When did you graduate?
May 2018
What was your major? Did you change your major throughout your college career?
IBE and PSCM. That is Interdisciplinary Business w/ Engineering Studies and Project and Supply Chain Management for those unfamiliar. I thought about switching to Civil Engineering but I stuck with these two the whole way. I also got a certification in using SAP.
What were the most useful classes you took?
Classes like Finance and Economics gave me the big picture of how the world works, and I feel that material in classes such as those can be applied to any and every major.
What was your strategy? (as in what did you do in school to help you succeed)
I tried to treat every day like a work day. 8-5 every day I treated it like I was on the clock. Even if I had one class that day I still liked to try and get my work done before the sun came down. Did it work every day? Absolutely not, some days were more productive than others. But the gameplan worked nonetheless, even if I had to make a fourth-quarter comeback so to speak. Collaboration with other classmates was also helpful as long as it was within the boundaries of Penn State’s Academic Integrity policy.
What organization were you a part of at Penn State Erie?
I was a part of Lion Ambassadors as well as Delta Chi Fraternity.
What do you think was the most useful skill you learned in school?
College allows for the sharpening for a lot of tools like people skills, cognitive development, and resume building. I would say that the most useful skill I learned was time management because it’s something that you learn in your early 20s and applies to the remainder of your life.
Did you have the help of an adviser? How often did you see him? Did you find it useful?
Carol Putman in the SCM department was my adviser. I saw her a few times a semester. She was my go-to for processes like scheduling, honors program paperwork, and my senior project. She was a very useful resource and she was always very kind, helpful and welcoming.
Did you have a job or an internship during your college years? If yes, where? What position? How long? How did you get it? Was it useful?
I worked at University Gates my sophomore year as a marketing intern. I saw through an email that they were taking applications for the position and I thought it would be a useful experience to gain and apply to my career. I wasn’t expecting to get the position so it was a pleasant surprise when I did. I was even more surprised that they only took in two interns and one of my best friends happened to get the other position. She and I hadn’t even known the other applied until they hired us. Ya can’t make this stuff up
When did you start looking for “big boy” jobs?
Ha, probably later than I should have. I applied to several places but wasn’t really persistent or anxious until my last semester. It somehow worked to my advantage though because I feel lucky landing the job I ultimately did.
How many interviews did you go to?
I went through about 8-12 interviews my senior year. The reason I give a ballpark rather than a whole number is because while most of them were traditional interviews, a couple were just informal sit-down, “pre-interview interview” so to speak. Sometimes those sessions made me realize that my experience wouldn’t translate to certain companies, and that there was something more relevant to me out there.
When did you get a job? Was it the job that you wanted? (Do not sugar coat)
I had two or three different significant offers that I was considering for a while, but I tried to take my time and ponder which would be most beneficial to my career. Nowadays I do industrial and manufacturing sales. This allows me to do engineering related math, business with customers, and use SAP most days. The three main things I went to school for. How it worked out? I’m not sure
How is your life now? And what are your future ambitions?
My life now is very relaxed and full of possibilities. I get the opportunity to travel a decent bit, and never realized how much I liked traveling until a few months ago. I do miss school but it’s a relieving feeling to start controlling your own destiny and learning how the world really works. My future ambitions include both a professional and personal side. On the professional side, I hope to continue to become more adept at selling and business in general. In the future, I hope to attain an MBA (possibly focused in Finance), get certified to sell insurance, and get my real estate license as well. Plenty of things to keep me busy outside of regular work. On the personal side, I hope to keep in touch with all the wonderful people I met in my time at Behrend. At some point, with my future (wife) I’d like to start a big family. I feel Behrend has equipped me with the skills necessary to provide for and raise kids and I love taking care of kids so I’m really excited for that part of life.