“One Person at a Time:” Successful Alum Gives Back in Gratitude
By Danny Lamere
“What lasting impression do you leave on your community, on society?” asks Adrien “Skip” Hebert, Jr. ’72, ’75MBA. “You can’t save everybody, but you can try and save one person at a time and influence their lives.”
In addition to their support for environmental causes, Hebert and his wife Katherine, longtime donors to Bryant University, recently made a significant commitment to the university through their estate. This commitment places the Heberts among Bryant’s most generous philanthropic supporters — and with it — they join the 1863 Society, Bryant University’s recognition society for those who make gifts through their estate or retirement plan.
Hebert says he makes decisions in equal partnership with Katherine, who served as a high school English teacher, department head and new teacher induction coordinator during her own career.
“After lengthy discussions, my wife and I have decided that investing in the future is one of our top priorities,” says Hebert. “Because Katherine was a career high school and college educator, I saw first-hand the impact of education on students and how critical financial support is to higher education. And I know the impact our educations had on us both. We also feel strongly that investment in environmental issues will provide a healthy world for everyone in the future.”
Hebert began his undergraduate studies in 1968, when he commuted to what was then known as Bryant College on the East Side of Providence. “Like most 18-year-olds,” he says, “I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life.”
He majored in business management and economics, finishing his undergraduate degree in three and a half years. When he was 19, his father and grandfather died just a few months apart. “Fortunately,” he says, “I had a resource in Bryant University.”
He went on to a lucrative first job in retail management, making three to four times as much money as peers his age. But there was a problem. “I absolutely hated it,” he says with a laugh.
In need of guidance, Hebert turned to Dr. Saul Leibovitz, then the dean of Bryant University’s graduate school, for advice. Hebert was considering law school — his father, grandfather and uncle were all lawyers — but Leibovitz steered him towards accounting. At the time, says Hebert, “There were 4,000 lawyers in Rhode Island and fewer than 700 accountants.”
Leibovitz accepted Hebert into Bryant University’s MBA program to study accounting, but since he did not have a degree in accounting, he needed to go back and complete all the undergraduate accounting courses before he could tackle the graduate coursework. He ultimately finished his MBA in 1975.
“I owe a great deal to the professors,” Hebert says. They advised him not to join a Big Eight accounting firm, and instead to join a small local firm called Sparrow and Johnson, where he became just the fifth professional staff member. He made partner at the firm at just 29 years of age, and he subsequently helped the firm grow into a three-office operation with more than 50 staff members.
By 1989, says Hebert, “I had seen the writing on the wall that the economy in Rhode Island wasn’t that great.” He sold his interest in his firm, eventually landing with a client who wanted to take his private business public. Again, the operation was small when he started — he was just the third employee of the company. Soon, however, he helped the client grow the company from “basically zero” to about $20 million in volume.
After a brief flirtation with early retirement, Hebert joined another company, which he helped to grow from $34 million in sales volume to $320 million. “That’s something that you always dream about when you’re in business school, thinking that you could build a company like that,” says Hebert, “but when you find yourself there, it’s hectic.”
At one point, Hebert says he spent nearly a full year in France, helping his company’s parent convert its French accounting to international and American accounting standards. Katherine visited him once a month during that time — all while raising their four children and working full-time.
“Don’t put too much pressure on yourself,” Hebert says when asked what advice he has for current Bryant University students. “It’s not necessarily when you arrive where you want to be — it’s that you arrive. I ended up going through seven years of college and had three majors before I could figure out what I wanted to be.”
You can join the Heberts by making your own planned gift to support Bryant University. Contact Bob Ferrell at 401-232-6171 or rferrell@bryant.edu to learn more.