Award-winning 2017 graduate Madison Long describes how she made the most of her Krannert experience. (Photo by Charles Jischke)
Building on Opportunity
New grad adds to a half-century of success
Fall 2017
By Eric Nelson
When Purdue’s Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity (BOP) program marks its 50th anniversary in 2018, one of its most recent graduates will be among those celebrating.
In her final semester as an accounting major, Madison Long made Poets & Quants 2017 Best and Brightest Business Undergrads list, earned recognition as an Outstanding Senior in the School of Management, and received Dr. Cornell A. Bell and the Emanuel Thornton Weiler Outstanding Student awards.
During her time on campus, Long, an Indianapolis native, also served as co-chair of the Doster Leadership Conference, vice president of the School of Management Council, and executive director of diversity and inclusion for Purdue Student Government. She was also a member of the Society of Minority Managers and part of Krannert’s second-place team at the 2015 National Black MBA Undergraduate Case Competition.
Between semesters, she completed internships at Amway Global, Deloitte Consulting and most recently Microsoft, which offered her a full-time position as a finance rotational program analyst before she began her senior year at Purdue.
“After graduation, I took the summer off, moved to Seattle, Washington, and started my job with Microsoft in September,” she says. “I’ll rotate through different parts of the company every six months for two years, which will help me grow professionally and better understand how to leverage innovations to empower others.”
Long, who arrived at Krannert as a Purdue University Emerging Leader scholar and Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program scholar, credits her involvement with student organizations as a key to her success.
“By just putting myself out there, I was able to gain confidence, networking skills and professional development, as well as a great cohort of peers who supported me and allowed me to see all the possibilities,” she says.
In addition, Long donated time each week to volunteer activities, including the United Way Read to Succeed program at Klondike Elementary School and the Boys & Girls Club. She also mentored younger students at the School of Management through the Krannert Leaders Academy.
“My advice to new students is to embrace what’s going on and to find a place where you feel comfortable but are also pushing yourself every day,” she says. “At Krannert, you’ll have the opportunity to thrive beginning your freshman year. That’s really paid off for me.”
Today, Long says she wouldn’t even be a Purdue alumna if not for BOP. It was the program’s individualized attention, mentor program and student community that led her to the University.
“Choosing a college was the biggest decision I’ve ever faced, but coming to Purdue and being part of BOP was the best one I could have made,” Long says.
“I’m certain there are many other future Krannert students just like me who will benefit from the opportunities that BOP offers. People really do believe in the program. They see the results. They see the capabilities of the students.”
