Faces of Leeds Snapshot

Name: Noa Greene 
Hometown: Boulder, Colorado
Major: Sustainable Management and Marketing, SRE Certificate   

A passion for sustainability has propelled Noa Greene toward places and spaces for her to thrive. Dedicated to a career in environmental impact, she created opportunities through outreach and networking that align with her key values, and she has worked with numerous mission-driven companies: The Boulder Farmers Market, Sati Soda, Mad Agriculture and Munson Farms. As she prepares for graduation and a big move to Kibbutz Ma'agan Michael in northern Israel, she believes that her empathy for the world and people can bridge gaps, foster trust and create connections.

“Being in a business environment, I am surrounded by future changemakers and trailblazers. I am consistently inspired by my peers' dedication to wielding business as an instrument of social change.”

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Luke St. John (Fin’25) built a robust habit of networking while pursuing his passions at Leeds. That ultimately helped him secure a job before graduation.

For senior Luke St. John, launching his career this spring has boiled down to two things: Doing what he loves and talking to everybody.

This May, St. John will graduate and begin his new role as a business analyst at McKinsey and Company in Denver. He attributes this success partly to his involvement in various student organizations at CU. Since his freshman year, he has served as vice president on the board of the ski and snowboard club—the largest student organization on campus. He has also been an active member of Leeds Student Government and has participated in the Leeds on Wall Street group.

Turning dreams into milestones

Joining clubs helped St. John navigate a challenging start to his freshman year, fostering friendships and cementing valuable connections to craft a positive college experience. His spring semester of junior year was another turning point: Realizing he had enough credits to graduate early, he took time off to pursue his travel dreams—skiing in Japan, surfing in Bali and exploring Europe. That didn’t thwart his plans to graduate—but instead expanded his curiosity and confidence.

To fund his travels, St. John worked nearly every day at a restaurant for two months, a lesson in financial planning and perseverance. And navigating the unknowns of travel became a strong talking point during interviews. That semester off ultimately paid off. His new role at McKinsey will involve significant travel, and St. John feels ready for the challenge.

Follow your passions

St. John credits his parents for instilling in him an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for doing meaningful work. His father started a company more than 20 years ago building for fly fishing.

“I think that was so cool for me to see my entire life growing up … [my father] has been so focused and dedicated to his company. He has good days and he has bad days, and I get to see those firsthand. I know that deep down, he loves what he does.”

His mother works as a curator and grant writer for the Steamboat Art Museum, a job she loves and one that has inspired St. John’s interest in nonprofits.

“Having both parents doing something they're so passionate about … it’s kind of hard not to think, ‘They made it work 100% doing that. So why can’t I?’”

Network with peers

Early on, St. John recognized the value of Leeds’ career resources—he was in Leeds’ career coach Susan Brodnicki’s office at least an hour each week, he laughed. She worked tirelessly to help connect him with leads and contacts. Also, he never underestimated the power of collaborating with peers to practice and build skills.

His involvement with Leeds Student Government proved to be a fertile ground for learning and leadership. “It was so cool that I could go in, and not really knowing much … the juniors and seniors were able to guide me to where I wanted to go, and then they let me take the reins on stuff that I was really passionate about,” said St. John.

Through student government, St. John first learned about McKinsey from a junior who had secured a job there. That influenced his decision in freshman year to focus on finance and business. His involvement in the investment banking club starting sophomore year further honed his networking and interview skills.

"You need to put yourself out there. The worst that’ll happen is people won’t respond."

Luke St. John (Fin’25)

“They trained us that you need to put yourself out there. The worst that’ll happen is people won’t respond,” said St. John. He learned how to “take that ‘no’ and move to the next company or reach out to somebody else that might be more helpful.”

Stick with it

St. John estimates he’s sent over 500 emails for coffee chats in the last three years.

“I probably had 30 or 40 calls with companies before I even got to McKinsey,” he added. While he reached out to contacts from other schools, he found conversations with Leeds alumni to be the most productive.

“On other calls, they didn’t necessarily have the understanding about classes or looking out for me as much as people at Leeds,” said St. John. “That’s what’s so cool: Buffs looking out for Buffs.”

When St. John had his first interview with McKinsey, he reached out to a couple of students in the Leeds Consulting Group, even though he isn’t a member. Those students happily devoted a couple of hours each to help St. John practice.

Explore options through internships

Internships helped St. John gain clarity about his career path.

“I knew I wanted to do something in finance, but I didn’t necessarily know what,” St. John said. Interning with both private and nonprofit organizations allowed him to discover his preferences and envision his future. Gaining that professional experience has allowed him to feel confident going into his new role, knowing how to gauge expectations.

Looking ahead

St. John will spend two to three years as a general business analyst for McKinsey, following the company’s track to consultant, senior consultant and engagement manager roles.

No matter where the path ultimately takes him, St. John knows he’ll benefit from the experience.

“I am incredibly excited just to be able to touch a variety of industries,” he said. He hopes to pair the business knowledge he develops with his passion for the outdoors and sustainability. He dreams of starting a company to make skis, inspired by his father’s entrepreneurial journey.

One certainty: Networking will remain a cornerstone of St. John’s path. Here’s some proof: After the interview for this story, he followed up with an email to share contacts for other articles, including his younger brother, a current CU student transferring to Leeds this fall.

That’s “Buffs looking out for Buffs” in action, which, for St. John, comes naturally.

Want to put your networking skills to work? Connect with the Leeds Career Development Office.

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Anna Bedell (Mktg’25) and Spencer Taliaferro (Mgmt’24) have managed to do something that many students dream of—head into graduation with a job offer already in hand. 

Anna Bedell (Mktg’25) and Spencer Taliaferro (Mgmt’24) share a few things in common: They both came to Leeds with an interest in marketing, they’re both student workers at Leeds, and they both managed what many students dream of—getting full-time jobs even before they don their graduation caps.

Bedell will graduate this spring with a marketing major and journalism minor. After that, she’s headed to Europe for a month, and then on to Austin, Texas, where she’ll join IBM in marketing. Meanwhile, Taliaferro, who majored in business analytics and information management, will step into Boeing as a competitive intelligence specialist after he graduates this December.

Their secret? Internships.

Starting early to build experience

Students at Leeds hit the ground running, and Bedell and Taliaferro are no exception.

Bedell started working part-time as a Leeds ambassador freshman year. From her sophomore year on she has built a portfolio of published articles working with Leeds’ marketing team. On top of academics and student government, she’s also done “almost every Leeds’ abroad experience possible,” including a  First-Year Global Experience and a semester abroad, adding to her resume and worldview.

Bedell talked with mentors each year, and one alumni mentor connected her with Assistant Teaching Professor Meg Winter. “She had a lot of insightful things to say to give me advice on what could be best for me,” Bedell said.

Taliaferro has worked at Leeds in various capacities since the first time he stepped into Koelbel, where he now works with the Advancement team. He considers his student employment to be the biggest influence on his work experience.

“It has really helped evolve my professional development,” he said, listing essential skills: how to talk with colleagues, manage deadlines and collaborate with a team. “So that's been very monumental, not just to me getting the job, but to the success of my internship last summer,” he said.

He also credits his success to three interview prep sessions with the Career Development Office, two of which involved behavioral interviews. “I sometimes ramble, and the biggest practice I learned was how to be concise with my answers. Career services was great at teaching me the STAR [situation, task, action, result] method." (See "Ace Interviews with the STAR Method.")

A foot in the door

Bedell’s proactive approach led her to IBM’s , a virtual career readiness program. After that, securing an internship with IBM the following summer was a natural next step.

“They already knew me as a person. They already knew the effort I'd put in for the project that we had. I was one of the presenters for our final project as well, so it put me on the radar at IBM.” Her internship led to her job offer without even having to interview.

“They already knew me as a person. They already knew the effort I'd put in ... so it put me on the radar at IBM.”

Anna Bedell (Mktg’25)

Taliaferro was seeking an internship in a STEM-based organization where he could enhance his knowledge of data analytics. Working in a well-established industry like aviation, known for its great opportunities for advancement, appealed to him.

So, he attended career fairs to hone his networking skills and connected with a retired aerospace industry professional through Leeds’ Professional Mentorship Program. Those efforts helped him gain the confidence to connect with a recruiter on LinkedIn to express his interest in an internship at Boeing. Within four days, the recruiter responded, leading to the internship Taliaferro started last summer. He was excited to tackle three major projects that allowed him to gain real-world data analytics skills, and he has been interning since while completing his last semester.

For Taliaferro, the support from managers and colleagues won him over immediately. “I was very lucky to have the flexibility to be able to learn and to train myself, and I had a lot of opportunities to fail in a safe environment,” he said.

“I was very lucky to have the flexibility to be able to learn and to train myself, and I had a lot of opportunities to fail in a safe environment.”

Spencer Taliaferro (Mgmt’24)

Planning for work-life balance

As large employers call employees back to the office five days a week, both Bedell and Taliaferro are grateful they have hybrid options.

They both had a clear sense of their goals, including being able to consider further education through their employers if they choose to pursue graduate degrees.

By interning, they could get a sense of how their new work environments align with their values and goals.

“IBM is an old company, but it’s such a fun, youthful culture in its working environment,” said Bedell. She now is also familiar with what life will be like in her new home of Austin. That helped her weigh out the job offer in hand, adding, “There’s still so much room for mistakes and growth, and to know that I'm not pushed toward anything specific right now.”

Taliaferro is looking forward to settling in Denver and diving into his career, especially after moving every year of college. Grad school may be five years down the road, he said, and he may even go for his pilot’s license.

Keeping longer-term goals flexible

One of Bedell’s greatest discoveries during her college years is that the whole world is her classroom. It has led to a sense of optimism she hopes to share. “I want to tell other students not to put an exuberant amount of pressure on themselves … even if something doesn't go to plan, that just means there’s a new opportunity waiting for you elsewhere.”

As Taliaferro prepares to graduate in December, he’s realistic about the ups and downs of any industry but is also optimistic. Having witnessed his father go through two layoffs has steeled his reserve for facing unpredictable events. In fact, his manager at Boeing had informed him in October about the , although Taliaferro’s department, to date, has been unaffected.

Taliaferro remains confident about his future. “I'd love to be with Boeing for at least the next five years, because I love my team. I love my coworkers and I would love to be an expert in my field.”

The STAR method stands for "situation, task, action, result." It's a behavioral interview format that helps you frame a story by succinctly describing a situation, task, action and result. Jessica Baumgarten, assistant director of career coaching at Leeds, shared the following example.

Situation: In my XX class, my group was assigned a project centered on ABC. As my team delved into the project, I realized everyone had very different opinions on the direction we should take to complete the assignment.

Task: Due to the differing opinions, I realized we were not going to be able to successfully move the project forward.

Action: I stepped into the leadership role and asked each team member to come prepared with research to present why their idea would be the best approach to take. This gave each person the floor without interruption. We then asked follow-up questions and voted as a group once all the evidence was presented.

Result: Once we agreed on a direction, my team and I completed the project and earned an A.

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