Notable Union College Alumni Career Advice

"Be honest and ethical. Your colleagues will notice. A positive reputation can take years to build, but can be destroyed in seconds." 

"Work hard, come in a little early, stay a little late, be loyal to your company and boss. This may sound like a cliché, but you will be surprised how rare it is, and it is all within your control."David Breazzano '78 
President

DDJ Capital Management, LLC

“New hires should always be willing to do whatever it takes – to spend as much time as is necessary – to get the job done.”

John Sciortino ’81 
Managing Partner

Segar & Sciortino, Attorneys at Law

"Tactfully under promise and over deliver."

William Larzelere ’71

Arc Master Lightning Protection

“If you don’t want your boss’s job, you are in the wrong job.”

“Share credit and you will receive more than your fair share.”

“Life is long – don’t take things personally.”

Mark Walsh ’76

CEO

GeniusRocket, Inc.

"Never lose sight of the reality that work and career are part of life and not life itself. Be sure your priorities include nurturing your relationships with family and friends, exploring your passions, committing to creating a better world and caring for your body, spirit and mind."

Susan Maycock ’72

Empowerment Coach & retired Photographer

“The tough part about getting to the next level is really ratcheting up the level of intellectual rigor you demand from yourself and forcing yourself to think through to the absolute conclusion of every tough problem/provision/concept you encounter. Each success you have in doing that will breed confidence for the next challenge – but by the same token, each opportunity lost to do that reinforces habits that become hard to break. Also, keep observing those who you think you want to emulate and focus on two things: 1. Ultimately, can I get to where they are in terms of how they approach and tackle problems/transactions etc.? 2. What path do I take to get there?”

Paul Ginsberg ’84

Partner

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison, LLP

“Always save a portion of your income and never leverage yourself personally (other than when it makes business sense) and always live WITHIN your means and build your personal equity.”

Charles Roden ’60

Senior Vice President, Financial Services

Oppenheimer & Company

“Maintain eye contact when speaking, listen closely, respond to questions on point and always be ready for a curveball.”

Jason Oshins ’87

Attorney

Law Offices of Jason Oshins

"IQ allows you to achieve in school, but EQ allows you to achieve in life."

"It's a lot easier to outwork your peers than to outsmart them.”

"No one ever accused anyone of listening too much.”

"Never underestimate the importance of making your friends, your family, your colleagues, and your clients look good."

Brad Karp ’81

Partner

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton, & Garrison, LLP

"Don't shy away from the difficult, unpleasant projects nobody wants. By doing them, senior management will recognize you as a person who makes the firm better, their lives easier, and someone who is valuable to have around particularly when things get tough."

Kevin Clowe ’72

Managing Director

Pinebridge Investments

Many Worlds

http://lesswrong.com/lw/r8/and_the_winner_is_manyworlds/?gclid=CKG_1cTep60CFQjd4AodV3fkmg

Extremes

If you think the world is getting more extreme, you're right.  A big part of that is our ability to observe more of the world through satellite, high powered specialty cameras, internet, social media, and more.  


Extreme weather on the other side of the world didn't used to seem so devastating because we were not able to get the same scope of media coverage and images in real time.  Even 10 or 20 years ago, if something extreme happened across the globe, we would only get access to a small amount of information after the fact.  Beyond that, we wouldn't even hear about many major events that today we would have no problem accessing. 

The Multi-faceted Economy

We must envision multiple sides of the economy when we weigh our decisions and consider wealth.  Money is not the only form of currency we deal in.  Love, friendship, favors, barter, smiles, beauty, strength, references, referrals, introductions, information, health, and a million more.

We are all rich in one way or another.  Generally, we are rich in ways that are important to us individually because we are attracted to things that feel good.

Money is a beautiful tool, and capitalism is an excellent system to be a part of. The power of money stems from the fact that it can be traded for almost anything in the world (as long as you have enough of it).  It can be transferred to people we've never met in places we've never been to.  I don't have to know who you are to want your money.

Favors are something that require more intimacy between the participants.  Owing someone a favor implies that 1) you're anticipating that you'll be meeting with them again 2) that you previously knew them 3) they already did something that benefitted you.  It's a beautiful thing.

War and Peace

Sometimes you have to fight in the short run for peace in the long run.

Truth

“ The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. ”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Quantum Weirdness occurring on our scale

Entangled Diamonds!