Laura McDonald, a third-generation University of Alabama graduate, recently shared her journey from studying accounting as a Culverhouse College of Business student, to becoming senior vice president, chief mortgage and real estate officer at Protective Life Corporation, managing a $14 billion mortgage loan platform.
In a wide-ranging conversation with David Hart, the outgoing president of the Culverhouse Ambassadors, the official student representatives and front-line recruiters for the college, McDonald focused on her catalyzing role in starting the student organization.
During her time at the university, she and a friend, Tim Lacey, identified a lack of student engagement in the Culverhouse College of Business. They proposed the idea of a student organization to then-Dean Barry Mason, which led to the creation of the Culverhouse Ambassadors, originally known as Bidgood Ambassadors. This organization aimed to enhance the school by recruiting more students and representing the school in an official capacity. McDonald focused on the importance of the organization in building within its members skills in personal branding, effective communication, and relationship cultivation — all factors that still ring true to this day.
She also discussed the importance of giving back and getting involved in causes one is passionate about. For her, involvement with the O’Neill Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB and membership on the Culverhouse Board of Visitors are just some of the ways she gives back.
Watch the conversation between McDonald and Hart below or on YouTube: