Olin lost a friend this past week. I lost a friend this past week. Annette Veech taught business management communications to MBA students at Olin, but her impact went beyond the classroom.
As a student in the Professional MBA program, I watched how her coaching helped to grow and groom the confidence of students who would prefer to take a five-hour calculus test than make a presentation in front of a group of peers for 30 seconds.
Mostly, I recall Annette’s impact on me. During a semester in her class, she helped me to hone what would eventually be my Olin Cup presentation, where I won the student prize.
Over time and while taking her crisis communications course, I learned we had something in common.
Annette gave me this handmade card and bookmark when my son Henry was born three years ago.
She too spent time outside class, creating things with her hands. Annette was a talented mixed media artist, which often included handmade greeting cards and bookmarks.
I applied to my first craft show after listening to Annette’s advice. Her work has been featured in a number of local shows and galleries, including the St. Louis Artist Guild. Her bio on Cloth Paper Scissors, an online community for mixed media artists reads, “I create mixed media and the occasional assemblage. Nature, vintage and found items, paint, fabric — all conspire to capture my attention. Much of my art is inspired by nature and the desire to share positive energy.”
Annette was also a talented fiction writer. On her website, she shared several excerpts of a novel she’d been writing. I don’t know if she finished it. Though she was a very private person, I found her generous. As a friend and colleague, she was warm, selfless and unflinchingly genuine.
I will miss her light and energy.
Blog post submitted by: Suzanne Shenkman, Olin MBA’06. Suzanne is a Brand Manager in Olin’s Marketing & Communications department.
Annette Veech, Senior Lecturer in Business Communication, passed away July 1 after a long and valiant battle with cancer. She had taught at Olin Business School since 1998.
