Engineering Alum Supports
From the May 2010 issue of Our Moment, the UConn Foundation's e-newsletter.
Scott Harrison ’99 was never the typical engineering student at UConn, he says, but credits the education he received with his later success in sales and marketing in the business world.
He says that his experience at the University during the bustling late 1990s centered on one major theme: growth and renewal.
“I had a terrific experience at UConn, and it was a great time to be on the campus. UCONN 2000 was in full swing, and there was really a feeling that UConn had turned a big corner. We were the first class with the new library. There was a feeling of renewal in all of that, and it was a time of growth for me personally as well. And with the ’99 men’s basketball championship, there was no better place to be in March.”
In addition to his own studies in the Honors Program, Harrison became very involved in coordinating activities of the many engineering societies on campus. He was a founding member of the engineering student leadership council, a group presenting consolidated leadership and offering social and educational activities for engineering students.
It was in that coordinating role that Harrison began to feel that he could become a leader in addition to an engineer, and his focus drifted toward the business world after graduation, a path that’s now led him to a senior product management position at GE. He says, however, that his core engineering education helps him to this day.
“I wouldn’t change a thing about my education,” he says. “Engineers learn organizational skills, analytical skills, and more. Engineering teaches you to think, and view projects from start to finish. Now living in Atlanta, Harrison became involved in UConn again through a growing local alumni association chapter.
“What started off as 15 or 20 people has now grown to 30 or 40 UConn alumni,” he says. “When UConn came to Atlanta for a visit recently, I got to meet the dean of the School of Business. I just started feeling a new connection to the University. I’m seeing what’s coming out of UConn today, and I’m impressed.”
He says he gives in part to drive UConn, and engineering students in particular, to do more. His support focuses on scholarships that encourage engineering majors to pursue business fields like management and marketing.
“I give back for two main reasons. First, I have friends who went to much bigger universities, and can see how much outreach those schools do. I wish UConn would do more of that, so I got to thinking, if that’s what I want out of UConn, I need to help ensure it happens myself. I’ve got to develop a personal relationship with the University again.
“The second reason is that I look at my career and realize how much personal development I experienced while at UConn. I spend my time now in sales and marketing, and that wasn’t highly encouraged when I was in school. I was at the top of my class, so it was odd to not pursue a career in engineering; I felt was going into unchartered water. I want to give back so that engineering students will feel that it’s OK to pursue other interests.”
Harrison hopes his giving will encourage others to look at nontraditional fields, as he has.
“I think we need to continue communicating what an engineering education can give you. I see where it’s taken me, and I want to encourage others to do the same.”
For more information about supporting the School of Engineering, please contact the UConn Foundation’s development department.
