The biggest reason for me doing this is to raise exposure of who I am and what I'm about. Let's start from the beginning. I was born in 1982 and I’m a male who grew up in Rehoboth, MA. Rehoboth is a small town consisting of 1 traffic light and probably about 10 streetlights. I went to DR high school, which was a combination of Dighton and Rehoboth. High school was fun, and always interesting. I played soccer my first two years in the fall, track in the winter, and tennis in the spring. I switch from soccer to cross-country during my last two years of high school, which I enjoyed very much.
I was actively involved in DECA my junior and Senior year, which is a marketing organization for high school students. This organization helped to build me into the individual I am today. Up until joining DECA I wanted to be a chef, I still cook very often, but I decided to go for business instead. During DECA I placed 2nd, at the state level, 2 years in a row and then placed 3rd at the national level while competing in Anaheim, CA. My project in Anaheim, CA was in the entrepreneurial franchise category, and my concept was to open a Krispy Kreme Donut shop. I will never lose my entrepreneurial drive, which will grow stronger as I get older. I'm contently conceiving new ideas that only get brought to market years latter (makes me wish I had started them).
After HS I enrolled at Johnson and Wales University where I majored in Business management and minored in HR and leadership. Johnson and Wales was an excellent choice for me and was a great school. I learned about many ideas and concepts and had the chance to perform them in real world applications. During my time at JWU I had the opportunity to work on many committees and participate in many out of class activities. Some of the activities I was involved in were:
- Collaboration between JWU and Autocrat to create a approved transporter list and determine the most efficient way to deliver product between RI and Mexico
- Worked on a marketing committee to help retain and attract local companies for co-op or collaborative learning opportunities. The strategies implemented were surveys, promotional flyers, direct marketing campaign, and a convention where students and potential companies could come together to share ideas (not a job fair).
- I worked at Texas Instruments on an educational enrichment program. This program was designed to get us into a management type position, and to get us looking at process improvement. Our project was to take processes that took an average of 25 days to complete and bring that down to 5 days. Not only were we able to reduce the process but also we were able to apply the process to another product line and bring the total time from 45 days to 12 days, thus greatly increasing their productivity.
- I was able to go on a work aboard program to Almelo, Holland and work at Texas Instruments. Our concentration in Almelo was to prepare TI for their ISO/TS 16949 Audit. Working overseas was an amazing experience and one that I would do again in a hear beat.
After my three and a half years at JWU (because I graduated early), I decided to continue my education directly after graduating. I enrolled in JWU's fast track MBA program and was accepted. I was accepted into the program based on my grades and my participation in their undergraduate program. My concentration in graduate school was global marketing. During my one year MBA program at JWU I learned core business concepts in:
- Branding
- E-commerce
- Importing and exporting internationally
- Advertising
- Accounting
- Finance
- Marketing
- Technology
- Management
I develop a comprehensive understanding of how each of these business disciplines function individually and interdependently.
During my years at JWU I worked many part time jobs included a ski shop during the winter and lifeguarding during the summer. I was head guard for 4 years at various pools, finally ending my lifeguarding career at 2nd beach in Newport, RI. I also had the great opportunity to work at Hope Global in Cumberland, RI in various positions. While working at Hope Global I had the chance to start off in their QC department and assisted them with a variety of systemic issues involving customer specifications. From there I working in the marketing department and created a unique and well laid out product brochure as well as beginning to design a new more interactive web site.
Well that about brings this Blog up to speed, somewhat. Now I cans start to talk about daily events and the future instead of talking about the past. I hope that you enjoy reading my Blog and post as many comments as you wish. I will try to answer all questions asked as soon as I can.
*first posted on life.urbanandrew.com on 4/13/2007