Tenth annual Torgersen Leadership Summit features industry icons, leading alumni

The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers student chapter at Virginia Tech hosted their annual Torgersen Leadership Summit (TLS) on Saturday, February 8th. This year’s event marks a decade of the organization’s commitment to facilitating conversations between industry leaders, alumni, and students. The Torgersen Leadership Summit honors the legacy of the late Paul Torgersen, president emeritus of Virginia Tech and professor emeritus in the College of Engineering.

"The tenth annual Torgersen Leadership Summit was a powerful experience for our students," said Eileen Van Aken ‘88, head of the Grado Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering. "Dr. Paul Torgersen’s legacy continues to inspire, and this event is a testament to the lasting impact of his leadership. Seeing how the summit has evolved over the past decade has been incredible, and we’re eager to build on that momentum in the years to come.”

Torgersen’s grandson, Paul Torgersen, Jr. ‘12, opened the summit with a presentation on his grandfather’s legacy as an educator, mentor, and leader. Jennifer Van Buskirk ‘95, executive vice president and general manager of mid-markets at AT&T Business, delivered the keynote address. Van Buskirk outlined her three crucial principles for leadership: banning the word “can’t”, embracing challenges, and cultivating a growth mindset. 

The summit is an opportunity for students to connect directly with industrial and systems engineering professionals, faculty members, and peers to learn about success in the field and positioning themselves for leadership opportunities in and out of the classroom. Sessions ranged from interactive workshops to panel discussions, including: 

• Data Driven Leadership and Decisions, with Gordon Quach ‘20, Lead Business Data Scientist (Analytics) at Booz Allen Hamilton. 
• Entrepreneurship and Selling Yourself, with Samuel Jordan ‘07, Strategic Consultant for VNS Health. 
• Is Manufacturing for You? With Gavin Calarco ‘22, Materials Resource Planner/Buyer  and Anna Card ‘21, Lead Services Specialist - Customer Fulfillment, both for GE Vernova
• Building a Winning Team, with Kari Beasley ‘09, Chief Operating Officer for Mason Dixie Foods. 
• An alumni leadership panel with Jim Sowder ‘83, retired Technical and Senior Director at Northrop Grumman and Peraton, and Dylan Burnette ‘18, Engineering Supervisor at Altec, as well as Beasley and Quach. 

“TLS gave me the opportunity to have one-on-one conversations with a variety of accomplished alumni who are making differences in industrial and systems engineering disciplines. Each of the speakers are from different generations of Hokies that all took the same classes and shared the same experiences but paved vastly different careers,” said Quinn Duffy, junior in industrial and systems engineering and summit attendee. “One of the most beneficial aspects was connecting directly with fellow students and alumni and diving deeper into tools and software that are used widely in professional settings, but not necessarily covered in the classroom.”