Beaver Reflections:
Technically I was supposed to graduate from Beaver in 1987. However, I had various circumstances that forced me to graduate in 1988 after staying back a year. I most identify with the ‘87 class but on the record, I graduated in 1988. Overall, my experience at Beaver was tremendous. One teacher I fondly remember was Mr. Gow, who was my teacher, advisor, and soccer coach. Another teacher I loved was Ms. Baker, my English teacher in middle school. She made learning so interesting and enjoyable. Finally, the last teacher that had an immeasurable impact on me was Ms. Titcomb.

What is #happeningnow in your life:
After graduating from Beaver in 1988, I went to Occidental College in Los Angeles. Originally, Occidental College was a great fit because it was a small liberal arts college which was a nice transition from Beaver. I attended Occidental for a couple of years before deciding to transfer for my junior year. I ended up transferring to the University of Pennsylvania because there were more opportunities inside the classroom for me to take advantage of. Leading up to graduating, I saw a posting at the Wharton Career Center for an analyst training program. This was an amazing first opportunity that really opened my eyes to the financial world and laid the groundwork for my future career. Following a 5 year stint with a company that took me from California to New York, I decided to leave the municipal bond financial world. After that, I went to work for Harvard Private Capital Group which manages the endowment for Harvard University. I thought that this would be a valuable experience to become a generalist in real estate. I was there for a little bit less than a year and wanted to really focus on becoming an expert in one specific area. Later on, I joined a company called Benchmark Senior Living and I was there for 10 years. Following that, I got the chance to work at Wingate Healthcare as their CFO for a little more than a year. And finally, today, I work at CareOne on various financial transactions.

“The best mentor in my life was a colleague at Benchmark, where she worked as the Chief Operating Officer. She had come out of retirement to take that job, at a time when the company was struggling. There were some conflicts between the senior management team but she really worked to bring that team closer together and ease any tension there was. She taught me to take the high road and do the right thing. Usually good things will come out of it!”
– Lisa Burgess ’88

Advice to Beaver students:
From the mother in me, always keep working harder than the next person and try to make smart choices.