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Andy Burwell’s (Fin’98) career in financial planning started with an internship he had while a CU student. And because of that, he has opened his door to help CU students like Jenna Garofalo (Bus’09) get some real-world experience through an internship.

“My biggest reason for wanting to hire was when I was in school someone was nice enough to give me an internship,” he says, noting he hired Garofalo as a summer intern researching market trends last summer. “I wanted to give someone else the same opportunity.”

His internship gave him a sense of direction — and led to a job offer and his career path. In this weakened economy, alums like Burwell are helping realize the goals of the Alumni Association’s new Forever Buffs program: to help alumni and students create stronger professional and social networks and encourage a culture of contribution.

Broaden your Buff network by posting your company’s job openings and internship opportunities in the Career Services job database and in the Alumni Association’s Forever Buffs Network (formerly My CU Network), a social and professional networking site. The Forever Buffs Network also provides a platform for you to reach out through career resources, mentoring tools, discussion groups, chapter links, a Facebook application and robust alumni directory. As part of the Buff family, you can be that person who changes a student — or an alum’s — life.

“In this economic environment, whether you are a student or have been in the working world for 20 years, being able to go back to the alumni base and ask for help, which in other situations most people are not comfortable with, is key,” Burwell says. “It’s great to be in a position to be able to help.”

To help you find a job, the Alumni Association and Career Services are collaborating in unprecedented ways. Career Services Online (CSO), a job database, now is free to CU-Boulder alumni. Other services include job fairs on campus, online networking opportunities and professional development workshops.