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Lauren Sirek is a human resources management major, and her twin brother, Jake, is a business management major. The Rosemount, Minnesota, natives say they “didn’t exactly plan to attend the same college,” but they are glad for the unique shared experiences they’ve been able to have as Blugold business majors.

“We each were going through the application and decision process on our own, and once we both made our choice, we let each other know and had a quick ‘no way’ moment,” Lauren says.

Jake says that while it wasn’t planned, it makes sense that they were both drawn to the types of opportunities offered at UW-Eau Claire.

“The business programs are known for excellence, for starters, and we both tend to push ourselves and seek extra opportunities, which are everywhere at UW-Eau Claire,” Jake says of their multiple experiences like internships and leadership roles in student organizations.

As they prepare to graduate and move on to business careers (and live in different cities for the first time in their lives), the Sirek twins have a nearly singular Blugold journey to share — one that demonstrates the power of experiential learning in and out of the classroom and stepping up to challenges as they come along.

Leading in classrooms and beyond

There are several COB faculty members who say they have “had the pleasure” of both Sirek twins taking their course at the same time. One such faculty member is Dr. Daniel Gullifor, associate professor of management and leadership.

“I had the privilege of teaching Jake and Lauren in both my Personal Leadership Management and Leadership and Ethics classes,” Gullifor says. “And I truly mean privilege in every sense of the word.”

Gullifor describes both courses as “team project centered,” adding that while their team papers and presentations were excellent, where he saw Lauren and Jake truly shine was in assuming leading roles among the groups.

“Their leadership ability truly set them apart and has clearly set them up for success beyond graduation,” Gullifor says. “I saw how others were drawn to them and how they responded. Leadership is so natural for Lauren and Jake, an advantage for past classmates and future colleagues.”

In their capstone course this spring, MGMT 449: Strategic Management in a Global Business Environment, Lauren and Jake excelled and won the final global business simulation contest, according to Dr. Shawn Yang, assistant professor of management and leadership.

“What stood out most was their strong teamwork, accountability and professionalism,” Yang says. “They worked well with others, took responsibility for their decisions and consistently approached their work with focus and maturity.”

Yang also remarked on the rare opportunity to work with twin students, which he says was delightful.

“It was also a fun bonus to teach twin siblings in the same course. While they each have their own strengths and career interests, both are driven, reliable and highly capable students. I am excited to see what they do next,” Yang says.

Beyond their classroom success, the Sirek twins have played major roles in COB student organizations. Jake co-founded a new organization called Student Leadership and Management, or SLAM, which Lauren later joined. Lauren is vice-president of the Society for Human Resource Management, or SHRM. Both groups focus on networking and opportunities to engage with the area business communities.

“In SLAM, we bring in guest speakers on a wide range of topics, and professionals offering workshops in areas like leadership style, professional development and more,” Jake says. “We had a spring event that was done in partnership with SHRM; there is a lot of overlap in topics, so it was fun to coordinate that with Lauren.”

Internships turned career launch: Hired before graduation

The hunt for that first job after graduation can be stressful, but thanks to performing well in business internships, both Jake and Lauren have known for months that they have full-time positions after graduation.

Jake found a summer internship opportunity in 2023 with College Works Painting in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through which he was able to manage his own crew of college student painters.

“That was my first taste of actually managing people, which is what I really want to do with my career,” Jake says. “Then in 2025 I got an internship with Sherwin-Williams in the Twin Cities, and have since been working at the Eau Claire location. This summer I will complete their internal management training and be placed in an open assistant manager spot in one of the locations across the Twin Cities metro area.”

Jake’s Sherwin-Williams supervisor in Eau Claire, Katie Bates, says he’s been a reliable and eager addition to their team, and she sees a bright future for him with the company.

“Jacob has been an exceptional addition to our team since he joined us at the Eau Claire location in September,” Bates says. “He consistently goes above and beyond to assist customers with outstanding service, continues to expand his knowledge of our diverse product lines and takes the initiative to mentor and train new employees. We look forward to Jake’s continued career growth with Sherwin-Williams after his graduation.”

Lauren has spent two years as a student intern at Royal Credit Union in Eau Claire, where she too has been offered a full-time position to begin after graduation.

“My internship role was in recruitment, finding other qualified students to fill internship roles across the business in areas like marketing, finance, community relations, accounting and HR,” Lauren says.

“I’m so grateful to have been offered an HR generalist position,” Lauren says. “I’ve been slowly taking on a few of these responsibilities already, learning more about employee relations. I think it will be a smooth transition, but Royal really treats their interns as employees from the start. I‘ve never felt like I had less to offer as a student. That’s been great.”

Lauren’s supervisor at Royal Credit Union is Heather DeNamur, organizational relations and recruitment manager, who says that Lauren’s performance as an intern went above and beyond expectations time and again, “elevating” the internship role single-handedly.

“Lauren leaned into her tenacity and drive by always finding a way to deliver and make meaningful enhancements come to life,” DeNamur says.

“Her consistency, independence and professionalism made her the clear top candidate when a full-time HR generalist role became available on our team. We are so honored that she has chosen to take this opportunity to stay with Royal after graduation and we can’t wait to see what else she’s able to accomplish in her full-time role.”