Bridging College and Career Andrew Barnett ’02 and his wife, Tori, give W&L students the tools to start their careers with confidence.

Kelsey Goodwin
April 15, 2025

There’s a close-knit alumni community that cares deeply about helping students. – Andrew Barnett ’02

As Andrew Barnett ’02 and his wife, Tori, contemplated how they could play a role in the lives of future Washington and Lee University students, they knew they wanted to make a gift that exemplified their values. The vision for their recently established endowment centers on helping W&L students uncover their own values and unique strengths as they enter the working world.

The Barnetts have partnered with W&L’s Office of Career and Professional Development (CPD) to create a fund that will provide CPD with the resources to expand its programs and provide services to more students. For Andrew, this presented a “pay-it-forward” opportunity to invest in a community that has provided him with a strong network throughout his professional life.

“I never would have gotten my first job if it wasn’t for the W&L grads I knew living and working in Washington, D.C., and I would never have met my wife,” said Andrew, who is currently chief investment officer at Little Hawk Investments, LLC based in Vero Beach, Florida. “There’s a close-knit alumni community that cares deeply about helping students, and I don’t know anybody in my network who doesn’t immediately respond to an email or pick up a phone call. That has been my experience, and I wanted to pay that forward.”

John Jensen ’01, executive director of alumni and career services, said CPD’s funding priorities include offsetting low-paying or unpaid internships that students need to stay competitive in today’s job market. They also fund student transportation costs for interviews and support for career exploration experiences.

Jensen said Barnett Family Dean of Career and Professional Development Molly Steele ’04 and her team have taken a thoughtful and proactive approach to engaging with students and building relationships with faculty and alumni to offer richer experiences for students. The Barnetts’ gift, he said, supports the deepening and strengthening of that work.

“This gift and the prioritization of career development programs allow us to invest in a mission-critical area outside the classroom, which is helping our students prepare for lifelong career success and satisfaction,” said Jensen. “The Barnett’s gift is one of our most significant and impactful to date and, along with the generosity of other alumni who support our work, will allow us to provide even more opportunities to our students.”

Andrew and Tori hope their gift allows CPD to build upon the momentum created by the expansion of its programming over the past several years. The Barnetts see their endowment as an avenue to expand access to CPD programming to connect more students with alumni in a broader range of careers.

“I’m hopeful that more and more students can engage with the office, whether through trips, speakers, recruiting visits or investigative work around different fields,” Andrew said, adding that he particularly hopes to see students gain more exposure to work in the nonprofit world.

Tori added that CPD programs can help students transition from college into the working world with more confidence and expertise.

“Transitions are hard,” Tori said, “and the transition from being in school into the working world is significant. I love the idea that CPD could help give students a vision about what’s next in a way that makes that transition a little more graceful and less overwhelming.”

Tori teaches a course called Faithful Leadership at Saint Edward’s School in Vero Beach, where the couple’s children attend school and has led workshops designed to help young people identify their strengths and values.

“Before you jump into a job, it can be beneficial to take the time to figure out who you are and what is going to be fulfilling to you in this next phase of your life,” Tori said.

Andrew said his transition from W&L into his first job at Cambridge Associates in Arlington, Virginia, was partly due to relationships he built with several W&L alumni working at the firm.  He continues to tap into the W&L alumni network today.

“Just two weeks ago, a fellow W&L alum in a very senior role in investment banking participated in our investment committee call as a subject matter expert,” Barnett said. “He’s still a part of my network and was the first person I thought of when I needed someone to come in and provide us with expertise and insight.”

Barnett has worked with CPD on many occasions over the years as the office has grown its programming, hosting students on trips and fielding calls from students interested in learning more about his career path as they navigate their own. He has also served the university as a member of the Young Alumni Council for the Williams School of Commerce, Economics and Politics.

Whenever he interacts with W&L students, Barnett said he is always impressed with their focus and maturity. He has enjoyed the opportunities to help them define their career paths over the years.

“Helping people find the alignment of their calling and their values gives me a lot of energy, and working through that process with undergraduates or recent graduates is very rewarding,” he said.

Jensen said engaged alumni such as Barnett have been critical to CPD’s success.

“Andrew has been part of that journey along the way,” Jensen said. “He’s been a volunteer who has helped us develop some initiatives in areas that we would not have been able to grow without him.”