Madison McManus, AB ’18, understands firsthand the value of ongoing career development.
As an ancient studies major on the premed track in Arts & Sciences, she realized immediately after taking the MCAT that she was no longer interested in becoming a doctor.
“I walked out the day I took the test and was like, ‘I don’t think this is what I want to do,’” she recalls.
With help from WashU career coaches and former classmates who knew her strengths, McManus recognized her passion for business operations. Today, as senior manager of people, projects and operations for the global industrial manufacturing company McMaster-Carr, she solves problems, manages teams and helps design efficient, effective business processes.
Based in Philadelphia, McManus routinely returns to campus to interview students from her alma mater. She values doing so in person, and having a dedicated meeting space will improve her ability to reach students and coordinate conversations with them.
Enter the Neil S. Hirsch Center, which is slated to open in winter 2027. Located on the southwest corner at the intersection of Skinker and Forsyth boulevards, the new building is designed for members of the WashU community like McManus. Envisioned as a welcoming gathering place for alumni and a home for WashU’s Center for Career Engagement (CCE), it will help facilitate recruiting and hiring efforts while enhancing alumni relationships with students and the broader university.
Landing place, launchpad
The Hirsch Center creates a win-win for all while sending a message to prospective students and their families about institutional values, according to Norma Guerra Gaier, WashU’s associate vice chancellor for career development and education.
“This innovative space signals that bringing together new, current and prior university community members is important to WashU,” she says. “And we know alumni are some of the CCE’s biggest champions. It’s exciting to deepen our partnership with them through the Hirsch Center.”
The three-story, roughly 31,800-square-foot building is named in honor of the late entrepreneur in recognition of a pledge from his widow, Laura DeLuca Hirsch, through the Neil S. Hirsch Foundation. The center will contain a variety of multipurpose rooms in which students can prepare for interviews and network with alumni. A tree-lined courtyard will extend those interactions into a beautiful outdoor setting. And a third-floor event space will house career expos, workshops and panels alongside reunion-affiliated events and other alumni activities.
“Symbolically, the building will be a gateway to campus,” Gaier says. “The minute alumni turn onto Forsyth from Skinker, it’s like, ‘Welcome back. We’re glad you’re here. Step into this space that is yours.’”
Multifaceted connections
Like McManus, Meeghan Sheppard, MBA ’24, wears multiple WashU hats as both an alumna and a prospective employer. And her early professional path was likewise rich and varied.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science, she spent several years working in public-sector administration. She began graduate studies at Olin Business School, focusing on supply chain management. In her first year at Olin, Sheppard was accepted into the Future Leaders Program at Barry-Wehmiller in St. Louis. She spent the summer interning at the company’s BW Packaging division, which supplies manufacturing equipment across the globe. She excelled in the program and was offered a full-time position at BW Packaging after graduation.
“I love the fact that I get to go back to my alma mater and recruit.”
– Meeghan Sheppard, MBA ’24
Sheppard, now the product manager of horizontal flow wrap, engages current students in a variety of ways on behalf of her employer. She represents the company during the CCE’s annual fall MBA Summit, participates in information sessions and one-on-one coffee chats and seizes other one-off opportunities, such as speaking on panels or visiting classrooms.
“I love the fact that I get to go back to my alma mater and recruit,” she says. “I was once in the students’ shoes, so I fully understand them in ways that others may not. When I walk into conversations with them, I’m not only there as a representative for BW Packaging but also as an alumna. I’m happy to be a resource for current students, however it helps.”
Interest in mentorship is strong, especially among more recent WashU alumni. As the CCE continues to develop its career communities model — centered around industries versus academic disciplines — Gaier and other university leaders are working to streamline how alumni can best engage with students virtually and in the new building.
Gaier encourages alumni interested in connecting with students to utilize WashU CNX, the university’s official online networking platform. Additionally, students and graduates can find job and internship postings, upcoming events and more on Handshake, WashU’s career management platform.
But for both McManus and Sheppard, in-person conversations are key — as is recruiting future hires from WashU. This makes the Hirsch Center an invaluable asset. “I’m excited to have a dedicated, focused space where we can really get to know students and their interests, needs and desired career trajectories,” Sheppard says. “That face-to-face interaction is so critical.”
As a recruiter, McManus believes WashU students are well suited to the culture at McMaster-Carr. “We’re constantly trying new things and tackling new challenges at the company,” she says. “WashU students tend to have a real variety of experiences and a sense of intellectual curiosity.”
To learn more about the Neil S. Hirsch Center, visit alumni.washu.edu/hirsch.
