Transfer Student Alumni Spotlight: Meet John Williamson III
Major: Economics
Transferred from: College for Creative Studies/Wayne County Community College
Tips for transfer students: You get out what you put in. Do not be afraid to participate in every forum, discussion, club activity, sporting event, or social event that the university has to offer. It will be scary at first because you'll feel like the new kid in school, but I promise you'll eventually meet some of your best friends in life here. And those are the friends that will help push you when you don't feel like you can go any further, talk with you when you are feeling down or begin to doubt yourself, share a beer or two with you and sing terrible karaoke with you, and be with you when you walk across that stage. Wayne State is not just going to get you a good education, but it's also going to help shape you into the adult that you will most likely be for the rest of your life.
Who influenced you most during your time at WSU? The person who influenced me the most at WSU was my mother. Watching her figure things out on the fly as a younger man and question everything really planted a seed in me to do the same (even if I didn't realize it at the time). So when I was writing my thesis paper, it was fun to bounce ideas off the wall with her.
Describe your career path: After graduating from Wayne State University, I got the opportunity to work at GM as a Fraud Data Analyst and it was an eye-opening experience for me because all of the analytical and research tools I learned while in the Economics Program I was using. After my time there I moved to NYC and I worked for Havas Health and You as a Data Consultant where I worked directly with the CFO to help compile and organize the Advertising Department data into a more precise and readable Excel spreadsheet. Once this job was over, I eventually moved over to CoverWallet, an Aon company in 2019 where I started off as an Operations Analyst and eventually moved into my current role as an Account Manager for small businesses.
How did your education at WSU prepare you for what you are doing today? My education at WSU, specifically in the Economics Department, has helped me be able to study the allocation of resources across different communities and cultures across the country. I have also learned how to study data and trends in a given topic in order to be more informed for the task at hand and be able to present it in a structured and coherent way. Combining this with the number of mathematical courses I've taken has strengthened my analytical skills, critical thinking skills, writing skills, and my speaking skills. All of those skills are critical when talking to my clients about their business insurance needs, how the market is trending and how this will affect their day to day operations.
What is the most significant thing that's happened to you since graduating? The most significant thing that has happened to me since graduating is moving to NYC and getting the opportunity to use my WSU degree to open more doors and go down different avenues than I ever thought possible.
Describe WSU in three words: Real World Experience