When Len Combs ’92, a scrappy 126-pound wrestler from a hard-nosed Central New York town, came to South Mountain, little did he know how Lehigh would transform his life.
Of course, that transformation came in part from his work on the mats in Grace Hall. Add to it the friendships he made, the wife he met, the education he received, the career he landed, and the network of alumni who mentored him.
Today, he and a group of loyal Lehigh alumni continue that tradition of mentorship, supporting the next generation of Lehigh graduates eager to demonstrate their professional acumen.
Developing Potential
As a first-year student, Combs was a double major in biology and accounting with a goal of becoming a college wrestling coach. While he later focused his academics on accounting alone, his goal of coaching never wavered.
Only in September, following his graduation, did he interview at PwC in Philadelphia. He soon joined an audit practice with several Lehigh alumni partners.
Over the next 32 years at PwC, Combs worked his way up from an associate to partner. He has offices in Philadelphia, London, Minneapolis, and the national office headquarters in New Jersey and served as U.S. chief auditor.
Today, he lives where it all started, in Philadelphia, where he serves several multinational public companies and is also the global assurance chief operations officer.
The location allows him to stay close to Lehigh.
Combs demonstrates his loyalty by returning to campus to teach classes, recruit, and, of course, watch wrestling matches.
“As a Lehigh alum at PwC, it was ingrained that we are thankful for the opportunity Lehigh gave us and we give back,” says Combs. “The opportunities I was provided and the success I’ve had is owed to the great educational experience I had at Lehigh and the Lehigh alumni at PwC who saw my potential and helped develop it.”
He and other Lehigh alumni partners at PwC are making a commitment to collective giving. Their pooled resources and matching PwC gifts have provided substantial support for new projects like the Business Innovation Building and Sinclair Endowed Scholarship.
Their latest endowment invests directly in the student experience: the Student to Professional Co-Curriculum.
PwC Hosts Students
On the morning after Halloween, nearly two dozen first-year business students board a bus headed to PwC in New York City. Lehigh alumni are hosting the group so the students can see a day in the life at PwC. Alumni in different departments speak about their roles in the organization as well as share some highlights from their time on campus.
The alumni hosts also share information about PwC: its values, talent management process, what it seeks in candidates, and career trajectories.
With the group is Marina Odierno, associate director of professional development in the College of Business, who oversees the Student to Professional Co-Curriculum. It is designed to develop soft skills in students who excel in technical knowledge.
Required for all College of Business students, the co-curriculum teaches students how to network, develop an elevator pitch, craft a personal brand, build an industry-specific resume, prepare for interviews, and more.
Odierno partners with the staff in the Center for Career and Professional Development for many foundational skills. The program then complements and extends those skills to business majors.
Student to Professional
The co-curriculum is tiered and gamified. Suitable, an educational platform, turns the required activities into point-earning leaderboards with fun incentives. The tiers begin in the first semester of the first year and move through junior year. Each level is tied to career-building mile markers like cover letters, experiential learning, mock interviews, and personal growth activities.
When junior year hits, students should be turning internships into offers … if they have done the work and followed the steps.
Combs says they do.
“Lehigh students come in, roll up their sleeves, and work hard,” he says. “They are well prepared and demonstrate drive, intellect, and fortitude.”
The success falls to Odierno and the faculty and staff involved in the co-curriculum’s programming. Over four years, Odierno has moved engagement rates in the program from 6% to 84%. That comes from old-fashioned elbow grease and financial support from PwC.
She holds career track events like the one at PwC. Odierno also hosted a signature event for juniors and seniors to practice their skills on faculty. The community-building celebration allowed students a low-stakes environment to unplug from the workload and instead work a room — holding a mocktail and a small plate while shaking hands and building connections that are not about assignments and grades.
Folks on campus are noticing the success. The co-curriculum was nominated for a distinguished program award, and Odierno earned a staff excellence award.
This success makes alumni at PwC supporting the program even more proud of Lehigh as an industry leader.
“As a company, we hire across all colleges at Lehigh as the nature of our business continues to evolve,” says Combs. “Lehigh does extraordinarily well in creating candidates not only in accounting but also in finance, computer science, and engineering. The graduates we hire are fantastic people who are engaged at PwC and in their communities in so many positive ways. The Student to Professional Program feels like a training ground for success for new graduates entering corporate America.”
