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Ann McBrien

Ann McBrien

First woman to serve as VP/sales at Procter & Gamble | Started UIAA Comeback program, Illini Pride founding board member | Class of 1982

The first stop on Ann McBrien’s stroll down memory lane: David Kinley Hall.

“Orientation with Dean Cammack — reminding us that his office was in DKH. David Kinley Hall ... DKH ... he must have said DKH 50 times in a short talk as we started our journey.  I’ll never forget,” says the Bottenfield Elementary, Edison Middle School, Champaign Central High and Gies College of Business grad.

McBrien made the most of her four years on campus, setting the stage for a distinguished career that would include 19 years at  Procter & Gamble, the last of them as the company’s global VP of health care sales.

Among her other fondest C-U memories:

— The Lincoln Avenue Residence Halls: “My first dorm and where longtime friendships would start.”

— Kappa Kappa Gamma: “My ‘home’ on campus," where she made "friends that will forever bring a smile to my face.”

— Homecoming: “Being a part of the start of the Student Alumni Association with people like Josh Grafton, John Graf, Londa (Jorgensen) Dewey and others; there are too many memories to list.

Bob Lumsden, the best advisor a student could ask for, enabled us to learn, stumble and go for it. From selling orange cowboy hats and stick-on Chief Illiniweks to driving all over the state to meet with radio/TV stations to ‘advertise’ the upcoming Homecoming events, those are memories, experiences and learnings that forever shaped my life.”

— Kam’s: “Hard to believe Kam’s has moved locations — it seemed like it would forever be an institution on Daniel Street. My best memories there were working behind the bar for just over a year, pouring one draft after another.”