15 years after graduating from Duke, Harrison Till still thinks back fondly on some of his memories from MMS and the professors who taught him.
Harrison is a Duke University 2005 graduate with a degree in Cultural Anthropology in addition to the MMS certificate. After coming to Duke, he enrolled in the MMS program to fulfill his business interests. Markets and Management was able to offer the diversified courses he was hoping to take. “I was looking for something that provided the opportunity to take some of those classes that you can't just take in the liberal arts studies departments,” he shares. MMS has long incorporated many of the practical elements of business into its classes and brought in business professionals to teach those classes, offering students some of the benefits they might earn from a business major.
As with many MMS graduates, Harrison remembers these practical benefits being some of the most lasting and pertinent lessons. He recalls professors like Ken Spenner and Sam Veraldi who helped to not only teach him business concepts but who could draw from their professional experiences as well. "He was just terrific at translating what he was trying to articulate into real world scenarios,” Harrison says of Professor Ken Spenner, who was one of the creators of the MMS program. By teaching networking and presentation skills, Harrison says he was able to learn more practical knowledge than he would have from a book, knowledge that helped him as he has navigated the business world for the last 15 years.
After graduating from Duke, Harrison pursued his MBA at Ohio State Fisher College of Business. It was there he dove deep into learning about executive compensation and connected with executive managers at Merrill Lynch, landing an unpaid internship. The internship turned into a full time job after graduating, and Harrison stayed with Merrill Lynch/Bank of America for 11 years. After 11 years at Merrill Lynch BOA, he left to start his own consulting firm. For the last 7 months, his company has focused primarily on financial consulting and private wealth management.
One piece of advice he offers to current Duke and MMS students interested in pursuing an MBA is to get as much work experience as possible in your area of interest, even it is unpaid or not your ideal job. Harrison went on to graduate school immediately after graduating early from Duke to complete NCAA eligibility. While this is the path that was most beneficial for him at the time, he cautions other students about going directly from undergrad to an MBA. He says that for those who have just graduated it is best to find their interest and go work in that for a while first. “Even if you are an intern,” he says, “because the bottom line is, those skill sets are so transferable…and you are building your ability to continue progressing to your next levels.”
“My way of doing things…it's not the only way of doing things. It is a way of doing things. And I had a rollercoaster ride just like everyone else.” Harrison wants to use his experiences to encourage current MMS students to find the path that works best for them and pursue it vigorously as he has. If you are interested in learning more about financial consulting or connecting with Harrison, you can reach him at 973-714-8060.
Markets Management Studies