Category: Careers & Connections

For the majority of Jack Kennedy’s ‘26 time in the Lacy School of Business, he had a fairly different career in mind. He was interested in finance and planned on pursuing investment banking. But one of the experiences that changed his perspective had little to do with sitting in the classroom.

In undergrad, Jack became a personal trainer at Butler University’s Health and Recreation Complex. The experience helped him realize something important about the kind of career he wanted.

“I realized I needed the people-facing aspect, and not just sitting behind a screen all day,” he says.

That realization didn’t change his interest in finance, but it helped him understand how he wanted to use it. He began exploring wealth management, which combined his interest in finance with opportunities to build relationships and work directly with clients.

Today, Jack works in commercial trucking insurance at Amwins, a career he says he wouldn’t have predicted when he started at LSB. Amwins is the largest wholesale specialty insurance product and service distributor in the U.S.. His path from finance to wealth management to insurance may look like a series of unrelated steps. But looking back, Jack recognizes that each experience helped him develop skills and better understand the kind of work he wanted to pursue.

As Jack continued his education at Butler, his interests continued to evolve. His internships initially focused heavily on finance and wealth management, but during his senior year, he had the opportunity to take more insurance courses.

That experience opened another door.

 “I finally had the opportunity to take more insurance classes, and that’s when I kind of realized that I was maybe interested in insurance as well,” he says. 

Instead of viewing his changing interests as a lack of direction, Jack used them as opportunities to explore. 

As graduation approached, he began applying for positions and focusing not only on finding a job but also on building connections. That approach eventually led him to Amwins. 

Butler alumni working there helped him make connections and learn more about the opportunity.

The process wasn’t immediate. Jack had experienced rejection and worked with his career mentor to connect with professionals and practice interviewing. That networking set him up for the opportunity he has today.

His experience demonstrates that career development doesn’t always happen through one decision on a straight path. It can happen through a series of opportunities, conversations and experiences that create what comes next.

While Jack’s job titles have changed, the skills he developed along the way have remained constant. 

One of the most important is organization. In his current role, Jack works with numerous systems and processes, and he has had to learn quickly. He relies on organized notes to keep track of new information and processes. 

“There’s probably 10 different softwares I use now that I’ve had to take notes on,” he says. “Just being able to keep those notes organized, and be able to refer to them over and over again, is helpful.”

For Jack, learning how to learn has become just as important as knowing the ins and outs of a system. That has become especially relevant as artificial intelligence continues to change the workplace. 

“AI can really teach you, but it can’t learn for you,” Jack says. “Being able to learn the process first, and then using AI to optimize it, has been really beneficial to me.”

Other skills have followed him from one experience to the next, including responsiveness and communication. In his current role, Jack works heavily through email and has learned the importance of prioritizing communications and responding quickly. That responsiveness reflects a broader lesson from his career, technical knowledge is only one part of professional success.

For Jack, Butler’s greatest value wasn’t preparing him for one specific job. It was giving him opportunities to explore. 

“I feel like it leaves the door pretty open,” he says of his Butler experience. “Especially with the curriculum, I feel like you get a taste of everything.”

His coursework exposed him to areas including equity, wealth management, insurance and entrepreneurship. Outside the classroom, his involvement in Lambda Chi Alpha helped him grow personally and as a leader, while experiences including Bulldog Reports and other collaborative business courses helped him learn how to work with different people.

Studying abroad in London offered another opportunity to step outside his comfort zone. Jack participated in Butler’s Leadership London program, where he experienced a different culture and work environment. 

“It immersed me into a whole different culture and work environment,” he says. “It really kept me on my toes, but allowed me to learn a lot.” 

That experience reinforced the value of being willing to enter unfamiliar environments and learn from them.

But the most tangible part of Jack’s Butler experience was his internships. As a business student, completing two internships gave him the opportunity to move beyond classroom concepts and experience professional environments. 

“Just getting that hands-on experience, in a real office, doing real work and tasks that impact people, is really meaningful,” he says.

 Those experiences also became valuable talking points during interviews and networking conversations after graduation.

Post-grad, Jack found himself comparing his own progress to the people around him. Seeing classmates announce new jobs on LinkedIn made it feel like he needed to catch up. Instead, he learned to focus on his own path. 

“You kind of have to drown out some of that noise, and just focus on your own career path, rather than everyone else’s,” he says.

His own career is evidence of that advice. The job he has today grew out of experiences he couldn’t have predicted as a freshman, from personal training to wealth management, from insurance coursework to studying abroad, and from internships to connections with Butler alumni.

Jack’s journey provides a different way to think about career planning. The goal isn’t to have every step mapped out. It’s to take advantage of opportunities, build skills that can grow with you and strive to discover what’s next.

(IBJ photo/Chad Williams)

When Colton Haymon ’20 graduated from Butler University in 2020, he had a clear vision for his future.

He was ambitious, competitive and eager to make his mark.

Six years later, as founder of Haymon Group, that ambition remains. But his definition of success has evolved.

Today, he measures progress less by how quickly he reaches a goal and more by how many people move forward alongside him.

“I need to remove myself from the attachment of time,” Colton says.

That perspective has emerged through entrepreneurship, partnership and a career built around helping others grow. It is also rooted in lessons he began learning as a student at Butler’s Lacy School of Business.

As a student-athlete, resident assistant and business student, Colton was surrounded by driven peers. Early on, he viewed many of those experiences through a competitive lens. Business presentations, classroom projects and leadership opportunities all felt like chances to prove himself.

Over time, however, his perspective shifted.

“Being at the Lacy School of Business desensitized me to competition,” Colton says. “It taught me how to balance competition with camaraderie.”

The relationships he built became one of the most valuable parts of his college experience. Butler exposed him to people with different strengths, backgrounds and ambitions, helping him realize there is no single path to success.

“Proximity to diverse greatness and talent” is how he describes it.

Many of those friendships remain among his closest relationships today.

That understanding of community now shapes the work he does through Haymon Group, a business dedicated to helping small and midsize companies grow.

The idea traces back to a vision he developed as a Butler student. Years after graduation, he rediscovered an old university blog post outlining his career aspirations and was struck by how closely his current work aligned with the goals he had set for himself.

“It was affirming,” he says. “It reminded me that this was something I wanted to do.”

Through Haymon Group, Colton helps business owners navigate growth, build strategic relationships and pursue new opportunities. Often, he works with organizations that are ready for their next stage of development but do not yet have the resources to hire full-time executive leadership.

At its core, he views the work as advocacy.

“People want to do business with people they like and trust,” he says.

Rather than applying the same formula to every client, Colton focuses on understanding a company’s goals and connecting them with the resources, relationships and opportunities that will help them succeed.

That instinct to advocate for others has been part of his personality for as long as he can remember.

Growing up in Chicago, he often found himself stepping in when he believed someone was being treated unfairly. The impulse has remained, though today it looks less like standing up for someone on the playground and more like helping talented people gain the visibility and opportunities they deserve.

“I’ve always been an advocate,” he says. “This person is an excellent steward of what they do, and they deserve more.”

One example is Anthony Murdock II, a longtime friend who played an important role in Colton’s Butler experience. Today, Colton helps support and elevate Anthony’s work, creating opportunities for his ideas and message to reach a broader audience.

For Colton, those moments represent a different kind of achievement than the one he once pursued.

“My people and my community are eating too,” he says.

His success, he explains, is deeply connected to the success of the people around him. When a client grows, a partner reaches a larger audience or someone’s vision gains momentum, he sees that as a victory worth celebrating.

“Anytime I won, by default, somebody else won.”

That mindset has also helped reshape how he thinks about timing.

Like many young professionals, Colton has felt pressure to compare his progress to others. Social media, technology and constant visibility into other people’s accomplishments can create the sense that success should happen quickly.

But family influences helped ground him in a different perspective.

His mother spent more than two decades building a pediatric occupational therapy practice in Chicago, demonstrating the persistence required to create something lasting. His father taught him to focus less on comparison and more on doing his personal best.

Those lessons continue to guide him today.

Colton still has ambitious goals for Haymon Group, including expanding its work in helping businesses strengthen their global competitiveness. Yet he has learned that ambition and patience can coexist.

“I’m on God’s timing,” he says. “He’s always on time.”

For him, trusting that timing does not mean lowering expectations. It means focusing on the quality of the work, the people involved and the opportunities directly in front of him.

That philosophy has earned recognition.

In August 2026, the Indianapolis Business Journal named Colton to its 20 in Their Twenties class, recognizing both his entrepreneurial success and his commitment to helping others succeed.

While honored by the recognition, Colton views it as a milestone rather than a destination.

What excited him most, he says, was meeting other young professionals who share a commitment to meaningful work and continuous growth.

“The dream is big,” he says.

His advice for current Lacy students reflects that same focus on personal growth. Beyond building technical skills and professional experience, he encourages students to spend time understanding themselves: their values, motivations and the characteristics they want to develop.

College, he believes, offers a unique opportunity to do that work.

It is a place to discover not only what you are good at, but also what matters to you. It is where relationships are formed, perspectives are challenged and lifelong lessons begin to take shape.

For Colton, one of the most important lessons was learning that success does not have to be a solitary pursuit.

The student who arrived at Butler ready to compete is still present in the entrepreneur he has become. But his definition of winning has expanded.

Success is no longer just about how far he can go.

It is about who goes with him.

(IBJ photo/Chad Williams)

When Anna Beaty ’23 arrived at Butler University from Minnesota, she didn’t think there was anything particularly extraordinary about her.

She was anxious. Moving across the country was a big step. And, by her own admission, she saw herself as “pretty ordinary.”

Then she got to the Lacy School of Business.

Professors and mentors challenged her to speak up, take risks and consider possibilities she hadn’t yet considered for herself. Over time, those experiences changed more than the direction of her career. They changed the way Anna saw herself.

“The biggest change is probably my self-confidence,” she says. “I feel like when I came into Butler, I was pretty anxious and I saw myself as pretty ordinary. I didn’t feel like I was special.”

By the time she graduated in 2023, Anna had begun to see herself differently: as someone who could meaningfully contribute to an organization, take up space in a room and build a career around work that mattered to her.

Today, she works in employee benefits consulting at NFP, helping organizations across Indiana navigate decisions that affect their people, their finances and, in many cases, their ability to fulfill their missions.

She also co-hosts The Work Dad Podcast, where she talks with business leaders and industry experts about workplace culture, mental health, innovation and risk management.

And in August 2026, the Indianapolis Business Journal named her one of its 20 in Their Twenties, recognizing her impact in the Indianapolis business community.

The recognition was especially meaningful because Anna learned that people she respected at work had nominated her without telling her.

“Knowing that people that I respect and look up to thought highly enough of me to nominate me was really meaningful,” she says.

It is a fitting recognition for someone whose career has been shaped by people who saw something in her before she fully saw it herself.

One of those people was Randy Brown, an Executive Career Mentor at the Lacy School who helped Anna see that her career didn’t have to fit neatly into the path she had originally imagined.

Anna had entered Butler planning to pursue marketing. At the same time, human resources had always been part of her world. Her mother spent nearly 30 years in HR, working in areas including learning and development, compensation and benefits, so Anna understood the field – even if she hadn’t initially pictured herself working in it.

Randy had a background in HR, and through their conversations, Anna began to see how the skills she was developing in marketing could translate to a different kind of career.

“He really helped me understand the similarities between marketing and consulting and HR,” Anna says.

What started as career exploration became something more personal. Randy taught Anna about executive presence, authenticity and becoming the strongest version of herself — lessons that would stay with her long after she graduated.

“He really poured into me,” she says. “He always talked about being your authentic self, being the strongest version of yourself as a person and as an employee, and just being optimistic and lifting other people up.”

At NFP, many of the organizations Anna serves are small businesses or nonprofits without a dedicated HR professional. Her role often goes beyond explaining employee benefits. She becomes a trusted advisor, helping organizations understand their options, make informed decisions and improve the experience for their employees while protecting their bottom line.

For Anna, the most rewarding part is seeing what happens when those decisions support something bigger.

She recalls working with Girls Inc. and helping the organization access a nonprofit benefits arrangement that saved money on its medical renewal.

The savings weren’t simply savings.

“They’re able to put that money back into their mission,” she says.

That is what she loves about consulting: understanding what an organization is trying to accomplish and figuring out how she can help.

Anna has taken on increased responsibility for the growth and retention of multiple employer arrangements, including a nonprofit-specific benefits program through the Indiana Philanthropy Alliance.

“I’ve never been more fired up,” she says.

The work may look different from the marketing career she originally imagined, but the skills she built at Lacy continue to show up every day.

Emeritus Faculty Dr. Deb Skinner helped Anna think about her personal mission and taught her that entering professional life shouldn’t require leaving her values behind.

Professor Matthew Caito encouraged her to explore supply chain, even though she had never considered herself particularly strong in math or science.

“He really encouraged me to not count myself out,” Anna says.

Emeritus Faculty Dr. Bob Mackoy’s marketing research courses gave Anna a foundation in working with statistical models and data – skills she now uses regularly in consulting to interpret complex information and explain it to people who aren’t necessarily experts.

And Dr. Eileen Taylor from the College of Communication pushed her to become a stronger communicator.

Today, when Anna sits across from a CEO or COO, she can still hear some of those lessons about speaking, presenting and executive presence.

“I remember all the little things she taught me about not fidgeting and how to present yourself,” she says.

Individually, those lessons may seem small. Together, they changed the way Anna showed up in the world.

One of the clearest examples came during her junior-year internship at NFP.

Anna found herself in a focus group with Indiana employers discussing employee engagement and retention. She was a college student sitting among experienced professionals when a leader in the room turned to her.

“Anna, what do you think?”

Someone wanted to hear her perspective.

“That was a really big confidence boost for me,” she says.

The moment also shaped the way Anna thinks about young professionals.

“I think interns and recent grads are never too young to add value,” she says.

That belief has followed her into her career.

Since graduating from LSB, Anna has helped connect Butler students with opportunities at her office. Several students have ultimately joined the organization through those connections.

It is a full-circle version of the mentorship she received.

Someone once took a chance on Anna. Now she is becoming that person for someone else.

That may be the most meaningful change since the anxious student from Minnesota first arrived at Butler. Anna didn’t suddenly become someone different. She learned to believe in the person she already was and to recognize that she had something valuable to contribute.

That confidence has allowed her to do more than build a career. It has allowed her to help organizations put more resources toward their missions, help clients navigate complicated decisions and create opportunities for the people coming behind her.

Her advice to current Lacy students is simple: stay curious.

“Just be open to different things,” she says. “Your major doesn’t necessarily mean that’s what you’re going to do for the rest of your life.”

She knows that firsthand.

A marketing major led her to employee benefits consulting. A mentor led her to a career she hadn’t considered. A podcast became another classroom. And a Butler connection eventually helped open the door to her career.

Sometimes, she says, “it’s easier to get a job when somebody is vouching for you.”

But Anna’s story has come to mean more than having someone open a door for her. It is about what happens after someone believes in you.

Someone once asked Anna what she thought when she was a college student sitting in a room full of experienced professionals.

Now she is helping make sure other students know their perspectives are worth hearing.

Anna didn’t become extraordinary because someone told her she was.

She became confident enough to discover it for herself – and generous enough to help other people discover it, too.

Written by Butler Entrepreneurship
April 20, 2026

Bradley Hamann ’04, Owner and Managing Broker of Hamann Sense, LLC. , built a real estate business over 20 years defined not by transactions, but by relationships, resilience, and a deep commitment to the Butler University community.

A graduate of Butler’s Lacy School of Business, Hamann earned his degree in Marketing with a minor in Psychology.  During his time on campus, he distinguished himself as a student leader, serving in residence life roles and twice earning recognition as a Top Ten Outstanding Student.  He also played a unique role in Butler spirit, serving as the University’s Bulldog mascot and traveling with the men’s basketball team during its early NCAA Tournament runs.

A Commitment to Butler That Extends Beyond Graduation

Hamann was awarded the Joseph Irwin Sweeney Alumni Service Award in 2015 to recognize extraordinary professional achievement and service to Butler University following his service as President of the Butler Young Alumni Board of Directors.  In 2022, Hamann and his wife, Dr. Andrea (Sands) Hamann ’08, were jointly recognized with the Butler University Foundation Award, honoring alumni for their leadership, service, and philanthropic impact.

The Hamanns established the Hamann Family Annual Scholarship to support students in the Lacy School of Business, paying forward the same type of support that made their own Butler educations possible.

Beyond financial support, Hamann actively mentors students, engages with entrepreneurship initiatives, and contributes to Butler’s growing ecosystem of experiential learning.  Notably, he engaged students in a semester-long sales consulting project for Heritage Green, his former Christmas tree farm.  His involvement reflects the same hands-on, real-world approach that defines the Lacy School’s nationally recognized entrepreneurship program.

Building Hamann Sense:  A Founder Story Rooted in Resilience

Hamann launched his real estate career in Illinois and Indiana in 2006, entering the industry before the housing market downturn that would define the Great Recession.  He was recognized as the Mid-America Rookie of the Year by Keller Williams Realty in 2007 and is a multi-year recipient of the Five Star Real Estate Agent Award.

In reflecting on his 20-year journey, he describes those early years as a period marked by uncertainty, long nights, and deals that did not close, but also as a formative experience that shaped his approach to business.  That resilience was tested again during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the market transformed overnight.  Hamann guided clients through very competitive situations, regularly encountering multiple offers. Through every market cycle, his approach never wavered.  Hamann reflects on a career that has come full circle.

Rather than focusing solely on volume or rankings, Hamann built his business around a simple philosophy: Prioritize people over transactions.

That philosophy became the foundation of Hamann Sense, a boutique brokerage model centered on personalized service, long-term relationships, and strategic guidance.  The business has grown through referrals, repeat clients, and a deeply rooted presence in the Butler University community.  That connection has produced client relationships spanning multiple generations.

Expanding Impact Beyond Real Estate

Hamann’s work extends beyond his brokerage and into broader community impact and advocacy.

Through personal experiences, he became an advocate for organ donation and community health initiatives through the Indiana Donor Network.

He is also involved with JAAQ (Just Ask A Question), a mental health platform focused on increasing access to support and resources. His involvement reflects a broader commitment to meeting people where they are, both in business and in life.

A Butler Story That Continues to Give Back

Now more than two decades into his career, Hamann continues to define success not by numbers, but by impact.

Hamann’s business remains rooted in the Butler community, where his philanthropy supports the next generation of students.  His engagement with Lacy School of Business initiatives reinforces Butler’s mission to prepare students through real-world learning and meaningful mentorship.  For Hamann, Butler is not only where his story began. It is an ongoing partnership.

Through his work, mentorship, and investment, Hamann’s endeavors promise to shape the Butler community for years to come.

Written by Brad Seehausen
Marketing and Communications Intern, Lacy School of Business ’26

For some, the path from student-athlete finance major to Juris Doctor to law firm partner may not seem obvious. But for Christina Fugate ’04, the connection between her education and legal career was always there. Now, a few decades into her career, she continues to give back to the Lacy School of Business while serving as partner at Ice Miller.

“I grew up in a small town in Wisconsin, and when I was being recruited for tennis, I knew I wanted to be in the city, and Indianapolis was the perfect fit for something bigger than where I grew up,” Christina says. 

When she wasn’t rallying on the tennis courts, Christina was completing her undergraduate finance degree at the Lacy School of Business, subsequently interning at two separate law firms. 

“What really was helpful is the hands-on experience education that you get at Lacy. It’s not just sitting in a lecture all day. You’re doing real life work in real life scenarios, which forces you out of your comfort zone,” Christina says. 

After completing a role in which she assisted in preparing evidence for court cases, Christina knew she wanted to pursue a legal degree. She did just that, completing her Juris Doctor at the IU McKinney School of Law in 2007. 

After graduating, Christina’s passion for law culminated into her starting position as a clerk for IceMiller. From this, Christina launched into franchise law, her area of expertise. Despite her practice, she acknowledges that her status at the firm means much more than just her title. 

“I wear a lot of different hats at the firm. I lead our franchise and distribution practice at the firm, whether it’s helping companies become franchised or avoid being franchised. I also am involved with commercial litigation, representing our large clients,” Christina mentions. 

Apart from her technical aspects of her position, Christina also wears the “mentor hat” for upcoming members in her firm. She understands the importance of having a pipeline of well-trained, young lawyers for the firm, and aims to foster growth among them.

Her contributions to young professionals do not stop at her firm. Outside of her practice, Christina can be found reinvesting her resources and knowledge back into the Lacy School of Business as the Chair of the Dean’s Advisory Council. Here, she and other business professionals, in both the Lacy School of Business and the greater Indianapolis area, work to develop ideas that will elevate LSB’s offerings to enhance the current student experience. 

“We are the eyes and the ears of the community, and it’s on us to help develop Lacy around such values.” 

Her reasoning to give back? It has to do with the foundation that Lacy has made in Indianapolis. 

“Butler is an important institution in the Indianapolis community. It’s been around for a really long time, and has helped shape the city. We’ve got a great alumni base in all different industries, and I think it’s important to continue to be involved,” she says. 

Through her career, Christina has accumulated numerous titles, awards, and accolades, including IBJ’s 40 under 40, a certified Legal Eagle, and a Super Lawyer, among many others. 

When asked what these awards were a result of, Christina’s insights surpassed superlatives. 

“While these accolades are flattering, I have never really thought about them. I simply think about what I’m doing at the moment. I’ve always worked hard, for my family, for my clients, and it has all been enjoyable, just being in the moment.”

Christina’s advice to others who seek success? Be adaptable, be in the moment, have what she calls at her firm an “entrepreneurial spirit,” and most importantly, enjoy what you do. 

“I think you’re off track in life when you wake up, unhappy with what you have to do for work, with your circumstances. It’s important to reflect on what makes you happy. Reflect on where you’ve been, and think about what your goals are and what you want to do in the future, and use your support system to help you get back to where you want to be,” she offers.

Outside of her practice, Christina maintains an active lifestyle, and is still an avid tennis player. She cites exercise as a key hobby in her day-to-day life, alongside being a self-descript “Uber Driver” for her two children. Christina’s love for driving doesn’t just stop at carpooling to school. Growing up, she fostered a love for motorsports and racing through her father and grandfather, and currently serves on the Board of Directors for Road America, a motorsports circuit in Wisconsin, which hosts various races, including the locally based IndyCar series. 

“We have a unique board, being that it has 3 women on it. It’s very unusual for the motorsports field, and it is something that I’m very proud of,” she mentions. 

It’s clear that the Indy-Wisconsin connection is strong for Christina, showcasing her love for her origins as well as where she’s decided to plant her roots. 

Beginning at and shaped by Lacy, through law school, and now as an established professional, Christina continues to prove that success is in store for those who work hard, regardless of how the path may look.