Leaving a Legacy
by Cristin L. O'Brien
2009 MBA Candidate
Christine Clark of Saco, Maine, started at the University of Maine as a computer engineering student, but she recognized early on that she wanted more from her future than working at a desk and doing one job. She wanted responsibility and the ability to make a difference.
That’s why she switched to the Maine Business School in her second year. In her third year, she was off to Florida to attend the Disney college program.
After graduating from UMaine with a B.S., Clark used her college program contacts to return to Disney for an internship, working in labor relations and process improvement. She was then hired as a temp for several positions while waiting for something full-time to open up.
“(After six months) there wasn’t something open for me and I didn’t want to blindly search for something, so I came back to grad school for an MBA. I was a peer mentor my junior and senior years for first-year business majors, so I had worked with Dean Dan Innis and Richard Grant. Through those contacts, I asked about scholarships and applied for my current GA position,” she says.
In the MBS, Clark is working hard to leave her mark. Not only a student with a perfect 4.0, she is the driving force behind the newly reformed Graduate Business Association (GBA). She wrote the constitution and organized meetings, and has been a wellspring of ideas, providing direction and ambitious undertakings for the coming semesters.
Clark recognizes the gap between the university and local business community. In an effort to help bring the two together, she has proposed a conference targeted to local business people, organized and hosted by students of the Maine Business School. Discussions for a fall conference are under way, and GBA members have already met with several active community members for ideas and direction.
“I want people to remember that a student had a lasting impact on the school,” she says. I want to leave the program better than when I got here. And I believe that when you see a weakness in a person or institution, you should do your best to turn it into a strength.”
Clark’s advice to graduating students is to always be professional and courteous.
“One thing I definitely have learned is not to burn your bridges,” she says. “Disney is sometimes referred to as the smallest big company in the world because you often end up working with someone that you never thought you’d see again. Beware of the impressions you leave; the person who is your peer now could be your boss—or you could end up being your boss’ boss.”
Clark, who graduates this May, has started searching for apartments in Florida. The MBS will miss her, but not soon forget her.
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