For Richard Burjaw (BA ’88), Laurier runs in the family

Research shows that every time we revisit a memory, we change it a little, just by the act of remembering.

But Laurier alumnus Richard Burjaw (BA ’88) can’t easily do that, at least when it comes to his Laurier memories. That’s because he’s blessed with 11 family members and many close friends who are always able to correct him when he reminisces.

For many of our alumni, Laurier does tend to run in the family. But Burjaw is a special case. His father, Rick; his sister, Michelle; his uncle, Ron; his cousin, Christine; his wife Dana; his brother-in-law Robert; his two daughters, Sarah and Stephanie; and his niece and nephew, Sellah and Mason Penteliuk, are all Laurier graduates.

“With so many Laurier grads at our family get-togethers, we have this important shared experience across three generations,” says Burjaw. “We all had very positive and important experiences when we were at Laurier. It’s given all of us a great network of friends that we retained through graduation.”

Burjaw has stayed closely connected with family and friends from Laurier throughout the various chapters of his life, from a successful career in the food industry, to his marriage to fellow Laurier alumna Dana (Walker) Burjaw (BA ’89 Psychology) to raising their two daughters (who chose Laurier, too).

“My sister and I both had our closest friends from Laurier standing with us at our weddings, which made those events fun and memorable,” he says. “I recently attended a Willison Hall reunion for my first-year floormates. It was great fun and so many great shared memories. With the passage of time, we had to fact-check some of those memories and that was fun, too!”

After graduation, Burjaw started working at Unilever, crediting Laurier for the opportunity.

“The Laurier degree is a highly regarded brand among employers and that reputation got me in front of my first employer,” he says. “I find the Laurier brand remains strong in the workplace; it’s a positive association.”

Currently president and business executive officer at Nestlé Professional and Imported Brands, Burjaw has also worked with Starbucks and PepsiCo.

Burjaw loves the food industry as much as he loves Laurier.

“I’ve been very lucky to work for four global companies that each gave me opportunities,” he says. “While doing my MBA, my mentor told me I should consider the Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry, because he didn’t know any young person that talked about grocery shopping as fondly as I did! To this day I enjoy spending time in grocery stores and restaurants; so, it’s never felt like ‘work’.”

He also enjoys helping people find their own inspiration, whether that be helping a colleague or customer, or mentoring a young person.

Early in his career he worked alongside Brad Davis, who was then associate professor of Marketing at Laurier, helping students at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics learn more about careers in CPG. Later, Burjaw gave presentations for the Lazaridis School’s MBA students through a connection with Sarah Wilner, associate professor of Marketing. These experiences allowed him to stay connected to the mindset of emerging talent and give back to his alma mater.

“At work I’m energized by the ideas of others and helping people sort through choices in business and career,” he says. “I enjoy asking questions of others – co-workers, customers and students alike!”

But let’s go back to the beginning.

Burjaw’s uncle was the first to attend Waterloo Lutheran University, followed shortly by Burjaw’s father, Rick Burjaw (BBA ’68), who later had a long teaching career at Western University. Burjaw, who was born while Frederick was still in university, followed in his father’s footsteps, starting a BA in Economics at Laurier in 1986. He met Dana on his second night at Laurier, at a dance in the Quad.

“Six years later – when she was working full time at Career Services – I surprised her by showing up dressed as The Hamilton Tiger Cats’ mascot and proposed to her on the same site as our first dance!” he recalls.

Burjaw enjoyed his time on campus and remembers it fondly.

“I was impressed by the collaborative spirit on campus, in both students and faculty,” he says. “It gave me a chance to test ideas, learn about myself and grow.”

Burjaw considers himself lucky to be part of a wonderful community of family, friends and colleagues, so many of whom are also a part of the extended Laurier family.