Stories

Professor Sean O’Keefe, who recently received an ACE Faculty award at the 2019 ACE Senior Dinner, teaches Effective Communication in Business, a core class in the Leavey School of Business.  Over the course of the class, Professor O’Keefe guides students through the ins and outs of presentations, networking, business writing, and building your personal brand and addresses how to use various forms of communication in an effective manner within a business setting.

As an undergraduate student at UC Santa Barbara, Professor O’Keefe was unsure about what his path after college would look like.  However, during his junior year, one of his own professors changed his life. Telling his story, O’Keefe explains, “My professor told the class that he had hook-ups to summer internships, but the only fair way to give them out was to the best students in the class and I wasn't one of those students. But, he also said ‘I'm willing to provide some guidance and career coaching for those who consider yourself hard workers and are willing to step outside of your comfort zone.’  And that was me. So, I listened to my professor and he taught me to zig when others zagged and that you have to do more than just apply online and cross your fingers. So, I basically made a list of 30 people at 5 different professional sports teams, the A's, Giants, 49ers, Raiders, and Warriors and realized that the director level positions were the ones that hired interns and reached out to those people. And because of all that outreach, I landed an internship with the Oakland A's and then the San Francisco 49ers.”

Looking back, O’Keefe explains that after college, he was extrinsically motivated and simply wanted a cool logo on his business card.  However, during his time as a Santa Clara MBA student, his life was changed for a second time. During the MBA Program, O’Keefe studied abroad in China and Korea and during his flight to Korea, just by sheer luck, he was seated next to Barry Posner, the Dean of the Leavey School of Business at the time.  In conversation, Barry Posner asked him about how he had gotten his job in sports, assuming that he had been offered the position as a result of personal connections. As that was not the case, O’Keefe explained that he had received coaching from his professor during his days as an undergraduate student and was grateful for the guidance and direction he was given.  He also explained that he felt indebted to his professor and wanted to start a non-profit organization that would give students access to workshops that taught a holistic approach to job and internship searches– similar to what he had been taught.

After completing his MBA and circling back to interview for an adjunct lecturer position in the Leavey School of Business, O’Keefe started teaching BUSN 71 and BUSN 72, two previously required courses, in January of 2010.  On the first or second night as an adjunct lecturer, he had an overwhelming feeling that teaching was what he was meant to do with his life. After BUSN 71 and 72 became elective courses and a spot opened up to teach BUSN 179, O’Keefe switched gears and was hired to fill the position.  

In reflecting on the course, Professor O’Keefe explains that “the class is really practical and pragmatic.  It’s not a class on theory, but a class in which you learn by doing. In this class, students are encouraged to step out of their comfort zone and go after real-life experiences.  It’s one thing to read about networking in a textbook but it’s another thing to actually go out and sit face-to-face with business professionals.” In the end, to Professor O’Keefe, what makes it all worth it is seeing the success of his students and knowing that he gets to play the roll that his own professor played for him.