When Madeline McLaughlin ’19 was applying for a position as the Assistant National Bank Examiner at The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), she knew she had to live up to big expectations. The OCC charters, regulates, and supervises all national banks and federal savings associations as well as federal branches and agencies of foreign banks, playing a key role in the world banking system.

She soon discovered, though, that her Bryant University education had prepared her to excel, and now McLaughlin is just one of many Bryant seniors who’ve secured great jobs before graduation. “My education has prepared me because I’ve had the ability to shape my coursework as I go which led to me finding what I actually like and is a good fit for me,” she said.

Professor of Finance Peter Nigro, Ph.D., helped McLaughlin plan a strategy for success. “Professor Nigro sits down with everyone the first week for one-on-one discussions about what they want their career path to look like, where they want to interview, and how to figure it out,” she said. Nigro personally recommend her for the OCC job.

The University’s reputation played a role as well. “I think they liked that I was from Bryant,” McLaughlin said, “because all of the people they've had from Bryant in the past have been so well prepared.”

Adapting for success

As an incoming Economic Associate at Regional Economic Models Inc., a firm that aims to improve public policy through testing the economic effects of various decisions against high-level models, Economics and Politics and Law double major Shane Vyskocil ’19 needs a combination of theory and experience. His time at Bryant, he said, gave him both.

“My education has been so integrative. I’ve been able to use everything that I’ve learned and make it into something new – and better."

"A good education is about more than learning facts, it’s about learning the best ways to solve problems and being able to apply that to all sorts of different scenarios,” explained Vyskocil. “You need to be flexible to be successful in life.”

Studying with professors such as Edi Tebaldi, Ph.D., whose extensive experience includes working with the World Bank, gave Vyskocil an edge. “Professor Tebaldi is able to add a real-world aspect to everything he's teaching,” Vyskocil said. “In class, yes, we were learning the specifics of economic theory, but he was just as concerned that we understood the big picture application of it."

The focus on real-world learning paid off. As part of the interview process, Vyskocil had to make a presentation and chose to adapt a project he had done in his Economic Growth and Policy class about the Greek economy. “I think they were pretty impressed,” he said.

Full support

Yuliandra Henriquez ’19 earned her new position in Travelers Human Resources Leadership Development Program for a lot of familiar reasons: her stellar academic track record, her high-level internships, her myriad campus involvements. But she’s also quick to name another advantage: the people she’s met at Bryant.

When Michelle Sangeloty ’17, who had been a mentor for Henriquez when they both worked at Bryant’s PwC Center for Diversity and Inclusion, saw that her company was recruiting interns last summer, she advised Henriquez to apply – which led to the latter’s new job. “She was so helpful,” Henriquez said. “She’s been a very influential person in my life.”

Henriquez is studying International Business with concentrations in Human Resource Management and Spanish, a diverse set of classes that prepared her for a wide range of opportunities. “I love that my education has been so well-rounded,” said Henriquez. “I'm an HR management, but I'm also learning other subjects like accounting, finance, and marketing, which is great because I'm still going to need those aspects to succeed in my HR management career goals.” 

“My education has been so integrative,” she said. “I’ve been able to use everything that I’ve learned and make it into something new – and better.”