As a transfer student in my Junior year, I chose a major in Integrative Studies with a three-topic focus in Business Management, Environmental Studies, and Hotel Ecotourism. Thanks to my time at Paul Smith’s, I learned that I have a love of the environment and an inherent need to study environmentalism that I had not tapped into. Currently, I am working as an engineering coordinator as the Westin Boston Waterfront hotel that incorporates business, hospitality, and sustainability skills. I am so pleased that I was lucky enough to find a career that made use of everything that I had learned at Paul Smith’s.
With that said, as valuable as that degree has been in regards to my current career, it is not the piece of Paul Smith’s that I hold in my heart. The best part about the school was the life-long lessons outside of the classroom and the meaningful, unbreakable friendships that I found there. Paul Smith’s brought out a part of myself that I didn’t even know I had in me. I now feel prepared to take on any experience that comes my way. That beautiful campus in the middle of the woods not only helped me expand my knowledge in the fields of study that I love, and further prepare for interviews within that industry, but it shaped my outlook on the fragility of life. Honestly, going to Paul Smith’s was the best decision I ever made.
Very proud of your accomplishments Ashley…All the best in the future!