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Back at school, this time to work

A search of the TigerNet alumni directory revealed 683 Princetonians employed at their alma mater, many of whom work at the University in non-academic capacities.

Three graduates now working at the Office of Development, which works on fundraising for the University through endeavors like Annual Giving, said they enjoy the camaraderie that comes from working with so many former classmates.

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Some alumni turned to the University after initially taking jobs elsewhere. Susan Fou ’94, an associate director at the development office, traveled to China through Princeton in Asia before earning a master’s degree at Columbia. She then stayed in the New York City area to work in marketing.

By 2000, Fou had moved to Princeton and was commuting to New York. After stints at several arts groups, her college roommate told her about an opening in the Office of Development.

Fou explained that she was drawn in part due to the University’s location.

“I lived in Princeton already,” she said. “Commuting takes a toll on you, and I thought I’d see how that went.”

Around the same time Fou left for China, Kevin Cotter ’96 joined the molecular biology department as a student. By the time he graduated, however, Cotter knew that he “didn’t want to be a lab rat and just sit in the lab and not talk to people,” he said in an e-mail.

A world-class rower, Cotter competed in the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics while working at Bloomberg Financial News and coaching part-time at the University. While preparing for his second Olympic games, Cotter joined the Internet start-up Integrated Sports International. In 2001, he decided to move to the Office of Development.

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“I worked in the private sector for a few years and really disliked the back-stabbing and negative energy that seemed to be in most corporate settings,” Cotter explained. “In most office environments I saw, there was always a set of people who hated to come to work every day ... and they let you know it,” Cotter added.

But in his current position as senior associate director, he said, he enjoys working “in a group where everyone is happy and likes going to work every day.”

Claire Brown ’94, who works along with Fou and Cotter in the development office, said that working as an administrator at the same place she completed her undergraduate studies has given her a more comprehensive view of the University.

“I think that it’s a nice opportunity to get to see things from a very different perspective,” Brown said. “As an undergraduate, you see only what an undergraduate’s going to see.”

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Fou echoed Brown’s sentiment, noting that her work at the development office crosses academic departments.

“I care more about what’s happening at the E-Quad now than I ever did when I was an undergraduate,” she said.

To the alumni, the University has undergone several dramatic changes since their time on campus.  Brown mentioned an increased commitment to public service, while Fou said the student body has become more diverse. Fou also noted the University’s expansion into fields like neuroscience and financial engineering, as well as the rise of new buildings.

“The campus has changed; it’s constantly changing,” she said, highlighting Lewis Library and Whitman College as major recent additions.

 The alumni also said that pride in their alma mater drives them to work for the University.

“You feel proud at the end of every day,” Cotter said, “to work for the best ol’ place of all.”