Elizabeth “Betsy” Brasher of Memphis, senior vice president and relationship manager for the Corporate Regional Banking Group for First Tennessee Bank, spoke Nov. 1 at the annual College of Business and Global Affairs Career Day luncheon held at the Boling University Center Ballroom.
Dr. Ross Dickens, dean of the College of Business and Global Affairs, welcomed the students and faculty and introduced Brasher, whose speech was titled “Your Career is a Marathon, Not a Race.”
Brasher gave five pieces of advice to students as they transition from college to employment: begin a career as an ultra-marathon and not a 5K race; corporate culture matters; be able to handle organizational training critical to one’s success; engage; and get involved with the community outside of work.
“We should all look at our jobs and careers as an ultra-marathon and not a series of short 5K races,” Brasher said.
Brasher, a UTM alumna, received her bachelor’s degree in Economics/Finance in 1998 and her Master of Business Administration in 2003. Following graduation, she served on the UTM Alumni Council, which she chaired in 2005. She also served on UTM’s School of Business Advisory Council.
Brasher joined First Tennessee Bank in 1998 after earning her bachelor’s degree, including interning with the bank between her junior and senior years of college. She served eight different roles and moved twice for First Tennessee.
Brasher also served as chair for the University of Tennessee Alumni Association’s Women’s Council in 2009, as treasurer for the University of Tennessee Alumni Association Board of Governors in 2013, and national president for the Phi Chi Theta business fraternity from 2004-2008.
Brasher also serves on the finance committee on the advisory board for the Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis, and is active in the Junior League of Memphis. She is also the current president of the University of Tennessee Alumni Association.
“I have loved my time at UT Martin and it was fun to come back and see the familiarity of advisory council members and to also see some of my former professors still here,” she said.
(Photo Credit/Elysia Duke)
