Nell Walker, the College of Business Administration’s director of external relations, looks constantly for trends. She watches to see how a business shift could develop into opportunities for Winthrop to start a new program, for students to be placed in good jobs and for collaborations with businesses and other groups.

Marketing and management students look to Walker as a mentor who has helped them find internships and jobs or helped train them for Students in Free Enterprise competitions. She also recruits for the university’s graduate business programs.

The networking by Walker and other professors has paid off as one regional credit union has hired nearly 85 percent of its management personnel from Winthrop. Walker has worked to maintain such relationships to develop more opportunities for internships and new hires.

One of Walker’s latest projects involved the creation of an eight-month management course for non-profit organizations in partnership with the J. Marion Sims Foundation and Sisters of Charity Foundation. Participants set goals for themselves, identified challenges and networked with other agency leaders.

“Non-profits have to operate with a profit mentality,” said Walker. “The only training many of these managers receive is on-the-job training.”

She also designed a human resources certificate program in partnership with the national society of human resource professionals. During its nine years, the program has enrolled more than 200 students and boasts an exceptionally high pass rate for students sitting for the national examination.

Walker came to Winthrop in 1997 to teach and to develop an academic internship program. A former national director for the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation, she brought a strong background in management.

Walker’s hard work earned her the college’s outstanding service award in May for her dedication to students and the business community. Next year Walker will move to working on special projects so that she can help keep Winthrop and its business students ahead of the curve.