Attending a distinguished, internationally known university like Penn State was truly an honor. Receiving a world-class education from insightful and dedicated professors was more than just an added bonus.

Entrepreneurship (Management 451) provided a unique opportunity for college students: the chance to create a realistic business plan. Working in a collaborative group with three other students, I met with a local automotive repair shop owner and re-conceptualized his business as a European vehicle repair cooperative. Through many long hours of research, meetings, and legwork, Management 451 ultimately proved a superb entrée to the real world.

The sequel to Management 451, Entrepreneurship Field Study (Management 452) raised the bar significantly. Instead of crafting a business plan around an open-ended concept, groups of business students paired with engineering teams to market the engineers’ original inventions. While the course is still in progress, setbacks in product development, component shortages, and inherent language barriers between marketers and engineers have all posed unique (yet surmountable) difficulties. What scenario could be more lifelike than that?

As the capstone of the marketing program Advanced Marketing Management (Marketing 471) encompassed a broad range of topics with many case studies and group assignments. Projects ranged from reversing sagging sales at Pfizer’s Animal Health Products division to revitalizing marketing efforts at the ailing Ford Motor Company. By the course’s end, even Henry Ford’s venerable blue oval did not escape my reach.