Matthew

I love to travel and meet and experience different people and cultures. I was an 18-year-old freshman in school in Connecticut when the September 11th terrorist attacks occurred, and, like all Americans, I was greatly affected seeing the Twin Towers crumbling in New York City. I remember sitting in my dorm room the rest of the day unable to take my eyes off the awful events unfolding before me. So I decided to do something about it; I completed the rest of the school year, took a break from college life, and signed up to serve my country in the United States Army as a combat infantryman. After four years and two deployments to the Middle East, I came back to America with a newfound sense of maturity and a new outlook on life. It was my first time traveling outside the United States and my exposure to a culture so vastly different than what I was used to left me wanting more.

With over a thousand students from so many different cultural backgrounds all learning together, AUP impressed me immediately as the right place to develop my interests. What could be a more amazing and dynamic place than AUP for someone interested in studying politics and exploring new cultures? That only about 40% of AUP’s undergraduate student body are American made me feel privileged to hear the perspectives of people from so many different walks of life. I strongly feel every young American citizen would benefit from studying in such a diverse and multicultural environment.

From an academic standpoint I decided to major in International and Comparative Politics. It wasn’t an easy decision. I have always been interested in politics, but I was also seriously considering other majors as well. My decision was almost instantly made when I met my academic advisor, Professor Susan Perry. Her passion for politics and especially human rights was palpable and I became hooked. As busy as she was, she always took the time to listen to my interests and worked with me to develop a curriculum track tailored to my interests. Even to this day I look back fondly about how passionate she was about her work. 

Through the help of the Internship Office, I was able to land an internship working for a British/American international law firm in Paris. It was not your typical internship experience in that I found myself on a daily basis working on high-profile international disputes, using the knowledge I learned at AUP. It was truly an amazing experience.

After graduating from AUP in 2009, I continued my internship while I searched for a job in the US, focusing particularly in New York and Boston. I was fortunate enough to land a job working with a large international bank in Boston, providing regulatory support for their global wealth and investment management division. It was a great introduction to the world of politics and regulation, two areas that almost always go hand in hand. I later asked my boss what set me apart from the numerous other candidates that applied for the job and he said one of the primary factors was my international experience. 

In 2012 I left the banking industry to work for a rapidly growing Fortune 1000 healthcare company based in Nashville. As the healthcare industry in the United States undergoes tremendous changes, I am proud to be a part of a company that is playing a major role to make healthcare more efficient and cost effective for all Americans. My current role is leading our our State Government Affairs department, where I enjoy the opportunity to travel across the US speaking and testifying to law makers at both the state and federal levels. Although it has been a few years now since graduation, I continue to draw on my academic and social experiences that only an institution as diverse as AUP can offer.