Eric Monsur: Resilience into Growth
In the Spring of 2020, I was enrolled in Professor Meghan Cress' BUSN 50 class, a two-unit course intended for students to build their professional portfolio and sharpen their networking skills. I want to share my story of why this class helped me and how it will benefit future students in their career paths.
Around Week 7 in mid-April, I felt I was behind in terms of finding an internship for the summer. I was hungry for an opportunity to demonstrate and apply my classroom skills to an applicable working experience. Despite my efforts in reaching out to employers, I struggled to get my foot in the door. This was the summer for me to grow professionally and gain concrete financial work experience. I was not going to take no for an answer. I kept telling myself, “stay hungry, stay resilient.”
To my benefit, Professor Cress assigned our class to reach out to an employer on the list for the Spring Career Fair, despite it being cancelled due to Covid-19. I got in touch with a Bronco alum, Nolan O’Neill, who is a Strategic Advisor at Blueback Global, an international-expansion services firm based out of Cupertino. After having a great conversation, Nolan gave me the proper guidance and preparation to conquer the intern application process.
With the help of Professor Cress, Nolan, and my resilient attitude, I achieved my goal and worked as a Financial Analyst Intern at Blueback Global for the summer. This position gave me great international business experience and really strengthened my resume and expertise.
I am very glad I took this BUSN 50 class. I hope it will be offered for more students to build their professional portfolios, improve their networking skills, and inspire them to work hard for the career they desire. In times of doubt and defeat, I encourage you to stay resilient because it might just make the difference in your future career.