Elizabeth Willimon is a connector. Whether it’s connecting alumni with students or Terry College of Business students to employers, she’s constantly seeking to put the right people in touch with each other.

“The ultimate goal of my job is to have our students hired,” said Willimon, Terry’s undergraduate corporate relations manager. “Anything I can do to make it as easy as possible to hire our students, I’ll do.”

Willimon, who started in this role in 2011, is working to encourage Terry alumni to hire current students for internships or jobs. Her job is “very customer-service oriented” in that she’ll post positions to Dawglink—UGA’s job board–on the employer’s behalf, promote opportunities to targeted groups of students, schedule on-campus interviews, share collected resumes and anything else she can to encourage employers to hire from Terry College.

One of her biggest responsibilities is coordinating the Employer of the Day program, which brings a different company to campus every Tuesday through Thursday.

“It’s similar to a career fair but only one company is our spotlight employer on campus that day,” she said. “It’s a fun and more laid back way for students to engage with recruiters or potential employers.”

The program started as a way to bring major accounting firms to campus and has expanded greatly from there. Twenty-two companies came to campus during fall semester.

“Now, thankfully, people know about the EOD program and our office and spread the word,” she said. “It’s kind of a win-win, because the students get to learn about hiring companies and the companies get to create more brand awareness while engaging with our students.”

Willimon and others in her office work with more than 2,500 Terry students and a few thousand pre-business majors to connect them to opportunities off campus.

“One thing our office really hones in on is getting our students connected outside of the classroom, helping them start to build those networks,” Willimon said.

Doing that often includes meeting one-on-one with students and helping them polish their resumes or find the right internship or job.

“There’s a big university-wide push for this experiential learning concept and that’s what our office has done from the get go, help broaden students’ experiences and connections outside the classroom,” Willimon said. “I love being able to look at a student’s interests and resume and help him or her think through various career options—that is a fun challenge.”

The goal of Willimon’s office is to have 90 percent of Terry graduates in a job within three months after graduation. Last year 86 percent of grads had positions; that rate was the highest in the college’s history, up 2 percent from 2014. Part of what helped boost that number is reaching out to alumni and asking them to hire Terry students.

“It’s been so fun to work with former students and see how they’re succeeding,” she said. “I have the best of both worlds since I get to work with alumni, too. Hiring our students is another way for them to give back to Terry.”

Willimon said it’s so important for students to set themselves apart doing work outside the classroom before they graduate. She said she’s seen students “come out of their shells” and really grow by attending events and interacting with alumni. Those experiences become invaluable as students prepare to leave campus.

“I have such great pride in all our students,” she said. “They’re so ­impressive.”