CAHSS Alumna Channels Giving toward Developing Tomorrow’s Leaders

Student Leadership Council members attend trainings focused on everything from networking advice and how to write a compelling cover letter to finding purpose and joy in their career journey.

Alumni Amy Nisenson (BA ’90) likes to joke that she was born on a leadership path. “As a middle child, I was always trying to take charge of something,” she recalled, laughing.

Her participation in student government as a teen segued into assuming similar leadership roles as a mass communications major at the University of Denver College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (CAHSS). She served in the undergraduate senate, as student leader of the orientation program and as president of the class of 1990 senior year.

Following graduation, Nisenson intended to continue seeking leadership positions in academia as a graduate student in Radio, Television and Motion Pictures at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill but was unsuccessful in graduate school and ended up dropping out. 

“I wanted to be a professor and didn’t know what to do because this was the only track, I had in mind,” she recalled. 

At a crossroads and forced to reimagine her future, she reached out to the University of Denver Career Center and turned to the CAHSS alumni mentoring program. She managed a Blockbuster video store while pursuing multiple informational interviews with successful alumni in a variety of industries to find “not just a job but the right career.” 

The persistent networking paid off. Through a connection and eventual friendship made with the general manager of the Denver television station KWGN, Nisenson eventually landed her first job as a marketing assistant with the station. 

She went on to forge a dynamic career in leadership roles related to media sales and research for organizations including Tegna/Gannett Media, CBS Television and Tribune Media. In her current position as regional vice president for Comcast Advertising, she serves as a “leader of leaders,” sharing her expertise in advanced advertising and marketing solutions with up-and-coming team members. 

Fostering Future Leaders in the CAHSS Student Leadership Council

Nisenson attributes much of her success in sales to her liberal arts education that “enabled me to walk into a room and find a connection point to anyone.” Likewise, she never forgot the invaluable leadership skills honed through the opportunities she took advantage of as an undergraduate and the crucial alumni networking that helped launch her rewarding career.

A few years ago, Nisenson approached Tonya Kelly, CAHSS senior director of development, about making an annual gift to design and sustain a new CAHSS program. She envisioned offering selected, high achieving students the same kinds of leadership opportunities she had received. The program would provide career skills training, alumni mentoring/networking and enlist participants to represent CAHSS students. 

Importantly, her gift would pay students for time spent and even their attire for events, making participation in the program an accessible option for all. 

Launched in 2023 under the implementation and direction of Paula Adamo, CAHSS associate dean for academic planning and student success, the CAHSS Student Leadership Council was born. 

The Council offers selected students opportunities to develop leadership skills and represent CAHSS and its departments at internal and external events. Student leaders also serve as a communication link between CAHSS students and the administration. 

Departments nominate high achieving students and training focuses on everything from networking advice and how to write a compelling cover letter to finding purpose and joy in their career journey.

“Amy went on to a prominent position in the business world and provides a strong role model for these students,” Adamo said. “Her generous gift of money and her own time has enabled the program to succeed and grow and it’s a beautiful thing to see these students grow with it.” 

She added that all the students who participated last year opted to continue with the council this year, a testimony, she believes, to the benefits they have received as student leaders. 

Adamo also noted that last year the Council focused more on outfacing events while this year has added more internal events, including regularly gathering current student feedback to administration and engaging in interviewing candidates for the new CAHSS dean. 

Student leader Emily Perry has found participating in the council again this year “invaluable. I had the opportunity to interview a CAHSS dean candidate, asking questions on behalf of students and the Council. Exposure to this professional setting and hiring process taught me about the importance of collaboration and communication, both of which are lessons I intend to take with me throughout my career.”

Student leaders also had the opportunity earlier this year to participate in a Q & A session with Nisenson and Interim Dean Rachel Walsh. 

“I like to interact with students and explain that serving in leadership roles as an undergraduate drove my belief system, showed me I was good at leadership and gave me the confidence to continue to pursue leadership roles,” Nisenson said. 

Student leaders like Katie Lamberton found “participating in the Student Leadership Council invaluable to my academic journey, especially presenting on the psychology panel to admitted students, which enhanced my public speaking skills and strengthened connections with faculty.”

Nisenson believes that experiences afforded to students through the CAHSS Student Leadership Council will empower them to stand out from other candidates when applying for future jobs. 

“Opportunities like interviewing candidates for the new CAHSS dean are the perfect answer to the interview question about describing a time when you stretched your abilities or did something outside your comfort zone,” she said.

She’s committed to helping the program thrive and grow. 

“I’ve been helped so often in my career by people who wanted nothing more than to pay it forward so, I feel I’m honoring their legacy,” she said. “Making this investment into the CAHSS Student Leadership Council is good for my soul. I hope that this program will become one of the preeminent student leadership programs at DU and through its very existence, push more DU students into life-long leadership roles.”

Interested in learning more about how you can pay the lifelong benefits of your liberal arts degree forward? Explore the possibilities here.