As a member of the University of Delaware’s Alfred Lerner College of Business and Economics’ class of 2025, Paul Brecht, finance and financial planning and wealth management double major from Hockessin, Del. has thoroughly demonstrated his excellence and dedication during his time at UD.
Brecht was nominated for this series by Academic Program Manager Carrie Baldwin.
In this profile, Brecht shares his favorite UD memories, how he has changed during his time at UD and his plans following graduation.
Lerner: How do you think you have changed from your first semester at UD to now?
Brecht: I have learned a great amount about myself, the world, and the subject of my study. As I prepare to graduate from the University of Delaware, I feel prepared to navigate the world.
Lerner: What have been some of the challenges you have faced during your college experience and how did you overcome them?
Brecht: The greatest challenge I faced was being disciplined in how I spend my time. I have developed a fairly complex and intense system of scheduling and keeping track of how I spend my time to help me be productive.
Lerner: Did you have a Lerner professor or staff member that had a big impact on your UD experience?
Brecht: Of the many members of the faculty who have had an impact on my experience at UD, Professor Rich Jakotowicz stands out. He brings with him a wealth of real world industry experience which he shares readily in a direct style of teaching which is engaging, entertaining, and very effective. He makes a point of having all students call him “Rich,” which is characteristic of his approachable and eager-to-help attitude. Rich is a person who I have never hesitated to reach out to with a question or when I was looking for advice.
Lerner: What does being a “Lifelong Lerner” mean to you?
Brecht: Being a Lifelong Lerner means continuing everyday to develop and pursue the character traits which have led to my success in college, and which I have learned during this time. These traits include discipline, an eagerness to learn, and a quiet confidence that is the result of consistently making good decisions, working hard, and witnessing myself grow and achieve success.
Lerner: What advice would you give to incoming freshmen to make the most out of their college experience?
Brecht:
- Answer every question in class for which you are at least 80% confident in your answer. Professors will appreciate this and love you for it. You will get some answers wrong, and it will force you to realize that … nothing happens if you get an answer wrong. Learn to speak up with confidence.
- Embrace your unique talents and pursue them. Realize that everyone experiences self-doubt, anxiety, fear of deviating from the crowd, etc. You can’t avoid these feelings entirely, learn to operate despite them.
- Develop plans and goals that challenge you and require you to push yourself to reach them.
- Develop a mechanism to keep yourself accountable to the goals which you established. Reflect periodically on your progress and the quality of your decisions.
- Work in a restaurant. Ideally aim to be a server, it pays more than any other job available to someone without higher education. Restaurant jobs offer a dynamic, fast paced, and challenging work environment. You will have to learn to talk to strangers comfortably, deal with upset customers, de-escalate situations, etc. I have made a lot of great lifelong friends at work. You will make money; a lot of money if you do it right and become a server at the right spot. Unless there is a specific club that does something you are particularly interested in, just take this route instead. Even if there is such a club, do this as well … again, it pays you money, and you gain much more experience than any club can offer.
- Get to know professors well. Understand that they are only people as well, and they generally really want to help you and see you succeed. Importantly, they also have the power and connections you will need to succeed.
- Go to office hours, not just the day before an exam. Same reason as above.
Lerner: What are your plans following graduation?
Brecht: I took a rotational banking job with JPMorganChase. I may stay there for a while, or I may pursue something different. Either way, it’s a great place to establish a career and learn the industry. After that I’ll see where the wind is blowing so to speak.