Alumni Success Stories

I graduated from Ferris in 2001 with a B.S. in Finance, and last year I married a woman I met in the Honors Program, so of course my memories of Honors and living in Helen Ferris Hall have been colored by that great experience. My fondest memories of Honors have to do with eating pizza in the hallway of my dorm, along with everyone else on my floor. The friends I made then are still my friends today. I have been in their weddings and attended their parties, and we are still close. My best advice to undergrads is don't sacrifice social skills and social interactions to academics. Even though I was terribly driven, and as obsessed with getting an "A" as the next student in Honors, I knew then, and I know even better now, that life is so much more than grades.

I have kept in close contact with the coordinator of the Honors Program and now serve on the Honors Advisory Board. I want to have a hand in shaping the future and the direction of the program that meant so much to me while I was a student at Ferris.

I work as a Senior Investment Consultant with R.W. Baird in Grand Rapids, and have for the past four years. As an undergrad I secured an internship with Baird in Big Rapids, and thus a connection to this company was formed. Also, I am in the process of securing my MBA in Economics from the University of Chicago. I have the great pleasure of going to Chicago each weekend, with other like-minded people from all over the country, and studying at the feet of the masters. If you should decide to follow a similar career path as mine, I would say prepare for a tough battle. When you get knocked down, and you will, remember that only the ones who get back up have a chance to win. To continue learning has been my passion and my discipline, which is why I am at Chicago.

I have discovered the thing that pays the most is the thing that nobody else wants to do, and that is because it is too hard, too demanding and too stressful. However, I also know if you can succeed with it that you will have greater safety and job security because very few are vying for that really tough job.