Faces of DU

As seen in the Fall 2024 DU Review magazine

Everyone has a story. Davenport alumni explain how Davenport fits into their life stories and their successes. Here are a few faces of DU.

Jessica Maw, ‘14 | Bachelor of Science, Nursing

Job Title: Owner, Bring Joy Boutique

Work Passion: The community that developed under the boutique name is something I am insanely proud of and love. Obviously, I love shopping for clothes and playing dress-up as “work,” but the community takes the cake. The name of the boutique really speaks for itself. The clothing and community bring so much joy to my life! 

Davenport Highlight: My nursing friends, meeting my husband and learning the skills to be a successful nurse are so valuable to me. My relationships built during those four years were forever!

Key Mentor/Decision:  My husband – 100%. (Shout out to the man who agreed to let his wife  fill rooms with boutique inventory!) I’m the type of person who loves to throw ideas around and never execute them, because I don’t think I am capable. After my decision to stay home with young children, and in the middle of the pandemic, when I mentioned the idea of owning an online boutique out of our house, he gave me the extra push to make the dream a reality! After that initial push, the joy that came from inspiring other women to feel confident in their clothing was my #1 motivator and drove my success. We built a positive community of women who love fashion and encourage each other!

Michael Catching, II, ‘20 | Bachelor of Business Administration, Human Resources Management

Job Title: Manager of Community Engagement, Grand Rapids Art Museum

Work Passion: I love introducing or reintroducing audiences to the wonderful world of art and how expressive it is. Art is a spectrum that can be shown to people who either grew up loving it or who weren’t exposed to it. It’s a vehicle to have community conversations around health and wellness, equality and many other initiatives that may have been overlooked. I came into the art world as an individual with no background creatively, but socially I was able to relate to people who didn’t recognize how great it can be. It’s amazing to see people walk into our galleries and be amazed at what’s on display. 

Davenport Highlight: Coming to Davenport in fall 2015 as a part of the first-ever football class was an opportunity of a lifetime to lay the foundation for something bigger than myself! I got on campus at 19 years old, and by the time I left at 23, my life was completely transformed by the many relationships formed within the sports community, the clubs and groups and with many of my professors and support staff. Dr. O’Neal, Coach McEwen, and many others helped form me into the adult I am today.

Key Mentor/Decision:  In 2016, my daughter Kambry was born. At 20 years old, I was still trying to figure out being an athlete, working and navigating fatherhood. It was a rough adjustment, but my football team wrapped themselves around me and my family. She went from a community of two to a community of 150-plus instantly. Most of those men knew her by name, would spend time with her, and make her feel welcome. That laid the groundwork for me wanting to succeed as part of her village. Launching my career in human resources in 2020, I saw that many communities lack the village that surrounded my daughter. I was able to see the bigger picture and understand that art can be a tool. It can be plain or complicated. It can be radical or conservative. It truly is a language that can be spoken with no boundaries.

Seth Williams, ’21, ‘22 | Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration

Job Title: Event Coordinator, Detroit Lions

Work Passion: The event cycle and my co-workers. We are able to work on a wide range of events, such as concerts, athletic events and various shows. Seeing these come to life, from planning to execution, is extremely rewarding – when all in the building are enjoying the event. I am lucky to work with great, experienced people. That has allowed me to learn and develop my own skills. We also share the same values and passion for the work we do.

Davenport Highlight: At Davenport, I was able to learn about the wide range of career fields in sports and develop a stronger sense of what I wanted. I worked as a student athletic assistant my freshman year. That led to the building manager role under Nicole Tibbe, which allowed me to gain experience in Event Operations. Working while taking courses, I could apply what I was learning right away. I began to develop a passion for this work at Davenport. The experience was vital in leading me to where I am today.

Key Mentor/Decision: I have been extremely lucky to have had great mentors, and many key decisions come to mind. At the core of all those decisions, was choosing to attend Davenport University. Having grown up in a relatively small town, the smaller class sizes were perfect for me and allowed me to develop relationships with other students and professors. I was also able to take sport management classes immediately. The relationships and opportunities were vital to my success as a student. DU also introduced me to mentors, from professors to those I worked with in the Athletic Department. That hands-on work experience was vital when I was interviewing early in my career. I can honestly say my career path would likely look significantly different if it were not for Davenport.

Tanja Lumpp, ‘13 | Master of Business Administration in Strategic Management

Job Title: Managing Director, Global Risk & Benefits at IMA Financial

Work Passion: Collaborating with people from all over the globe. It’s a dream to be able to communicate and build relationships with individuals who are in different parts of the world. It’s challenging, exciting, interesting and keeps me on my toes!

Davenport Highlight: Davenport has superior professors! I truly enjoyed listening to their backgrounds, learning from their experiences, soaking in their stories and being able to connect it to my professional and educational growth. Everybody has a story, and my time at DU felt very real with professors and mentors who are real people with real professions and personal commitments who are dedicating time to pass on their wealth of knowledge!

Key Mentor/Decision: My parents are my inspiration. They appreciate how quickly life can change, and this has taught me to embrace the here and now, take risks, do hard things, start and start again, be positive, be authentic and stick with the people who give me energy. My husband and my girls are my motivation, and I am grateful to have a support system that gives me vigor to stay inspired!