Chad Masters
Senior in college
Marketing and Management major & Leadership minor
Favorite thing about USF?
“My favorite thing about USF is the amount of support you receive for being a Bull. What I mean is, because this isn’t an Ivy league school, we students at USF do not have success handed to us on a silver platter. Our goal is to reach success and it is attainable through the support and the mentorship USF has to offer. “
How are you different than others?
“I feel that everyone is different in their own way and it is up to them to find it out and be different. I think that I am different from others because I want/need to be. That sounds confusing after saying it, but it is true. I don’t want to be a statistic or a stereotype. I know what I want and I will do it to the beat of my own drum. I always say that you need to be yourself; life is too short to be anyone else.”
How are you involved at school?
“I am involved in everything that time allows me to be at USF. Some of the things I am involved with are: Corporate Mentor Program, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Student Organizations for professional development and personal growth, and my favorite of all, helping people. I am involved as a whole, not just a couple things here and there. I enjoy helping people and consider myself a servant of the college of business.”
Explain the Elevator Pitch Competition you were involved in.
“Imagine you are heading to a company you want to work for to personally hand your resume to HR. When you get into the elevator you realize you’re standing next to the CEO or top recruiting executive. If you really want the job you’re not just going to give him/her the cold shoulder; so what are you going to say to the him/her in 45-75 seconds to sell yourself? That is what your elevator pitch is for. The personal touch your resume can’t deliver.
On the first day of the competition we had to give our speech to three different judges in a situation very similar to speed dating. It was a little nerve racking because you sometimes lose focus and start listening to other people around you. I messed up on every single delivery that day, but I will always remember the advice Dr. Balfour gave me after I gave him my speech. He said, “The things you do well are important, the things you did poorly are grains of sand at the beach.” That gave me the confidence to keep my head up and keep stay in the competition. My fairy tale ending came true and was I was lucky enough to win the competition. I have gained confidence, great friends, mentors, a scholarship and possible career paths because of this opportunity and I can’t wait to see who wins this upcoming year.”
What is one of your favorite quotes?
“This was probably the toughest question you asked me. You know how some people love poetry and can annotate the meanings in really deep and subtle ways? I can’t. I do that with quotes. My friends even make fun of me because half of the things I say are in the shape of motivational and movie quotes.”
“Hey… Don´t ever let somebody tell you, you can´t do something. Not even me… Alright? You got a dream, you got to protect it. People can’t do something themselves, they want to tell you that you can’t do it. You want something? Go get it. Period.” (Christopher Gardner – The Pursuit of Happiness)
Check out the video from the competition here.