Following is a Q&A with one of the 749 students who received a diploma Dec. 16 at UW-Stout.
Name: Kurt Russell
Hometown: Medford
Major: Hotel, restaurant and tourism management
Why did you choose UW-Stout? I chose UW-Stout for a few different reasons, the first being that it’s a polytechnic university. I need to be fully engaged to learn, so the small class sizes and hands-on learning experience were two of the biggest factors. As I continued to look into my potential colleges, I realized UW-Stout had the highest job placement rating of them all, and the fact that it was just 100 miles from home made it the perfect fit for me.
What are the biggest obstacles you faced in earning your degree? It was my own uncertainty when I arrived, which got me off to a rocky start. I was a psychology major, uncertain of where I wanted to go with my degree. I knew that I wanted to “help” people, but by the end of my first year I narrowly escaped academic probation. I switched my major and have done significantly better ever since. I was able to find passion in what I was doing, and my studies showed that. After second semester my GPA was down to a 2.1, and immediately after figuring out what I wanted to study, my GPA for my third semester was 3.66.
What stands out among your college experiences? Two things. The first is how much the university pushes industry relations. The job fairs and the internship requirements make finding potential jobs much easier. I never would have discovered what I wanted to do if it weren’t for these experiences. Second, and probably most important to me, was my study-abroad experience, in which I traveled to France for a three-week Food and Wine Pairing course. We traveled to different wine-growing regions, toured wineries and even got to meet the winemakers. I recall in one tour the owner invited us into his home and cooked us a three-course meal. I asked him, “How often do you give tours like this?” He responded, “Oh, just once every year for (Professor Peter D’Souza).” In that moment I realized exactly how special this trip was. The amazing experiences I had in France were a direct result of the decades of hard work Peter D’Souza has put into this program. I learned more from my three weeks in France than I have from entire semesters worth of studying in the past. Overall it was an amazing trip and an experience I will never forget.
What’s next? I have accepted a sales management position in northern Minnesota. I have already worked in food service, resorts, hotels and event planning, but sales have eluded me. I am taking this position as a great opportunity to learn more about sales and leadership before I start my master’s program. Even after 18 years of schooling, one thing I know for sure is that I am certainly not done learning.
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