Think that the only path to a tech career is studying STEM? Think again! Come to this Ask Me Anything event to hear how three Kennedy Center graduates turned degrees in international studies into successful careers in the tech industry.
Tim Hong graduated with a Kennedy Center International Relations major in 1995 and BYU Marriott MBA in 1997. His first technology job was as a product manager at Dell in Austin, Texas, but he has spent most of his career working in Strategic Alliances at Adobe. This job has provided opportunities to travel all over the world representing Adobe, including to China, Thailand, Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia, Australia, Singapore, Colombia, Israel, UK, France, and Turkey.
Sisi Messick graduated as a Kennedy Center International Relations major, planning on law school and the Foreign Service, but she found an opportunity building a social impact tech startup in China instead. Since then, Sisi has received her MBA at Wharton and transitioned into working as a product manager at Apple and Google. She currently works in Google Search as the product lead for elections.
Nathan Metcalf graduated as a Kennedy Center International Relations major in 2010 with neither a firm plan of what he would do for a career post-graduation nor a clue about “Big Tech.” After landing a job in the aerospace industry—followed by a series of rejection letters from various MBA programs—he eventually networked his way into a career move to Silicon Valley working at the Adobe headquarters in their Global Procurement division. He now works in a similar role at Microsoft, managing finances with their marketing and advertising agency suppliers.