Tuesday, August 7, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Christopher Motola

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!


Christopher Motola, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as an “Anti-Money Laundering Consultant” for Navigant Consulting. Below, Chris shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him find his career:

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I chose the MSBA Program because I wanted to build on the skill set I cultivated as an Undergraduate. As a political science major, I thought that business skills would compliment my understanding of the world and expose me to new opportunities.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working for Navigant Consulting. My title will be “Anti-Money Laundering Consultant.”

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

I was exposed to the consulting field through Field Team Study, as well as classes taught by Prof. Seegers.

Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA gave me Excel skills, communication skills, and basic accounting skills.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

The Field Team Study, Quantitative Analysis, and Operations Management.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

The NYC trip was an exciting chance for our class to see what opportunities existed outside of Washington DC.



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Thursday, August 2, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Justin Lerma

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Justin Lerma, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a Acquisition Consultant and Strategic Data Analyst for ASI Government. Below, Justin shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him find his career:

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program? 

I always enjoyed the business classes I took throughout undergrad. After sustaining an injury that sidelined my performance career, I considered getting an MBA and met with another CUA faculty member, Frederic Sautet, to get his thoughts. Frederic recommended the MSBA program, explained the differences between both degrees, and stressed the importance of understanding the fundamentals of business.

After meeting with Stew McHie and Marykate Conroy, I felt the MSBA would give me a firm foundation in business, but more importantly, I had a sense that both were genuinely interested in my growth as a professional and person. It ended up being one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be? 

I am an Acquisition Consultant and Strategic Data Analyst for ASI Government.


Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

While I was completing the program I worked as a contract specialist for the National Science Foundation. From my time in the Navy, I was familiar with Federal Acquisition Regulations and contracts, but at NSF, I was able to be involved in the federal contract process from beginning to end. Through this progression, I gained great respect for transparency in financial reporting and fairness in contract awarding. When this opportunity came up, I knew I’d be an ideal fit for the team, and, so far, I’ve had a great time.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field? 

This was answered in the previous question but again, the program stresses curiosity. It is the most necessary quality in a professional and has to be with how competitive the world is today.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

Oh man, I have a lot of favorites. The highlights include the Army/Navy jokes with Herb Shatzen, Rob Warren’s accounting classes, interacting with Dawn Carpenter, hearing Harvey Seegers’ stories, all the laughs, and the incredible support from every professor and staff member.


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Sunday, July 15, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Nicholas Johnson

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Nicholas Johnson, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a Junior Pricing Analyst for Unisys. Below, Nick shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him find his career:

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I was able to meet some of the professors and students before I applied and had a very positive experience. It seemed like a great way to get into business.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be a Junior Pricing Analyst for Unisys.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

During the program, I was really drawn to using my Quantitative skills, which I get to use in this role. Further, I get to be exposed to a wide range of projects, as I will be working on different proposals.

Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA program taught me how to be a well-rounded business person. I feel comfortable working on a wide range of problems, both those I am familiar with and those which require me to expand my skill set.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

In particular, Prof. Seegers' and Prof. Shatzen's classes prepared me well for this opportunity, as well as working on the field team study. During the interviewing process, I was able to give concrete examples of when I had successfully solved real business problems.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

My favorite memory was the New York trip. It was a lot of fun exploring such an interesting city with a great group of people.


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Friday, June 15, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Edward Orzechowski

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA Program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Edward Orzechowski, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a a Consultant with ASI Government, a management consulting firm that primarily works with federal government programs and specializes with acquisitions and program management. Below, Eddie shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him to find his career:


Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

A year ago, I would have told you it was because I wanted to diversify my experience and give me the business skills to further my career in food science. While this statement is still true, today I think I joined because I knew I could do more in my career and the MSBA program has certainly jump-started the foundation of my career. The skills I have gained over the past (almost) year will carry all the way through my professional life and (hopefully) one day in the C-suite.

Also, I have to give my close friend and alumnus, Luke Bader, a shout out for introducing, selling and supporting me with the program. I definitely felt welcomed quickly into the Cardinal family.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be a Consultant with ASI Government, a management consulting firm that primarily works with federal government programs and specializes with acquisitions and program management. The project I am being hired onto is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s National Flood Insurance Program to help solve and manage issues with their re-insurance and risk-rating programs.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

I had no idea what consulting was or how broad of a term it was until joining the program. It was fairly apparent to me that consulting was going to be the career path for me early in the program because of the problem solving it requires. Coming from a STEM background, consulting was where I felt at home, rather than going into other career paths the program can lead to such as marketing, finance, accounting or data analytics. I think it is fascinating to go into a business, assess the situation, do the brainstorming, research, and then come up with insights that drive recommendations to clients that lead to results for the business.


Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The range of classes offered and short length of the program form a sort of pressure cooker of business learning. We were exposed to many facets of business in an intense yet manageable environment that allowed us to absorb information and almost immediately apply it to a practical problem.

One of the many differentiators in the program is the integration of ethics. It was apparent from day one, that we would be taught how to conduct ourselves in business to promote putting people over profit. We’ve been taught that the best business decision may not be the one that maximizes profit but rather the one that maximizes what is best for all stakeholders.


Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

For consulting, it’s definitely the Field Team Study. There isn’t another program that lets you take the limited tools you’ve acquired so quickly and apply them to real work business problems. In sports terms, it lets you scrimmage a consulting contract in preparation for the prime time match in the real world.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

Organizing the New York City Trip. Getting my peers around a new city for 5 days was honestly a challenge but incredibly rewarding. Spending that many days in the city allowed us to not only experience jobs at many different companies, but also what the wide range of office cultures are like.

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Monday, May 21, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Erin Cavalier


If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA Program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Erin Cavalier, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a a Marketing and Events Assistant at Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP. Below, Erin shares her experiences in the program, and how it helped her to find her career:


Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I was not satisfied with the jobs I found and realized I needed to go back to school. The nine month program allowed me to gain sophisticated business skills and apply them in a way that complemented my politics degree.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working for Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell LLP as a Marketing and Events Assistant.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

I studied Politics in undergrad and I wanted to find a way to bridge the world of business and politics. I have always been interested in law. Additionally, I am a people-person so marketing was a natural choice.

Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

The MSBA program is set up to teach skills in the fall and apply those skills in the spring. The program equipped me a wide variety of skills to apply to the work place. Not only do I have a strong understanding of marketing, but accounting, finance, operations management, and quantitative analysis as well.


Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

The professors are extraordinary. Their experience in their respective fields is unparalleled and helped me to better understand how the business world works.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

I have so many good memories from the program, but my favorite was our business trip to New York City where we visited all types of companies and learned about different business careers.


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Tuesday, May 15, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Wilfred Thomas

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Wilfred Thomas, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as a Sales Development Representative at MemoryBlue. Below, Wilfred shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him to find his career:

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I wanted a wide range of business courses with Professors from diverse career backgrounds in order to figure out a new career path.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working at MemoryBlue as a Sales Development Rep. (SDR)

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

I've always been involved in initiatives to help fund raise and grow programs for the non-profit I worked for. After speaking with Prof. Mark Weber, it clicked that tech-sales would be a good fit for me.


Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

Having a professor play the role of a mentor throughout my job search helped open many doors and created additional learning opportunities outside of the classroom.

Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

The program was very helpful with networking opportunities to expose me to different aspects and career paths in business.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

One of my favorite memories of the program was meeting John Campion, the CEO of APR Energy. During dinner, he had students do a sales pitch about the wine we were drinking. 


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Thursday, May 10, 2018

MSBA Class of 2018 Job Placement: Dennis Treanor

If you are a current senior or recent college graduate wondering if the MSBA program is right for you or how it can help enhance your undergraduate degree, keep reading!

Dennis Treanor, MSBA '18, has accepted a job as an Operations Analyst for the Strategic Investment Group. Below, Dennis shares his experiences in the program, and how it helped him to find his career:

Q: Why did you choose the MSBA Program?

I chose the MSBA Program because I wanted to complement my undergraduate background of education. I was at a crossroad in my professional life because I knew I did not want to go back to school for teaching. Once I heard about the program, I was sold. I knew that combining business and education would help me portray myself as a versatile professional.

Q: What company will you be working for, and what will your title be?

I will be working for the Strategic Investment Group as an Operations Analyst.

Q: How did you get interested in this type of work?

In operations, you learn about the inter-workings of a company. I think being able to make an impact within different departments of a company really excites me.

Q: How did the Catholic U MSBA program help prepare you for this career path?

It started with the people. Every staff member of the MSBA program is there to help you succeed. Whether it was a quick question or a 30-minute conversation, everyone is always willing to lend a hand. It gave me the confidence that I would be successful in whatever I did.


Q: What from the program stands out specifically that you think helped prepare you for a career in this field?

Operations Management was my favorite class during the program. I really liked the problem-solving and critical thinking aspects of the class. After the class, I knew I could really purse a career in operations.

Q: Can you recall a favorite memory from the program?

I think visiting the headquarters of Morgan Stanley in New York City was a cool experience. After meeting with alumni who work at Morgan Stanley, it made me realize that I can go anywhere after graduating from this program.


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