Alexander Bronk '17
Making connections has kept Alexander Bronk '17 a step ahead.
A transfer student who arrived at Bryant in 2015, Bronk found an informal mentor in Associate Professor of Information Systems and Analytics Kenneth Sousa, who helped him develop key skills and introduced him to valuable opportunities. During a job shadowing program run by Bryant’s award-winning Amica Center for Career Education, he spent a day at Textron shadowing Ilanna Keyslay ’13 and made another valuable connection – one that quickly paid off.
“At the day’s end," he recalls, "I was offered a summer internship,” which was instrumental in obtaining a full-time position after graduation in Textron’s highly competitive Leadership Development Program.
Bronk's coursework prepared him to succeed at Textron, where varied business lines, cultures, languages, time zones, and information systems are the norm. His "Business Policy" class challenged him to work as part of a team to solve a real-world business dilemma for Target, and Sousa’s "Project Management Practice and Principles” course, in which he was mentored by Hasbro executives, helped build his innovative problem-solving and teamwork skills.
The engagement with Hasbro "was exceptional. You can’t replicate that in a traditional classroom,” Bronk says. Each week, the students worked with their mentors to discuss specific business principles and concepts and learn how Hasbro applies them, giving them an early look into corporate life.
Today, Bronk is IT Analyst-Product Lifecycle Management at Bell Flight in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area.
Knowing first-hand how important connections can be, Bronk is exploring how to pay it forward. Already, he is working with Bryant students to help them improve their professional resumes and has judged a Business Professionals of America national competition. A member of the business fraternity Delta Sigma Pi, Bronk's committed to being involved in an alumni chapter. "Imagine a world where no one is giving back," he says. "I don’t think we’d push forward as a society.
Real World Experience
Internships
Textron Information Systems, IT infrastructure architecture intern
• Supported the IT Infrastructure team with various projects, including using server data to create metrics, exploring ways to connect systems, and researching best practices
BankNewport, residential lending internship
• Updated the corporate database, prepared and sent initial disclosure packages for loan borrowers, and supported the processing team
Academic Organizations
Delta Sigma Pi – national business fraternity
• As head of Professional Activities, organized a campus speaking engagement for a Harvard career development professional
Academic Competitions
Business Professionals of America, National Finals volunteer judge
• Judged student presentations and technical papers at a business conference in Boston’s Prudential Center
Leadership
Bryant Audio Visual Department, student manager
• Maintained equipment and handled technical requests including setup and breakdowns
A Connected Community
Bryant's purposeful student life delivers co-curricular immersion with an inspiring, collegial community. Students forge deep connections that last a lifetime.
“Looking back on my career this far, I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to the Bryant MBA program and the College of Business for empowering me to pursue my fulfilling profession.”
“I didn’t want average. I wanted to go somewhere where I would get first-rate, business-specific knowledge and have really experienced professors.”
“The different communication theories I’ve learned help me solve the problems that I’ll see in my management courses. When I’m in my communication classes, I have a better idea of how the management practices I’m learning are applied. I find myself constantly intertwining the things I’ve learned.”