In their four years at Denison, Ryan Dawson ’25 and Adonte Mays ’25 pounced on every opportunity to connect with their classmates, faculty, staff, and alumni.
“Denison outside the classroom really helped me,” Mays said.
By the time Commencement arrived, the pair had secured software engineering jobs at JPMorgan Chase’s McCoy Center in Columbus, the company’s largest U.S. office complex.
Nine months later, Mays and Dawson joined fellow Big Red alums working at Chase, current students, and other Denisonians at an after-work reception meant to strengthen — and celebrate — the talent pipeline that now flows from The Hill to JPMorgan Chase.
Chuck Bellofatto ’89, the global head of credit risk, asset & wealth management at JPMorgan Chase, serves as emcee at a February 2026 reception that showcased the career pipeline that has developed between Chase and Denison.
The Feb. 17, 2026, event was billed as an evening of connection, conversation, and cocktails. To President Adam Weinberg, it was much more.
It was, he told attendees, an essential next step in Denison’s longstanding efforts in the career-services realm, providing resources and support to not only current students but also to alumni in the working world.
“This is about the next phase of that work, which is targeting the companies that our students want to work at, organizing our alums, building those bridges, identifying our best students, getting them prepared, and then asking those companies to open up doors and give them the opportunities that will make us all look good,” Weinberg said.
“Our goal is not simply to place more Denison grads at JPMorgan Chase,” he said. “It’s really bigger than that. It’s to create a community here that can propel JPMorgan Chase forward, that can connect back to Denison, and that becomes a case study for what we hope to do with companies across the country.”
Chuck Bellofatto ’89, the global head of credit risk, asset & wealth management at JPMorgan Chase, served as the event emcee.
“The whole purpose is to mingle, to build networks, to make sure that you have some folks you can tap when you want to hire Denison students, or when you’re a student that you have connections within the company,” he said. “It’s all about making those bonds stronger.
“That’s a good way to give back to both places that have, for me, meant a ton,” Bellofatto said.
Adonte Mays ’25, who was hired by Chase while still at Denison, speaks with President Adam Weinberg at the Chase-Denison event.
The Denison-to-Chase bridge came about organically and — as such relationships often do — began with a particular interest and commitment of one alum, said Jessica Hall, director of industry partners at Denison’s Knowlton Center for Career Exploration.
Several years ago, Natalie Zaravella Gerlach ’20, a former project manager on the corporate location management team at JPMorgan Chase, teamed up with the Knowlton Center to develop a program in which Denison students would make annual visits to the company, Hall said. That grew into both internships and ultimately employment opportunities.
“It really came from seeing an opportunity where the values aligned,” Gerlach said. “I knew firsthand the caliber of Denison students and alumni, and I also saw how strong the culture at Chase was around developing talent and investing in community. It felt natural to connect the two.”
“For me, it was less about creating a ‘pipeline’ and more about building a relationship, one rooted in shared values, long-term investment, and mutual benefit,” she said. “I’ve always believed alumni can play a powerful role in opening doors, and I felt a responsibility — and excitement! — to do that in a way that created meaningful access for students.”
“Sometimes younger alumni don’t think they have anything to offer yet,” Hall said. “They absolutely do. Natalie is proof of that.”
About 40 Denisonians now work at Chase’s McCoy Center, Hall said.
Corey Hallam ’03, who has worked at JPMorgan Chase for 13 years, is one of them. She is hoping to become more involved with Denison’s alumni network, driven in part by life lessons she gleaned on The Hill.
“At Denison, I learned to step outside my comfort zone, dive in, and learn something new,” Hallam said.
Dawson and Mays roomed together at Denison and still do as recent graduates. They haven’t forgotten to seize opportunities offered by their employer, just as they did at Denison.
“I pick up a new skill every week, it feels like,” Dawson said.
“That work doesn’t stop,” Mays said. “You have to keep evolving, or you will be left behind. I’m excited to see where we go next.”
Gerlach recently left Chase for a job with Nationwide Insurance, another Columbus corporate mainstay. Does she have plans to start again, building another bridge between Denison and her new employer?
“I’m still getting my footing in my current role, but I would absolutely welcome opportunities for thoughtful collaboration in the future,” she said. “I’m always interested in strengthening connections between institutions I care about. Denison will always be important to me, and I’m a big believer in the power of intentional partnerships.”
Interested in forging a relationship like this at your company? Connect with the Knowlton Center or Alumni & Family Engagement to get started!
