News From Fort Schuyler

January 9, 1998 - Volume 2, No. 2

SCHOOL DAYS - Classes don't begin until January 13, but Fort Schuyler became active again on January 5 with the arrival of 25 transfer students for an intensive IDO period. Transfer students have become an important factor in the recruiting mix for SUNY Maritime in recent years. If you know of any community college students who are wondering what to do after graduation, tell them to call toll free at 1-800-654-1874 (NY) / 1-800-642-1874 (Northeast), or call 1-718-409-7220 from any location.

ALUMNI CAREER PATHS - C. R. BAGSHAW '62 - Rick responds to the "Some went on to other endeavors" columns about the careers of non graduates with this question: "Do ALUMNI [Editor's emphasis] who have pursued other endeavors do that with any frequency?"

Rick goes on to observe that: "It might be worth considering to provide Cadets with some additional perspective regarding career choices- particularly if my perception that employment in the industry is tougher to come by or graduates often look farther afield when they decide to settle down."

Then Rick provides a fascinating example: "In my case, I sailed long enough to raise my Engineers license (passenger ship initially, then a round the world freighter bringing supplies to Vietnam). I then went to Newport News and worked on SSBN new construction. An EE that I met there left and joined Johnson & Johnson. While I had no interest at the time, he talked me into an interview and I stayed for 22 years. They eventually sent me to the Harvard Grad School of Business. After that a VP title came my way, just in time for the TYLENOL poisonings in Chicago. I had responsibility for bringing the recalled product back, destroying it, producing replacement stock and developing a tamper evident package to reduce the likelihood of a recurrence.

Thereafter, I headed a negotiating team to the PRC(China) to expand our franchise there. A headhunter called which led to my joining a leveraged buyout in the printing business - WHAT AN EDUCATION! I then joined Syntex - another pharmaceutical firm to turn around and modernize their operations in Puerto Rico. After five years there, the company was acquired and I began consulting in CA. Most recently, a friend from J&J called and offered me the number 2 spot in a high tech start-up in South Jersey. Net.

I've moved a lot; some 12 times since I left El Bronx. If this type of saga would be of interest or deemed beneficial to Cadets, let me know and I'll see what I can work out." (Source: E-mail received 1/2/98)

AUTHOR! AUTHOR! - WALTER BURKE '81 - The January 1998 issue of "Futures Magazine" features an article by Walter on the treasury bond market. It is a condensation of a report which is posted on his company's (McCarthy, Crisanti & Maffei) website at: http://www.mcmwatch.com (Source: E-mail received 12/30/97)

HAVE TROUBLE FINDING THOSE ALUMNI HOME PAGES WE TOLD YOU ABOUT? - Many of you reported that you were unable to connect to the library's links to alumni home pages using last week's NFFS instructions. Try this instead: Go to http://www.fsmaa.org Hope it works.