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| “Coming from an engineering background, I never realized how many possibilities were out there. The Merage School opened up whole new pathways and allowed me to take a completely different route.” |
| Vital Statistics |
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Graduating Year: 2008 |
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Hometown: Altoona, Pennsylvania |
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Undergraduate and Previous Work Experience: Pennsylvania State, Industrial EngineeringIntel, Arizona, five years as an industrial engineerGKN Aerospace, California, Process Engineering/QC |
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Major: Marketing Strategy/Product Development |
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Internship while in the Program: IBM, San Jose, Market Research/Project Management |
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Extracurricular Activities: President of the Golf Club, Treasurer of the Toastmasters club, Challenge for Charity, Polaris Investment Competition |
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Just for Fun: Play golf, flag football, volleyball, racquetball, hiking and eating out at OC hot spots |
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OC Favorite Places: Huntington Beach pier (great volleyball and people watching), Majestic Canyon for some incredible hiking trails and California Beach (my favorite sushi restaurant) |
Almaden Research Center, San Jose, CA |
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They Brought in IBM
The program definitely helped me get the internship at IBM. In fact, another student who had interned there helped me prepare for the interview. When I met with the president, I immediately connected with him. This was due in no small part to the help I received from the students and the staff at the Merage Career Center.
When I arrived at the Merage School, I was surprised by the diverse backgrounds of everyone at the school. My exposure to these highly talented individuals has helped me become a better business person. I’ve met students who excelled in finance – which I knew little about, given my background as an engineer. But I’ve been able to learn from everyone’s experience here.
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I Presented to People I Used to Work With!
One of the best projects I’ve worked on involved implementing an entire new intranet system for a company where I used to work. We were able to do this because part of our assignment as a team was choosing for ourselves what we wanted to work on and who we wanted to work with.
I knew the challenges my former employer faced – what they really needed was to streamline their manufacturing process. We recommended a bar code system that would provide access to real-time information on all of their products. The result – customer service was vastly improved. And what made it even more fun for me was that I made the presentation of our team’s plan. I’ll never forget how great that felt.
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"Working with individuals who had such diverse and impressive backgrounds gave me a global perspective. I got an in-depth look at other cultures and how they do business."
Craig Young
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A Global Perspective through Group Work
There is a definite focus and emphasis on group work in the program. And with good reason. It’s a very strong aspect of the program because it gives you the opportunity to work with people from all over the world. In my group alone, we had students from China, Austria and Canada, as well as members from the East and West Coasts.
Working with individuals who had such diverse and impressive backgrounds gave me a global perspective. I got an in-depth look at other cultures and how they do business. It’s a real advantage.
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