Business Builder to CNSE Students: Find What Excites You
ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 2, 2026) — In a detailed and personal talk, business builder and engineer Kiante Bush encouraged University at Albany students to identify what excites them and build meaningful relationships with people who can help them achieve their goals.
Bush, speaking at the annual Bunshaft Lecture of UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering, offered practical advice on how to network, develop leadership skills and get into “big rooms,” such as at professional conferences. Moreover, he challenged the students to define fulfillment as they consider life after college.
“What makes you fulfilled? Is it just the salary or is it something a bit deeper?” asked Bush, founder and CEO of startup accelerator Venture for T.H.E.M. and associate manager of agile product delivery at Accenture. “Is it the work-life balance as well? Is it the proper leadership and the team around you? What keeps you going?”
Bush, who holds a bachelor’s in transportation engineering and an MBA, engaged students by asking about their dreams, career priorities and experiences with professional organizations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.
He also shared his own journey from a child who loved video games and a first-generation college student at Morgan State University to a business analyst, project manager and business owner who backs college students who are launching their own ventures. Here are his five best tips for CNSE students:
Build relationships before you need them. You can start in your first year of college by sharing your goals and interests with professors, Bush said. Also, meet industry leaders at career fairs and conferences and follow up with them on LinkedIn. “Learn about what they do, their interests,” he added. “Maybe you can shadow them in some way, get a pipeline to an internship. That’s so, so important.”
Pivot when necessary. “Your dreams change as you get older,” Bush explained. “You might not have that one uniform dream, but it can shift. It can change. And in some cases, you can always come back to that dream.”
Get into big rooms. Attend professional and industry conferences, Bush said. Seek sponsors or offer to help as a volunteer. “A lot of times companies are sponsoring these conferences. And their ROI is, we need you to come back with X number of computer science students and engineering students. And so, if that’s their ROI, then they’re looking for brilliant talent like you guys.”
Join professional clubs. At Morgan State, Bush became president of a student chapter of the Institute of Transportation Engineers. He learned how to fundraise, build teams and navigate conflicting personalities — all skills that he uses today.
Build your brand. “Build this brand around whatever your expertise is,” Bush said. “LinkedIn is a place where a lot of people are able to build a strong brand by posting and sharing some of the things that they’re working on. And that’s how I hired my current chief technology officer.”
The Bunshaft Lecture was established through the generosity of UAlbany alumni Albert Bunshaft ’80 and Caryn Bunshaft ’82. It provides students with information on a broad range of topics related to careers in computing and engineering sciences. For more information, please go here.