Major: Management Information Systems
Class: 2009
Home town: Janesville, Wis.
Year graduated: 2009
Type of scholarship: Presidential
Favorite personality trait: Quick wit
Favorite food: Bratwurst
Favorite band\type of music: Bruce Springsteen
Favorite store\place to shop: eBay
Job: Chief Entrepreneur at Fresh Coast Ventures LLC
What was your favorite class?
Anything taught by Dr. Sam Scheibler or Jeff Sachse.
What have you liked most about your MSOE experience?
The out of the classroom engagement by in areas like Servant-Leadership and the Entrepreneurship Club.
Beyond academics, what have you learned at MSOE?
People will open doors for you, you just have to show them that you care.
What activities were you involved in at MSOE?
- President- Entrepreneurship Club
- Vice President - Student Government
- President and Founder - Microsoft Users Group
Do you do any volunteer work? What? Where?
I do volunteer work whenever possible through the Servant-Leadership program, which has taken me to places as far away as New Orleans or as close as the Todd Wehr for a relief concert.
What are you doing now that you're graduated?
With two partners and a handful of employees, I run a small business development company called Fresh Coast Ventures dedicated to starting "community oriented, people friendly businesses in the Great Lakes region." Additionally, we are currently in the process of continuing our build-out of our textbook buyback and resale business, Brew City Books, in additional markets. We have also developed a small online media network, including UrbanMilwaukee.com.
In my free time you can find me at Miller Park or the Bradley Center, they're like my second home.
What's your favorite memory of where you grew up? What's your favorite memory at MSOE?
My favorite memory of Janesville was working at the Boys & Girls Club for four years and the people I was lucky enough to meet there. Outside of my parents, it was undoubtedly the biggest influence on my life. My favorite memory so far at MSOE has been taking second place in the inaugural Entrepreneurship Quest in Chicago or being on national television with Herb Kohl on election night 2006.
Do you have advice for students considering MSOE?
For any student considering going to any school, it would be foolish to consider only the school and not the surrounding city. With that, MSOE has by-far the best location of not only any school in Milwaukee, but the entire state of Wisconsin and perhaps the Midwest. A very short walk from anything your heart desires, whether that's sitting by the lake, going out to eat or hitting the shopping mall. The feel of living in a big city, with the safety and community of living in a small town is unprecedented.
What did the scholarship do for you?
The scholarship eliminated the pressure of the "high cost of higher education," thereby freeing my mind to concentrate on more important things like contributing to the community and world I live in.