We initially chose Gettysburg to play basketball, but through that basketball community, we found a group that all really cared about each other. Whether it was as part of the basketball team or working with the Center for Career Engagement, there were always people who just really cared about you and wanted to help other people. The Management Department and the professors there were very special and made you feel like you were part of a family.
Management Prof. Jim Hamerstone ’64 was our advisor. We took many classes with him because of our majors, but he took such an interest in each of his students. He made you feel so special. He came to all of our games, and in class, he would ask you about the game. When he was teaching, he would point out things that he knew were going to help you in the real world and not just focus on what was in textbooks. We tried to get together with him every year when we came back to Gettysburg because he was such an important part of our experience.
We really appreciated how broad our liberal arts education was, and as management majors, it prepared us for not just one career, but potentially multiple careers and jobs. Whether it was learning about human resource management, how to use Excel spreadsheets, or taking finance courses with Economics Prof. Drew Murphy ’84, P’20, Gettysburg helped us develop methods to balance our knowledge and skills that help us in our careers today. With the smaller, diverse environment, we also learned how to effectively communicate and lead people, which can be one of the hardest things to do in the professional world.
It takes a lot of forward-thinking by Gettysburg, to curate a program in a way that helps students go from their first job to potentially their 10th or more over the course of their career. Going from an entry-level job to a CEO doesn’t happen overnight, and it’s important to help students develop the skills they need with the right team around them. To have this Personal Advising Team that a student can rely on throughout their four years is a huge positive.
Gettysburg lasts because people who went there continue to help other people. We want to give our time and resources to Gettysburg because we feel so strongly about the interest and care people like Prof. Hamerstone gave us and how that led to where we are today.