Are you interested in hosting a Purdue Business Toast in your city? Alumni Jennifer Liu (BSM ’98) and Kocsy Bela (EMBA ’12), who hosted the 2022 event in the Washington, D.C. area, say it’s great way to reconnect with friends, build your professional network, and applaud your alma mater!
“It is a real honor and privilege to be a Toast host,” says Liu, who serves as vice president of operations and director of the Project Management Office at OBXtek. “It allows us the opportunity to not only meet fellow Daniels School of Business classmates, but it also helps to build new and renewed connections where we can learn from each other.”
In 2022 and 2023, the event was held at the Embassy of Hungary, where Bela serves as the agricultural attaché for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
“This was our first time hosting a Toast and we wanted to make it special,” Liu says. “Not only were we lucky to have Bela's embassy host us, but we wanted to bring some of that extra Boilermaker flair to our event that would really boost our bonds. I had a local baker make cookies and my husband, a Lafayette native, just happened to be at Purdue prior to our event, so I had him secure some Boiler Gold beer.”
Liu says it was especially nice to see new and familiar faces after a few years of COVID keeping people at home.
“Coming into a room decorated in gold and black is always exciting for Purdue alums as I feel it gives them a sense of home and that they're going to be with people who understand them,” she says. “Meeting with people from different age groups but with the same interests is always an amazing thing.”
Liu and Bela are quick to recommend serving as a Toast host to other alumni. “It is a great opportunity to make your Purdue network stronger and wider,” Liu says. “Sometimes planning comes with challenges, but at the end of the day, when you're looking at all the great photos on social media, that feeling is unbeatable. The Toast is a way for folks to gather and connect, share familiar stories, and talk about all the new things that are happening at the school.”
This year’s Purdue Business Toast will be held on Thursday, November 7, 2024, from 5:30-7:30 p.m. local time. For information on hosting the event in your city, contact Stacey Sharp at slsharp4@purdue.edu.
