When did you graduate from UPS?
2002
What have you been doing since graduation?
During 2002 immediately after graduation I worked on Senator Paul Wellstone's re-election campaign in Minnesota. Afterwards, I moved to Miami and to work as a project manager for a commercial real estate developer. I was initially hired for the job because it required me to deal with a lot of local elected officials for zoning purposes, but over time I moved more into the marketing side of the business. This prompted me to go back to school for my MBA at Emory University. I just finished my first year and am interning at Honeywell this summer in their marketing department.
Why and how did you decide to take the career path you did?
I initially wanted to work for elected officials or on campaigns, but realized that I like the study of politics better than actually working in it. My move to Miami was pretty random, I was just looking for a new place to live and through a friend of a friend got a job in real estate. It turned out to be a great decision and gave me good experience in the for-profit business world. With this, I realized that I needed to learn basic business things like accounting, marketing, management, finance, etc in order to really succeed (Plus, I was tired of working and wanted to go back to school!).
Are there any aspects of the Politics and Government major or your UPS education in general that have served you particularly well?
I think that people are generally very interested in my undergrad choice and ask a lot of questions. It kind of has this mystique about it because a lot of people aren't really sure what it means or else enjoy poltics. Overall, I have found that most of what I learned helps me in conversations, networking, and to show people that I am generally educated about the world. What I learned about international politics and about other countries (particularly Latin America and the Middle East) have been the most helpful.
Do you have any advice about what our students should make certain they do (or don’t do!) while still in school?
I think students should pick a major that they are passionate about, but then pair that with a minor in or take classes in business. A lot of employers have asked me what econ, marketing, accounting, finance classes I had taken in college and fortunately I took an econ and a statistics class. This was enough to get my by the interviews, but I wish that I had taken a few more general business classes for general knowledge.
Also, study abroad was the best learning experience, both about myself and academically, that I had. I strongly encourage everyone to go abroad for at least a semester.
Do you have any advice about what our students should be thinking about as they consider their careers or further education?
See above. Also, having a spanish minor has not only helped me a lot in business in Miami, but has helped me to differentiate myself to employers.
Would you like to contribute an alum profile? We would love to hear from you. There's a standard set of questions, so feel free to cut and paste those above into an email, provide as long or short of a set of answers as you would like, and send them along to poneil[at]ups[dot]edu. Pictures are also much appreciated!
