June 11, 2024

New Alumnus Celebrates Graduation With Friend and Former Boss

Heather Kuhn ’22, ’24 was on the verge of getting a bachelor’s degree in 2011 when she moved to Austin, Texas. She had an associate degree from the SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology and just 10 classes to go to get a BS in international trade and marketing from FIT.

But the FIT program was not fully online, and Kuhn would have had to attend the final class in New York City. Going to the University of Texas wasn’t an easy option either. “It would have required twice as many classes since they would accept only so many transfer credits and cost even more, even as an in-state student,” Kuhn recalls.

Kuhn shared her frustration with her former boss, Linda Weiss ’83, a former member of the University Council and the donor behind the Hilda and Charles Wolff Scholarship, which honors her parents. Weiss and Kuhn had met years earlier, when Kuhn was a program manager at the Stratton Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Albany, and Weiss was the center’s director and her boss.

Weiss suggested she attend Empire State University, which catered to professional adult students.  “I knew from working with Heather that she would find Empire State an excellent fit for assessing her educational goals and combining the credits she had already earned with additional coursework focused on those goals,” Weiss says.

Kuhn liked what she heard. “I liked the idea that the average age at SUNY Empire was more my demographic,” Kuhn says. “I saw part of the learning experience as an opportunity to network and learn from other working adults.”

Kuhn took the opportunity to shift gears and get a bachelor’s in business, management, and economics, which was better suited to her career path in technology leadership, having expanded beyond a pure marketing focus. What came as a surprise to her later was the decision to go on and pursue an MBA with a concentration in global supply chain management and an advanced certificate in project management.

“I was just planning on finishing undergrad —I had no idea the path would end with an MBA!” Kuhn says.

“No surprise here,” Weiss says. “It was easy to see from Heather’s accomplishments that she was ready for the challenge of a graduate degree. And in talking with her, it was apparent that she would benefit from the advanced critical thinking skills and management tools she would acquire in furthering her career.”

Kuhn says she had a wonderful experience with SUNY Empire, where her advisor helped her craft a plan that suited her needs. She also praised the IT department for being “always incredibly responsive and helpful.”

Her advisor was especially helpful in the second semester of her graduate program, when she  was working as COO for a practice management electronic medical records software company and lost her director of marketing. “I had to face the fact that I could not juggle two classes at once while running a company, handling the marketing work, and recruiting for a new marketing director,” she says. “In a funny (not funny) twist, I had to drop a marketing leadership class so that I could lead marketing! My advisor helped me through revising my degree plan.”

When she went to commencement in Albany this spring, she was delighted to meet up with Weiss for the first time in over a decade. “I had not seen Linda since 2011 when I left the VA and Albany after getting divorced,” Kuhn says. “That was the lowest time in my life. It was just incredible to be able to see her as I had reached a new high point. She was instrumental in my education journey, and an incredible cheerleader along the way when I fretted over finishing with a 4.0.  She was always such a role model.”

Says Weiss, “I always knew Heather had such talent, focus, and capability for leadership in business and management.  Life was bumpy for her at times but when she was ready, Heather achieved the education to complement her innate abilities. What an amazing day in welcoming her back to Albany, meeting her family, watching the graduation ceremony, and celebrating her accomplishments.”