Tommy Marlier (Acct’14; MS’15)
Campus Recruiting Manager, BDO
Many Leeds graduates who earn certificates in Business of Sports go on to careers in marketing, sponsorships, events management or sales.
Tommy Marlier instead dances at halftime during Denver Nuggets home games.
He got an invitation to join the Average Joes squad through a fellow alumnus he met while doing in-game promotions for Kroenke Sports & Entertainment as a student. But his network isn’t the only reason he’s willing to bust a move at half court.
“Going to CU helped get me out of my comfort zone,” Marlier said. “It gave me a better chance to open up my circle and talk with other people.”
It also gave him the confidence to leave accounting, after dedicating his entire academic career to the discipline, and make the jump to recruiting.
“I studied accounting for five years, then another year and a half for the CPA exam—and suddenly, I was giving up on it,” he said. “But CU not only gave me the education, it taught me to follow my passions, and gave me a great business degree that I could take anywhere.”
“CU not only gave me the education, it taught me to follow my passions, and gave me a great business degree that I could take anywhere.”
Tommy Marlier (Acct’14; MS’15)
Today, Marlier works with BDO’s talent management team to recruit interns and entry-level professions from universities in the Rocky Mountains and Southwest, in addition to HR-related roles.
“You don’t work a day in your life if you love it,” he said. “What’s so invaluable and fun to me is how much I learn from the students.”
That learning is a two-way street: Marlier also is a mentor to Leeds students—his favorite way of giving back to the university.
“I wish I had been involved in formal mentorship as a student,” he said. “But it’s so rewarding, to be on this side and to provide insights and support—whether it’s a résumé review that leads to someone getting a job, or even becoming a lifelong friend.”
Not being a peer mentor may be Marlier’s only regret from his days in Boulder.
“I never even took a campus tour of my own, because my sister went to Leeds and I knew so much about the place from her,” he said. “I had originally wanted to study out of state, but my sister’s experience made it an easy choice. I always tell people, choosing CU was the best decision I ever made.”