Please talk about your professional background and the personal path you have taken to get where you are today?
At Trinity, I majored in American Studies. I went to Trinity because I believed I should have a Liberal Arts degree.  When I was here, I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was very interested in music, particularly classical music so I became involved in a lot of extracurricular activities involving music. One thought I had was that I would pursue music as a proportion. I finished Trinity and I took a year off to do a Watson fellowship and when I returned I went to graduate school in music at Yale, specifically as an organist.

I thought I might pursue a career in music, but in reality if you want a career in music, you have to be extremely gifted, have inherited a lot of money, and be very flexible in your schedule. I decided that that was a path I wanted to take. I wanted to stay in one area and wanted the stability of a diverse career; one that included performing arts, but also had some other components for some stability. I got into the building of pipes organs. There is a small company in Hartford that makes pipes organs. I joined them and worked there for 8 years.

Being a small company, they use you in all kind of areas such as project management, marketing, etc.   I developed a broad exposure to business and left after my eighth year. I wanted to get more exposure in the business world so I worked in temporary positions in the Hartford area for about a year. I ended up taking a position in international marketing in the last company I temped for. This was completely different than I had trained for, but they hired me because they liked the diversity of experiences I had. Now I am working as an account manager on the domestic side of the business. I am also still pursuing musical things on the side. Music is still very important to me.

How did your liberal arts education prepare you to do well in the different experiences you’ve had?
It made me a generalist. I have always found that it would be better to have a wide variety of knowledge and experiences to bring to any given job. People who have had a broad education are people who can be trained easily. They have a lot more options.

You mentioned participating in extracurricular activities when you were at Trinity. What were they? And did you take any courses that you would recommend to current students?
I primarily did music related activities. I performed in shows, sang in the chapel choir, and was also the editor (for a semester) of the Tripod. During that time, the existence of fraternity houses was a big issues and very much in doubt.   There was a great debate about it. It was an exciting time to be the editor of the newspaper. As far as courses, I would emphasize a broad palette. Even at the expenses of grades, you should take challenging courses. Try taking different courses; don’t just take courses from within your major. I can’t think of any specific courses I would recommend. However, Art History comes to mind because it really gives you an exposure to a whole different type of thinking.

Can provide an overview of your position as an account manager? Is there a typical day, if so, what is it like?
Account management is really taking responsibility for the customers that we do business with. As a manufacturing company, we sell only to distribution. As such, I have to be like an advocate within our company for the customers. If things go wrong, I have to make sure they go right for them. There is no typical day because I deal with the problems and exceptions that come my way. You have to be a creative thinker and be well balanced.

What are some of the opportunities available to recent college graduates at your company?
The reality is that GERBER has had some bad quarters recently, so there is actually no hiring at this moment. But, normally when the business is going well, there is always room for people interested in engineering and software development. There is a huge void in the marketplace for engineers, computer designers and software developers. The other area is customer services, which needs good people because service is obviously very important to a company.

You talked about the ability to be a creative thinker, what are some of the qualities you look for in a new employee?
In the area of management, you have to have the ability to communicate well and to communicate across a wide spectrum of people. You should be able to interact with people and be a team player. Set your ego aside and participate. You should also have a broad knowledge of a variety of things and these days, you should know at least a little about technology.

What’s your favorite and least favorite thing about your job?
Well, my least favorite thing is that I sit at a desk all day long. What I like about my job is that I have been given some ownership of my area and I can make decision and make things happen. I like having responsibilities and knowing I am able to help my customers.

If you had to start all over again, is there anything you would have changed?
Without knowing what I know today, I would still go the same route and pursue a generalist education. I firmly believe in that. The specialization can come later; that’s why they invented graduate schools. I have always been an experiential person.  I like trying new things to see where they may lead me. In any case, I would not change anything.

Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years? Do you see yourself being in the music business or still being an account manager?
Right now I have a family with many responsibilities, so stability is an important thing. No matter what I do, I still want to keep the music thing on the side. So if for some reason, one thing is not satisfactory, GERBER is not working out, I can fall on something else and vice versa. Stability is important to me so I don’t see myself changing for the next 5 years. I see myself going up the ladder at my company though.

Do you have any general advice for Trinity students seeking to enter your field or who are just entering the marketplace in general?
Once again, a liberal arts education is very important. Try to look for opportunities and experiences even if they are unpaid, that will give you glimpses of what the real world is like and give you a broad knowledge of things. Do not specialize too early because many jobs require skills that can only be taught at that job. How can you possibly train for that? The Internet is changing the whole model of business so dramatically.