake, DePaul’s job portal, research connections on LinkedIn and be persistent.
“It’s a commitment to get an internship. You have to be hungry, do what it takes and do the work yourself,” she says. “No one is going to come to you offering you an internship. You have to go look for them.”
Get connected
Looking to hire DePaul student interns?
Undergraduates:
DePaul Career Center
career_center@depaul.edu
Graduate students:
Kellstadt Career Management Center
cmc@depaul.edu
Alumni Sharing Knowledge (ASK) volunteer mentor network:
ask@depaul.edu
By Jaclyn Lansbery
