What is your job/position?
Founder, Prove It by Tesoro. I am an entrepreneur of a financial services startup in Lehi, Utah.
Describe the path that took you from your American Studies degree to your current career or life situation.
As a student, I didn't think I'd really use my American Studies degree; I was planning on getting a masters degree. Then I moved to Washington, DC, to work for Senator Orrin Hatch and the Senate Judiciary Committee. It was a perfect fit for me. I worked for the Senate for 3 years, then as a lobbyist and marketer. In 2006, I started my MPA at the University of Missouri. I graduated in 18 months. I then moved back to Utah and worked in alumni relations for SLCC (4 years), BYU MBA (3 years), and WGU (1 year). After that, I started working as an entrepreneur.
What are the specific competencies you cultivated as an American Studies student that you now use in your professional life and that set you apart from your colleagues?
My American Studies degree taught me how to think critically and consider more than one perspective. Those skills are critical when managing people and decision making. Several of my colleagues are myopic in their thinking and skillset. Sure, they could be considered specialists in certain areas of business or life. But I would not want them running organizations. With an American Studies degree, you see life as a whole. Rather than having expert experience with one or two tools, you have sufficient expertise and skill with all of the tools in the tool chest. Furthermore, you are always curious and will continue learning. That is a super power of the American Studies graduate.
What are some of the surprising ways in which your American Studies degree has helped you in your professional or personal life?
I have always remained curious and interested in continuously learning. As I absorb different information, I am able to come to what turns out to be wise conclusions and final decisions. I think the most surprising factor of my American Studies degree is finding collaboration where I previously saw compromise or no solution at all. With an American Studies degree, 1 + 1 = 3.
What do you wish you had known as an American Studies student? What advice would you share with current students?
I wish I knew I had access to the Career Center on campus. I was very fortunate to find my job with Senator Hatch and will always be grateful that is where I started my career. However, I wish I knew there were resources provided by BYU that are designed to place graduates into good jobs. I also wish I had more of a direction of what I wanted to do with my post-grad career as a student. I would have chosen an MBA over an MPA. I would highly recommend the American Studies program collaborate with the BYU MBA Program, MPA program, and the Law School to help American Studies students know what grad programs are available and the requirements to get in. I would also recommend the program work with other grad programs, like the UU Med or Dental schools, to recruit our students. I would be willing to mentor, counsel, and even train current American Studies students on how to find their career path. (I used to do that every day with MBA students). I'd also be happy to speak to students, to student leaders, and to counsel program admins and directors.
*You can contact Matt with questions about his American Studies story at mattbunker@icloud.com.