We asked W. P. Carey Alumni: What did you learn at W. P. Carey that has been most useful in your career?
Here is what they shared:
- It’s Wise to Take a Chance on What You Love To Do
- Being Uncomfortable Can Lead to Great Learnings
- Effective Communication Goes a Long Way
- Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
- There is More Than One Way to Be Successful!
- Fail Fast and Take Chances
- Define Your Own Path
- Take Time to Learn What You’re Truly Interested In
- Dig Deeper Into Understanding Your Career Path
- How Supply Chain Impacts All of Us
It’s Wise to Take a Chance on What you Love To Do
When entering school, I had no idea what I wanted to pursue or the passions I’d want to fulfill. When I studied abroad in New Zealand during my sophomore year, I took a risk and decided to intern in the sports industry; an industry I knew very little about. Little did I know, that would translate to me now pursuing a job in sports, full-time, after I graduated. School taught me that you should always take a chance on what you love because you never know where it’ll take you.
Taylor Tufano, BS Marketing 22’, Corporate Partnerships Activation Coordinator, Las Vegas Raiders
Being Uncomfortable Can Lead to Great Learnings
It’s easy to rely on the skills and strengths you’ve mastered throughout your lifetime, but today’s workforce requires you to be much more dynamic. I had a lot of marketing and communications experience before entering the MBA program, and early on, I relied heavily on those skills within my project groups.
As the program progressed, I stepped in to work on other aspects of projects like supply chain, finance, and data analytics where my experience was lacking. The idea of completing this work seemed terrifying at the time, but by having supportive classmates and professors to guide me, I was able to attain a better understanding of these broader business applications which became invaluable in my career having to work with cross-functional teams.
Being able to try new things in a scenario that didn’t put actual money (or my job) at risk allowed me to struggle, fail and learn which led to success when the scenarios left the classroom and entered the real world.
Brock Thatcher, MBA ‘20, Channel Marketing Manager, AprilAire
Effective Communication Goes a Long Way
The one thing I learned in school that was most useful in my career was how to communicate effectively in a professional setting. I took a business writing class that taught me how to think, plan and write for professional audiences to draw their attention. These learnings helped me to develop myself as a business professional early on and amplify my brand as a confident and influential professional. Ultimately, the learnings from that class helped me lead, influence, and manage people and projects more effectively in my workplaces.
Reazul Islam, BS CIS & Management ‘14, Senior Product Manager, SimplePractice
Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You
My MGT 300 professor assigned “Be So Good They Can’t Ignore You” by Cal Newport and the message resonated right away. I became obsessed with becoming the best I can be and then leveraging my talents to increase my impact and earning potential. I realized that if you truly commit to becoming a master of your craft – learning and applying new skills constantly, they (your employer) truly can’t ignore you.
Part of mastering your craft also involves learning from feedback, even if that feedback is difficult to hear. Any time feedback is given, ask yourself “Is there something I can do differently based on this feedback?” If the answer is “Yes” then make the change immediately and move on. If the answer is “No” then the person providing the feedback probably did not have all the information. Brush it off and move on.
Keep learning. Keep applying. Keep improving. Keep becoming so good they can’t ignore you.
Benji Albrecht, BS in Logistics, Materials, and Supply Chain Management ‘15, Chief Marketing Strategist, Benji Albrecht
There is More Than One Way to Be Successful
In my time at W. P. Carey, I learned that there are so many ways to make a career and be successful. On the same note, you will find that you don’t have to be the smartest, most analytical, most creative, or most entrepreneurial person out there.
Everybody has a unique skill set and a different path that they are meant to pursue, and it’s not always obvious when you first choose a degree. I started out in finance and learned after multiple internships that I am meant to be in sales, and could thrive selling transformational technology to enterprises.
You meet so many great minds at W. P. Carey and learn from the faculty as well as the students, and will start to figure out what you are truly meant to do after college.
Blake Hammond, BS in Marketing (Professional Sales Certificate) & BA in Business Communication ‘17, Senior Enterprise Account Executive, Hiya
Fail Fast and Take Chances
W. P. Carey was the spark that lit my entrepreneurial passion! I remember refining my pitch deck and presentation skills which have helped me in countless client interactions and are skills I use to this day. I studied entrepreneurship and loved the curriculum so much that I went on to get an MBA from Babson College, the world’s leading school in entrepreneurship for over 25 years.
I was interviewing a candidate for a Job the other day, and he asked “you look young—what has led to your success”? I told him without hesitation that it was my education that led me to unique opportunities. Knowing which opportunities to take is the hard part, but W. P. Carey helped teach me to fail fast and take chances.
Harrison Crum, BS Management & Entrepreneurship ‘14, National Director of Operations, Ally Waste Services
Define Your Own Path
While at ASU one concept that I learned that has clearly stuck with me was to define your own path. There is always more than one way to approach things, whether it be your identification of a major, your next big career move, or life’s journey. The path someone else chose may not be the best path for you, and it is important to own your journey and define the path that works best for you.
Taylor Linke, BS Marketing ‘04, Director of IT Innovation & Customer Experience, Health Care Authority
Take Time to Learn What You’re Truly Interested In
During my 4 years at ASU, I explored multiple majors, took a broad variety of electives, and participated in more internships and volunteer opportunists than I can count on two hands. Using this time to figure out what I was or wasn’t interested in was crucial to starting strong with a career that fulfills me.
Now, because I put in the work and time in college, I love my job and I’m excelling because it’s something I care about! I highly recommend current/future students flex their curiosity muscles and explore all that college has to offer them.
Jennifer Louie, BS Marketing ‘17, Senior Marketing Manager – National Programs, Meritage Homes
Dig Deeper Into Understanding Your Career Path
I started at ASU with the full intention of beginning a career in marketing after graduation. After being enrolled in different business courses that allowed speakers to come to the class to discuss their careers after college, I knew that I made the right choice for myself. W. P. Carey allowed me to develop skills that allow me to become the businesswoman that I am today.
Kylie Cherewick, Marketing Coordinator, The Boulders Resort & Spa Scottsdale
How Supply Chain Impacts All of Us
The thing that I learned in school that was most useful in my career has definitely been supply chain as a whole. More specifically, understanding the terminology, the different ways that supplies are shipped, and how different businesses utilize those different ways of shipping to increase efficiency, reduce costs, or become more sustainable.
With the supply chain so heavily affected in 2020, and even at times now in 2022, having a deep understanding of supply chain gave me an advantage in my industry to set reasonable time frames for products to arrive and ship out to consumers.
Mason Ford, BA Business ‘18, MSLB ‘20, Founder, Cruel Tunes
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