Q:Where is your hometown?

A:Buffalo, NY

Q:What are you studying at the D'Amore-McKim School of Business and when do you plan to graduate? When did you begin the program?

A:I am in the Part-Time MBA program with a concentration on corporate finance and entrepreneurship. I started in the fall of 2014 and plan to graduate in the summer of 2017.

Q:What do you do in your current job? What are your responsibilities?

A:I am currently employed as a business development manager for a Fortune 100 energy company with the responsibility of delivering energy management solutions to commercial and industrial clients.

Q:How has being enrolled in the program impacted your current job?

A:Working a full time sales role and taking classes part time at night is a lot to take on but it has drastically improved my time management skills and helped push me past my current limits. The evening MBA program has taught me that every hour in the day is precious and it is not just about spending hours but spending productive hours at a job or problem that key to success.

Q:What skills are you building at D'Amore-McKim that you are using in your current job or will use in your future career?

A:One of the primary skills I have learned while at D'Amore-McKim is the ability to apply lessons from other industries into my day to day business. It might be as simple as an accrual accounting rule I picked up that can be applied to a customer that I am working with, or it can be as complex as making parallels from GE's business strategy to my current employer.

Another skill I plan to use in the future is the ability to quickly, but thoroughly develop a business plan for a new firm/idea. I have had the opportunity to do this exercise multiple times throughout my graduate career and each class offers a new insight into the process that I can take to my next role.

Q:What has been your most valuable experience so far?

A:One of the most valuable experiences so far was one of the first required marketing classes I took in my second year in the program. The class was almost entirely a group project focused on developing a new consumer product and bringing it to market in the U.S. While this class, and the professor, was tough, it forced me to push myself and my team to develop the best business plan possible.

Q:Why did you choose D'Amore-McKim?

A:While location, name recognition, the campus/facilities all played a role in my decision to attend D'Amore-McKim, it was the level of education and small class size that helped seal the deal for me. The small class sizes in particular were important to me in order to get a more hands on approach to my education.

Q:What would you say to a prospective student considering D'Amore-McKim for their business degree?

A:For anyone thinking about D'Amore-McKim my advice is to sit in on a class or two and do the same at another school. You will get to see firsthand the quality of the professors and your potential classmates which should hopefully seal the deal to go to D'Amore-McKim.

Q:Where do you see yourself in 5 – 10 years?

A:In 5-10 years I see myself working at a smaller firm to help grow their business or possibly starting my own clean tech energy company in the Boston area.