For Dan Spaulding, MHRIR 00, and Avi Kopparthi, MHRIR 09, the connection between LER and their careers began in different ways. But nearly two decades ago, their paths crossed through the School, setting in motion a mentorship that would shape both of their careers and eventually inspire them to give back through the newly established Kopparthi Spaulding Mentorship Scholarship.
Spaulding first came to the University of Illinois after studying at Knox College and initially preparing for a career in law. As graduation approached, however, he became increasingly interested in business and the application of law within organizations. Someone recommended LER, and he enrolled in the program in 1999.
Kopparthi’s path was less direct. He arrived at Illinois in 2004, intending to follow in his father’s footsteps and become a doctor. During his undergraduate years, conversations with influential professors helped him reconsider his interests and career goals. A professor in the communications department eventually pointed out that many of Kopparthi’s interests aligned with human resources.
“The best graduate program in HR is right here,” Kopparthi remembers being told.
That conversation led him to LER, where he enrolled in the fall of 2008.
It was there that a connection between two LER alumni began.
A conversation that changed the course of a career
Early in Kopparthi’s first semester at LER, a mutual connection introduced him to Spaulding, who was then working in HR at Invitrogen in San Diego.
For Spaulding, the introduction represented an opportunity to reconnect with LER and begin investing in the next generation of HR talent. He had been taught early in his career that successful HR leaders have a responsibility to build teams and develop the people who will come after them.
The two quickly connected.
Spaulding and Kopparthi began speaking regularly, with Kopparthi bringing questions about his studies and career while Spaulding shared lessons from his first decade in the profession. Their conversations eventually led to Kopparthi securing an internship at Invitrogen in 2009.
But the internship was only the beginning.
After graduating from LER, Kopparthi continued to return to campus to speak with students, share his experiences, and help recruit future talent. As his career progressed, the informal mentorship he had experienced evolved into something more structured.
At Zillow, Spaulding and Kopparthi developed a more formal approach to bringing in LER interns, rotating them through different experiences and helping them grow into HR professionals. Many of those interns went on to become full-time employees.
One example is Kyle Carmack, MHRIR 18, the first LER intern they hired at Zillow, who now leads the company’s HR M&A function.
For Spaulding and Kopparthi, these relationships demonstrated something they had experienced themselves: career development is not a one-time transaction. It is an ongoing investment.
More than a first job
That very idea is at the heart of the scholarship Spaulding and Kopparthi established at LER.
Their goal is not simply to help students secure an internship or land their first job. Instead, they want the scholarship to encourage students to think about their careers as long-term journeys and their relationship with LER as something that can continue throughout their professional lives.
“I really wanted to contribute to a scholarship that recognizes the importance of developing HR talent throughout their careers, not just hiring talent at the beginning of their careers,”
Dan Spaulding, MHRIR 00
For him, that means looking beyond the initial hiring pipeline and investing in people who can eventually become leaders, mentors, and advocates for the next generation.
Kopparthi has experienced that cycle firsthand. He benefited from Spaulding’s mentorship early in his career, then returned to LER to share what he had learned with students. As his own career developed, he began mentoring and developing others.
The result is a cycle of investment. Students learn from alumni, alumni continue to invest in students, and those students eventually have the opportunity to pay that investment forward themselves.
“We all thrive through the continual effort and fruits of mentorship,” Spaulding said. He hopes the scholarship serves as a reminder of the bonds among students, alumni, LER, and the University of Illinois.
Preparing the next generation
When considering scholarship recipients, Spaulding and Kopparthi are looking for more than a student who excels academically. They want students who are self-motivated, curious, and willing to think critically about the future of work.
They also want students who see HR as more than a job.
For Spaulding, the profession is fundamentally about understanding and supporting people, particularly during some of the most difficult moments they may experience at work. At its best, he says, HR is about intentionally supporting people’s careers, development, and growth.
Kopparthi encourages students to think critically about their experiences and to focus on delivering meaningful results. His advice is simple: “Be excellent at something real, deliver real outcomes, communicate clearly around it,” and, perhaps most importantly, “volunteer for the hard work.”
Those lessons reflect the mentorship that shaped his own career.
After his internship in San Diego, Kopparthi took on increasingly challenging assignments and relocated several times, including roles in Buffalo, Austin, San Diego, and Seattle. Through each transition, he continued talking with Spaulding, reflecting on what he was learning and thinking critically about the work.
That process built trust between mentor and mentee.
For Spaulding, that trust grew as he watched Kopparthi invest in his career, take on difficult responsibilities, and eventually invest his own time in developing others.
“Nobody’s alone in their career,” Spaulding said. “Your success is because of people who have paved paths before you, and the success of you will depend on the people that you paved paths for behind you.”
An investment that continues
Today, the relationship between Spaulding and Kopparthi extends far beyond the workplace. What began with a phone call between an LER student and an alumnus has grown into a professional partnership, mentorship, and lasting friendship.
They have watched each other navigate career changes, new opportunities, and different stages of life. And through it all, their connection to LER has remained.
That is the legacy they hope the Kopparthi Spaulding Mentorship Scholarship will create for future students.
For Spaulding and Kopparthi, giving back is not simply about opening a door for one student. It is about strengthening a community that helped shape their own careers and ensuring that future generations have people willing to open doors for them.
The investment starts at LER. But, as their story demonstrates, its impact can last a lifetime. Their first recipient was in 2025, and they look forward to supporting generations to come.
If you’re inspired by Dan and Avi’s story and would like to support student scholarship opportunities, please contact Cory Hatfield at coryhat@illinois.edu or 217-300-2056.