We caught up with members of the Bentley Class of 2016 to see how they were doing six months after commencement. They gave us thoughts on their time at Bentley, lessons they learned, what they’re up to now, and where they hope to go from here.
Name: Anish Joshi
Hometown: Glen Cove, New York
Major: Graduated with a BS in Marketing and minors in Information Design and Corporate Communication and Computer Information Systems.
Why did you choose to come to Bentley? I honestly had no idea Bentley existed when I was applying to colleges. I had expressed an interest in business to my guidance counselor and she told me about an undergraduate business school just outside of Boston, so I applied. Once I was accepted, I gave Bentley another look and was invited to visit for a weekend. That trip really sealed the deal and is why I ended up attending. It was one of the best decisions I ever made!
Who was your most important mentor at Bentley? There are two mentors that dramatically shaped my career at Bentley. This first is Justin Woodard, who is assistant director of Residence Life. He was the first person I worked with through the Residence Hall Association. At that time I was a demanding and crazy freshman, but he helped me grow and shape my leadership skills. My second mentor was a fellow student that I met at the end of my junior year, Charlotte Hoon. Charlotte and I met in one of my marketing classes and she inspired me to intern at Jet Blue during the summer before my senior year.
Most impactful moment as an undergraduate? The most impactful moment during my four years was when Karen Kaplan, the CEO of Hill Holiday, offered me a job after my speech during the 2016 Commencement ceremony. I still can’t believe that happened. I did not end up accepting the position since I had my heart set on working in New York City, but the experience really taught me to never give up on yourself and that it is OK to go against the grain.
Once piece of advice that you would give to underclassmen? Try everything and don’t be afraid to dive into the unknown! One of the best decisions I made freshman year was to join every single club I could, and this helped me figure out what I was interested in.
After graduation: Joshi accepted a position as a marketing coordinator at Moveable Ink, an email marketing agency in New York City.
How Bentley helped you get there: Bentley has prepared me in so many ways that it is difficult to call out one specific thing. Overall, I found that our offices of Career Services, Student Programs and Engagement and Residence Life had the most impact on me. I felt that I always had people who I could turn to for advice no matter the time or place.
Name: Marc Custodio
Hometown: Yorktown, New York
Major: Graduated with a BS in Finance and minors in Computer Information Systems and Earth, Environment, and Global Sustainability.
Why did you choose to come to Bentley? I chose Bentley because I wanted to start a career in the business world and I knew that Bentley would give me a clear view into that environment. No other school offered the business education that Bentley gives to its students — both inside and outside the classroom.
Most important mentor: My most important mentor at Bentley was Professor David Szymanski. He introduced me to the Sustainability program and is an amazing demonstration of the impact that fusing liberal arts into business curriculums can have. Professor Szymanski introduced me to many people that are currently within my own network. He guided me through a number of educational and personal dilemmas, while constantly encouraging me to explore deeper concepts through our thoughtful conversations and his class lessons.
Most impactful moment during undergraduate career: My most impactful moment came during my work as a Student Research Assistant with Professor Chris Skipwith. We worked in collaboration with several other universities to develop nanotechnology equipment that could potentially have a major impact on the future of healthcare and wearable technology.
Once piece of advice that you would give to underclassmen: One piece of advice that I would give to underclassmen is to never underestimate the power of networking. It always sounds cliché and is something that’s always getting hammered into your brain, but there is nothing more powerful than establishing a strong network of friends and colleagues that you can count on.
After graduation: Custodio accepted a position as a business technology analyst at Deloitte Consulting in New York City.
How Bentley helped you get there: Over the past four years, Bentley has provided me with the tools to effectively market myself and the fundamental knowledge necessary to thrive in a professional environment.
Name: Christopher Fevry
Hometown: Providence, Rhode Island
Major: Graduated with a BS in Management (with a concentration in Entrepreneurship) and a Liberal Studies Major in Global Perspectives.
Why did you choose to come to Bentley? I chose Bentley because it seemed like there was a genuine amount of people that cared about my well-being and development.
What was your most impactful moment during your four years as an undergraduate? My most impactful moment was the day I realized that I still have a lot to learn. During a networking event in my freshman year, I confidently presented a three page resume to those who were attending. I quickly learned from this experience that was not acceptable.
Interesting internship or extracurricular experience at Bentley: During the summer of my junior year I had the opportunity to intern at Google. In one of my projects, I was given the chance to negotiate on the company’s behalf. I ended up saving Google 11 percent on a multimillion dollar project budget. I carried the lessons that I learned from that summer directly into my own startup.
One piece of advice that you would give to underclassmen: Don’t hesitate to try new things. The quicker you get out of your comfort zone, the faster you will discover what you truly enjoy doing.
After graduation: Fevry is launching his startup of MyBarber, a mobile app that matches customers with a curated list of available barbers that provide in-home haircuts.
How Bentley helped you get there: Bentley provided me with invaluable mentors over the past four years who guided me and gave me feedback while I pursued by interests.
Name: Maria Clarice Chua
Hometown: Edison, New Jersey
Major: Graduated with a BS in Actuarial Science, with minors in Business Studies and English and Media Studies.
Why did you choose to come to Bentley? In fitting business parlance, I selected Bentley because it was the best investment for the money that I had. A world-class business education, coupled with a highly lauded Career Services department made Bentley the best choice to secure a future for myself.
What was your most impactful moment during your four years as an undergraduate? My most impactful moment was when someone on the campus staff gave me a piece of advice that went something like this: “Sometimes, you’re like an athlete with a broken ankle. Your problem is you try to run on it too early. You want to finish the race and you end up hurting yourself further. But here’s the thing: Wouldn’t you get there sooner if you let your ankle heal and then go?” That changed my outlook on life forever.
Interesting internship or extracurricular experience at Bentley: The best experience I had at Bentley was getting to be the “mom” of the Iota pledge class of my business fraternity. This experience provided me with a sense of purpose that was incredibly grounding for a college senior scared to go off into the world.
What is the one thing you will miss about being on campus? It was so easy to find laughter when you were always surrounded by people you love. In the short time I’ve been in the “real world,” laughter is already harder to come by.
One piece of advice that you would give to underclassmen: Love yourself, because everything falls into place if you do.
After graduation: Chua accepted a position as an actuarial analyst at Aon Hewitt, where she performs the numerical analysis required to complete funding and accounting valuations for her clients.
How did Bentley help you get there: Bentley gave me the combination of business and liberal arts skills that I needed to launch my career as an actuary. During my four years, I was exposed to many individuals from all sorts of different backgrounds, countries and cultures. Bentley helped nurture me into someone who is well-rounded, thereby equipping me with the necessary skills that I needed to achieve my goals.
