Alumni Board mentors invest time and insight in Business Buckeyes

Juliana Metz (BSBA ’25) hadn’t considered student housing as a potential career opportunity while studying real estate at Fisher. She saw it strictly as a university-directed transaction. 

But a trip to Chicago and time spent with a company responsible for innovative university housing options changed her mind. That visit to Core Spaces and six other real estate firms with the Fisher Real Estate Society (FRES) presented Metz and her peers with a whole new world of career possibilities in the field of real estate. Their trip and meetings were made possible by Alumni Board member Arun Singh (BSBA ’05).

Singh, CEO of Radial Capital, is one of 16 Alumni Board members who serve as mentors to various student organizations at Fisher. The mentors provide insight, advice and encouragement through regular Zoom calls, special events and site visits like the one the officers and leaders of FRES made to Chicago last winter. 

Rather than look for ways to get students to “show up” to events, members on the Alumni Board’s Student Engagement Committee sought ways to make themselves available to students. 

“We said, how can we help them by showing up to places where they will naturally and organically be,” said Mae Smitherman-Smith (BSBA ’90, MBA ’95), a board member since 2023. “This is where the idea to mentor student organizations came from. Now we are in their meetings, attending their events, connecting with them through texts, and helping them collaborate with other organizations.”

The board members’ years of experience and industry connections offer students invaluable knowledge outside the classroom.

Inviting students to “think bigger”

“The Fisher Real Estate Society is lucky to have a professional mentor such as Arun to push us to raise the standard for real estate at Ohio State,” said Daniel Lyner, a third-year student and incoming president of FRES. “Our inaugural trek to Chicago showed us the value in leveraging the Buckeye network and how powerful it truly is.”

FRES historically has hosted weekly meetings featuring guest speakers who work in real estate in Columbus, Cleveland and Cincinnati. When Singh met with the group for the first time as their Alumni Board-appointed mentor, he had two words of advice: Think bigger.

“I wanted to be able to create value,” he said. “Exposing them to companies,  roles and global firms that are not in Columbus is impactful.”

When students jokingly suggested a trip to Chicago, Singh took them seriously. Through thoughtful planning and Singh’s connections, seven members of FRES met with representatives of regional and global investment real estate firms including JLL, BMO Harris, John Buck Co., Harrison Street, Stockbridge, and Core Spaces, the student housing developer whose innovative methods caught Metz’s attention.

“Not everyone is going to get a brand-new job because of this trip, but we’re going to learn and network and elevate the [Fisher] brand,” said Singh. “It is a win for the students; it’s a win for the companies.”

Many of the company representatives the students met with had connections to Singh through prior jobs, conferences and Ohio State, which presented another valuable lesson.

“He stressed the importance of building and maintaining professional relationships,” said Metz, who graduated in May and is now an illiquid investment analyst in Ohio State’s Office of Investments. 

In Chicago, the students visited seven different companies that had seven different strategies. Singh also made sure the students connected with people who were at various stages in their careers. 

“They met with three Ohio State alumni who were in their 20s, so it was very relatable,” Singh said. “The other companies were not Buckeyes, but were supportive of our mission. ”

He said the trip with FRES was two of the most impactful days of his career, and he is helping the group plan another site visit this fall ― during the recruiting cycle for many companies. 

Singh continued to meet with the students on Teams throughout the remainder of the year to provide context on different topics. He also organized hour-long “lunch-and-learns,” recorded presentations in which he breaks down real-world real estate terms and transactions. 

“Some topics only get touched on in class. He would hop on a Teams call to provide us with more context,” said Lyner, who is currently interning at Starwood Property Trust in Miami, Fla.

The decision to be part of the Student Engagement Committee was a no-brainer for Singh, who has mentored Fisher students in some capacity for 15 years. 

 “Sometimes as alumni, we forget how valuable our network can be,” he said.

Meeting students where they are

Smitherman-Smith, executive director of Global Supply Chain and Quality Finance for the Ford Motor Company, was also eager to get involved at her alma mater beyond the Alumni Board’s twice-yearly meetings. She volunteered to mentor the Council of Black Students in Administration (CBSA), a student organization she was part of during her time as a Fisher student.

“I wanted to connect with the students and meet them where they are,” she said.

As a finance recruiter for Ford, she understands industry needs and the importance of student readiness in a highly competitive job market. In her 30 years with Ford, she has reviewed more resumes than she can count.

“I look for whether students were part of an organization (in college) and whether they were a leader in that organization,” she said. “I’m also looking for community service; were they a person who invests in themselves and in others?”

These are just some of the lessons she imparts on the members of CBSA as their mentor.

“Mae offered practical advice on everything from managing group dynamics and navigating institutional structures to building partnerships and advocating effectively for student voices,” said Taryn Moore, CBSA’s president. “Knowing that someone with her experience and insight believed in our mission gave me the confidence to lead boldly and with purpose.”

Smitherman-Smith meets with the group’s executive board members over Zoom to answer questions, offer advice and encourage their participation in networking events. 

When she was invited by Women in Business (WIB) to be part of a panel discussion, Smitherman-Smith arranged for CBSA to help with the event. The collaboration between the organizations resulted in Moore moderating the panel that also included Terina Matthews-Davis (MA ’96, MLHR ’98), a member of the Alumni Board and a mentor to students in the Ohio State chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. 

Moore will graduate in December with a specialization in operations management and plans to attend medical school. She hopes to become a physician-scientist and run a successful medical practice.

“One piece of insight that Mae shared is the importance of legacy,” Moore said. “She reminded me that leadership isn’t just about the present moment, it’s about laying a foundation others can build on. Her words taught me that success isn’t just personal ― it’s communal. Lifting as you climb isn’t just a saying, it’s a responsibility.”

Inspiration goes a long way

Often, it’s the students who inspire their mentors.

More than once, John Davidson (MBA ’07), president of Schwan’s Consumer Brands across the Americas, and Rick LaGore (BSBA ’89), CEO of InTek Logistics, have left their conversations with the executive members of Delta Sigma Pi (DSP) impressed by the vast knowledge and poise exhibited by students in the professional fraternity.

“I think Rick and I can attest that we get as much out of it as they do,” said Davidson. “The impetus for two people like Rick and I to be on the Alumni Board in the first place is to help students and especially to help Buckeyes.”

Davidson and LaGore team up to meet monthly over Zoom with DSP’s leaders. The students come with questions about career and internship possibilities, site visits and other relevant topics. 

“In one of the first meetings, they were having difficulty trying to figure out how to transition from one leader to the next,” said LaGore. “We gave them some direction on how to hold some continuity in that regard by providing them with the standard for how boards transition.”

When a student shared that he created a supply chain management software package, LaGore’s area of expertise, it sparked another conversation offline between mentor and student.

Like other mentors, Davidson and LaGore provide students with business connections and insights not readily available in the classroom.

“They have a lot of knowledge, and they have been in the business world a long time,” said Lindsey Barry, DSP’s current president and an intern at Bain & Company in Chicago.

Their monthly conversations often focus on the most logical and valuable site visits. Last year, 25 DSP members visited various companies in San Francisco. This year, they’re heading to New York City. Davidson and LaGore encouraged the students to broaden their scope in New York to include a consumer-packaged goods company, a factory and a logistics organization.

“A lot of our conversations focus on specific connections,” said Barry. “They know a lot of people and they help us connect with different companies.”

They also discuss ways for the students to get the most out of career fairs on campus. The mentors are currently looking at how they can use their networks to help DSP organize its own career fair.

“The engagements, the conversations and the questions are all so good, they make our roles easy,” said Davidson. 

The students’ understanding of how Davidson and LaGore navigate every day as company leaders has left a lasting impression on their mentors.

“I’m proud to be a Buckeye knowing these are the kinds of students that Ohio State is producing,” said Davidson. “I’ve been fortunate enough to have a lot of wonderful people who have had a profound effect on me as a leader and what I’ve been able to accomplish in business; it has become a catalyst for me to do the same thing.”