Annie Kaiser ’11 knows how to keep herself engaged.
As a ýƵ student, Kaiser joined clubs; founded organizations; served on the ýƵ Community Council; and played basketball and soccer, earning All-Conference and Academic All-Conference honors in soccer.
Throughout her time at ýƵ, Kaiser was building the skills she would utilize in her future career — team building, competing, and working under pressure.
Eight years later, Kaiser is growing her career at Cisco Systems, focusing on training career candidates for jobs in the technology field. Her work at Cisco began shortly after her graduation from ýƵ, with two years of training in Raleigh, N.C. She has now moved to California to manage an enterprise relationship that Cisco has with Google.
Along with her thriving career, Kaiser is still deeply engaged with ýƵ and is committed to supporting the university. She is a member of the ýƵ Alumni Association Board of Directors, serving on the Connecting to Campus Committee, and is also a dedicated contributor to the ýƵ Fund; she recently became a member of the Founders Club giving society.
Kaiser continues to support the university because she believes ýƵ encourages its students to pursue learning in whichever way works best for them. For Kaiser, that meant learning to ask questions, collaborating with a variety of personalities, and recognizing connections between seemingly unrelated topics.
“ýƵ teaches us that in modern society, our learning is never finished,” Kaiser said. “… that mindset of curiosity and growth is one that has taken me to new places in work and life and continues to drive me today.”
Kaiser hopes that through donations from her and other alumni, ýƵ is better able to meet the financial needs of all of its students.
“As I move further from my graduation date, I have a growing appreciation of all that the institution does, inside and outside of the classroom, to help every student become the best version of him or herself,” Kaiser said. “I feel happy to contribute as a graduate and as a proud member of the community.”