When Jillian Sloban ’12 MBA ’12 and Jeff Banville ’13 MBA ’14 were trying to figure out what to give guests as party favors – they immediately thought of their alma mater.
“Thomas is such a huge part of both of our lives that we wanted to recognize it somehow on our wedding day,” said Jillian.
So, they made a donation to Thomas College in lieu of handing out favors to wedding guests.
“Without Thomas, Jeff and I would never have met,” said Jillian. “We try to give back as much as we can and we thought this was a unique gift we could provide to our guests – many of whom either attended Thomas or had been to campus in one way or another during our collective time there.”
Jillian, who grew up in Amesbury, Massachusetts, studied marketing management at Thomas College – and was part of the accelerated MBA program. She was Alpha Chi’s President, active in Campus Activities Board for two years, and a resident assistant for one year.
“Thomas was the right fit for me because of the community and the degree programs offered,” said Jillian. “The accelerated MBA set me up for success in a much shorter span than my peers. Also, the emphasis on real-world learning through internships was important and I believe that has helped the success I see today.”
Now, Jillian is the Marketing Communications Manager, Practice Growth and Education for Straumann North America supporting the United States and Canada. Jillian promotes services that will help dental offices grow their business and education programs that offer continuing education credits to dentists to maintain their licenses.
“I am so proud to be where I am in my field – and that’s because of the education I received at Thomas,” said Jillian. “The internships, focus on real world learning and emphasis on employment after graduation is huge. Also, the accelerated MBA program allows me to complete in a super competitive job market outside of Boston.”
Jillian’s advice to current students is: find an internship. She began an internship her junior year at Thomas and stayed with that company for a year after graduation.
“The experience at the internship plus what I was learning day to day was invaluable,” she said. “I was able to bring insights back to the classroom and to the office.”
Beyond Thomas College’s assistance with helping Jillian blossom her successful career and allowed her to meet her husband, she was also able to find a second home – and to spread the love of Thomas College to the rest of her family.
Her sister, Erin ’10, is also an alum of the College. “It was fantastic having the college experience with my sister. She’s my best friend and it is great to have so many shared friends and memories.”
Even though Jillian’s parents are not alums of the College – they are true Thomas College fans.
“They are part of the community, too,” said Jillian of her parents. “Every parent weekend, homecoming, move in, move out, graduation or award ceremony, they were there!”
Her parents attended everything – even though they lived almost three hours away.
“They’re even the people that still drive around with ‘Thomas Mom’ and ‘Thomas Dad’ stickers on their vehicles,” said Jillian. “Thomas set up myself and my sister up for future successes and was safe, welcoming and fun. What more could they have asked for?”