Alumni Q&A: Thurmond reflects on career advancement since winning 2017 Raymond D. Thomas Award

Alumni Q&A: Thurmond reflects on career advancement since winning 2017 Raymond D. Thomas Award

Monday, December 2, 2024

Media Contact: Hallie Hart | Communications Coordinator | 405-744-1050 | [email protected]

Tiffany Thurmond maintains the love for community leadership that guided her when she won the Raymond D. Thomas Awardas the top Spears School of Business senior in 2017.

A marketing and management graduate from Edmond, Oklahoma, Thurmond said her inspiration comes from "who was, who is and who will be." The first part of her motto pays homage to her ancestors and trailblazers of the past. The second part represents her family and friends, and she also makes decisions while thinking of the next generation - the leaders "who will be."

Thurmond had this motivation at Oklahoma State University, where she balanced Spears Business courses with her roles as president of the African American Student Association (now known on campus as Black Student Association), vice president of the Theta Mu Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and student assistant in then-university president Burns Hargis' office. After graduation, Thurmond started as a sales development representative at software company Qualtrics in Utah and was promoted to senior corporate account executive while also launching social impact initiatives within the company.

As an OSU student, Tiffany Thurmond won multiple awards, including the Raymond D. Thomas Award for the top Spears Business senior.

This experience led Thurmond to social impact software company Visit.org, where she has worked since 2023. This year, she started her new role as a senior enterprise customer success manager, facilitating partnerships between corporations and nonprofits.

Thurmond shared with Spears Business how she has built her rapidly rising career in the seven years since her OSU graduation.

What does your day-to-day job look like with Visit.org?

Within this role, I'm responsible for the strategic account management, retention and growth of our enterprise clients, primarily being hands-on in working as a trusted partner to help ensure they achieve their social impact goals and drive change in the world by partnering with nonprofits to give back to our communities. Every day, I'm meeting with these clients and helping them manage and build these social impact programs that not only provide donations to our nonprofit partners, but also engage their employees in volunteer experiences. Additionally, I've stepped into a leadership role to help other CS Managers grow within their career path while also helping the company to build processes and identify opportunities for improvement within our start-up tech environment.

What inspired you to work for a corporation that partners with nonprofits?

I'm passionate about the intersection of business and social impact as I believe that corporations still have further untapped potential to use their technology, services and resources to help drive social change and create equitable opportunities to help solve issues facing underserved communities. With Visit.org, I saw an opportunity to join a great team on a similar mission and a chance to further apply my skills in new ways that would help drive meaningful change.

What has it been like moving around the country since accepting your first job with Qualtrics fresh out of college?

I hadn't lived outside of Oklahoma before moving right after college, but I always knew that I wanted to explore the world. There are always both exciting and challenging experiences in moving to new places. Even with my first move to Utah to jumpstart my career Alumni Q&A: Thurmond reflects on career advancement since winning 2017 Raymond D. Thomas Award - I had no idea I'd be living there one day, but that's just the thing, sometimes the greatness that lies ahead of you comes from where you least expect it. I currently live in the Washington metropolitan area (DMV) and truly enjoy the community and opportunities that it has to offer as I continue to work toward my next steps.

How did your time at Spears prepare you for a business career? Did any professors or courses particularly impact you?

Spears provided a great education plus a supportive community that helped me to launch a successful career as I began my journey. Whether through the different business classes or one-on-one conversations I had with professors, advisors and peers, each moment contributed to my growth.

There are multiple people who had a positive impact throughout my time at Spears that I'm truly grateful for, but someone who especially comes to mind is one of my Spears professors, Dr. Lex Smith Washington(associate professor in the Department of Management). Her classes were enriching, but it was the encouragement and mentorship she provided outside of the classroom through office hours that truly inspired me to keep pushing for greatness once my time at OSU was complete.

In addition to your academic accolades, you were extremely engaged on campus. How did those experiences complement your education?

Being involved and helping to advance initiatives to support my community has always been of utmost importance to me, regardless of where I am - whether that was in college or at any company I'm working for or where I'm living. The involvement I had on campus with my community and my sorority was extremely important to me as they provided invaluable experiences that were necessary and integral to not only my education, but also to my personal growth and development into becoming a better person than when I first stepped on campus.

Whether in our Afro-Am meetings or events with my Sorors in DST, we came together to build and drive meaningful impact on campus for the next generation. Through these experiences, I've gained not only lifelong lessons, but also lifelong friendships.

Like it's said, "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together."

The new Business Building opened the year after you graduated. What has it been like to see the growth of Spears in the few short years since you were here?

It is amazing to see! Whenever I have chances to visit, it is always great to see how much Spears has grown throughout the diversity of students, programs provided and more. I look forward to seeing the continued growth of Spears and what the future holds for the next generations of students to come.

What have you learned in the corporate world that you would share with current Spears Business students?

You don't have to always have everything figured out. The moment you step off of that graduating stage, your new exciting journey will begin, filled with the greatest moments that you have yet to see. In the corporate world, your journey is going to be filled with successful moments, but also falling moments and that is OK. It's not about the elimination of those falling moments, but using those moments as stepping stones to evolve further into who you are destined to be. Remember, no matter the wins or losses, you have a gift/talent that is uniquely yours that no one else can bring to the table. There is a purpose and reason as to why you are there. Never stop letting your light shine.

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