How He Hustles: Matthew Randall

I've been lucky to have many cheerleaders and mentors in my life. These are people who inspire me to work harder and do better, but also believe that I can succeed on my own. When I began working at York College's Career Development Center in May 2012, my hard work and determination to do well was fortuitously noticed by the Executive Director of the Center for Professional Excellence, Matthew Randall.

Matthew with Liz Murray of Homeless to Harvard fame

After news spread around the Academic Services department that I had a sharp eye for grammatical errors, Matthew began asking me to look over documents for him and graciously accepted the cheeky comments I left in the margins. Since leaving Career Development, Matthew has continued to provide me with challenging opportunities that help me grow as a young professional and I couldn't be more thankful.

Aside from being a brilliant mentor, Matthew is famous in the world of professionalism and has been quoted in numerous articles, including The New York Times. He continues to roll out new seminars to enhance the student experience at YCP and gets to hang out with some pretty awesome celebrities like Maya Angelou, Liz Murray, and John Walsh.

Fortunately for us, Matthew was kind enough to share his tips on how to hustle and succeed professionally.

Advice from Matthew

• Avoid perfectionism: Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good.  Many times ‘good enough’ is actually sufficient.
• Don't stagnate: Once you become proficient in something, select a new skill/attribute/behavior to develop.  It expands your skill set and can introduce you to a whole new network of professionals.
• Seek honesty: Find a mentor/peer that will honestly communicate to you about your performance.  Many co-workers will tell you that “you’re fantastic” or “you’re great! I cannot think of anything you can improve on." Don’t buy it. We all have blind spots and need to sharpen some skill or behavior.  Find someone who will point out your strengths…as well as your blemishes.
• Realize that no job is permanent: After I finished my MBA, I was hired by a large, respected accounting and consulting firm.  I thought that being an employee in this organization was my path to a stable and rewarding career.  Some years went by and a few high-level executives within the organization made some serious errors.  Within a matter of 6-7 months, the entire organization went out of business. Thousands of employees, including myself, were suddenly out of a job.

How He Hustles: Vito Grippi

During my four years at York College, I've had numerous great teachers, but I can honestly say that Vito Grippi, adjunct writing professor at YCP, is one of the best--and not just because he's now my boss and could fire me if I said otherwise. Taking Intro to Creative Writing with Vito two years ago made me actually like creative writing despite the fact I normally feel more at home in the academic sphere. Not only did I have a great experience in Vito's class, but my younger brother was also influenced by Vito's teaching in freshman comp, going from an incomprehensible understanding of essay writing to effectively piecing together decent rhetorical analyses.

Of course,Vito's resume is much more extensive than just teaching adjunct at York. Presently, he's the digital editor of Story, a freelancer, and soon-to-be entrepreneur, but even these accolades don't do justice to his wide array of experience. His education reads like a cacophony of words that don't seem to belong together: table tennis aficionado, restaurateur, accountant, music engineer wannabe, small performance car part business owner, and finally, writer.

Photo Credit: Vito Grippi

Vito's became serious about writing when a professor encouraged him to pursue writing as a career as opposed to accounting, which was the original reason Vito came to get his undergrad degree at YCP. "I jumped ship almost immediately. I changed my major to writing and finally felt like I had joined my people. I started out thinking I would be a music journalist. So within weeks I had started contacting small, local entertainment magazines. Nightlife Monthly, which is no longer in business, was the first to give me a writing gig.  That led to others," said Vito.

After making connections in the writing world and pursuing a MFA, Vito and fellow writer, Wayne Cresser, started Shaking Like A Mountain while Vito worked as features editor for an entertainment weekly. Despite loving his work, Vito searched for a job that would lead to more financial stability. "I figured I could actually work part time while earning the MFA. That’s sort of how I stumbled into teaching. I had tutored as an undergrad and I came back to see if I could tutor while in grad school. I set up a meeting with the writing program director and I think I actually caught him while he was trying to fill an intro composition course because he almost immediately offered me the course," said Vito.

Despite all of these accomplishments, Vito is hesitant to describe himself as successful, "Success implies you’ve reached something and that would probably make me stop reaching. Maybe I’ll know when I get there."

Advice from Vito

• Don’t be afraid to try stuff. A lot of what I’ve learned has happened because I told people I could do it before actually knowing how. Someone needed a website and I offered to do it. Then I spent the next few weeks figuring out. A big-time logo designer asked me if I did copywriting on a freelance basis and I immediately said yes, no hesitation. I’m not even sure I knew what a freelance copywriter was. He asked me how much I charged and I said “whatever you think is fair.” He said, “I’d feel terrible giving you anything less than $50 an hour.” So that became my starting fee. I think you should try to learn everything. My dad wouldn’t let me run the family restaurant until I learned how to prep, clean, work as a line cook. I try to apply this to everything I do. 
• You have to put in the time. My father came to the United States and has become really successful because he put in the time. He had no idea how to run a restaurant, or how to cook even. So I take that approach, just try to jump into new things. I also don’t say no to much work that comes my way, which is great for building up a client base and paying the bills, but can really wear you down. I’m trying to get better at turning things down. The downside of all of this is that if you’re constantly busy doing work for others, your projects, the ones you really care about, always get put on the backburner. At the same time, I’m at my best when I’m busy. If I have multiple projects going at once, and if I feel anxious about it, that’s a good thing. 
• Take education seriously. I had an English teacher in 7th grade who would make us memorize and recite poetry. We would have to stand at the front of the class and recite the poems. This caused me so much dread. I hated that guy. One time I forgot to bring my textbook to class and he taped a book to my right hand and made me stand at the front of the room for the entire class. He was the worst, and yet, now looking back I wish I had paid closer attention to him. I think I would have learned a lot from him. I wish someone had told me to take my classes in high school more seriously too. I really limited my opportunities early on because I just assumed I would eventually work in the restaurant business. Education didn’t really play into that. It took me a long time to really appreciate learning and books. But part of me also wishes I would have tried to make a go of it on the table tennis circuit. I could have been something. 

Marveling at Life

Although I use this blog in a professional capacity, I thought it would be fun to provide a glimpse into my every day life. I got this list idea from Ashley from Sed Bona and Samantha from Mastering Oxford—these ladies are brilliant and certainly up-and-coming in the social media sphere. Without further ado, here's what I've been up to lately: 

Enjoying: My last semester as a student—at least for awhile!
Listening: Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do" 
Wearing: Camel & black J Crew heart sweater, old black pencil skirt, Banana Republic leopard print scarf, thrifted black heels, and black Ann Taylor tights.
Making: Edits to my resume and cover letter
Cooking: Instant Oatmeal
Drinking: Ginger ale over ice. The ice is key.
Feeling: Stressed. Very, very stressed. 
Reading: Textbooks :(
Looking: At my sweet little pup curled up on a pillow
Wishing: For a miracle & a trip to a tropical paradise
Liking: Season 5 of Downton Abbey
Waiting: To get my nerve up
Snacking: On cashews
Coveting: A pastel blue/periwinkle coat a la the Duchess of Cambridge
Hearing: My fan on for white noise
Learning: That taking a philosophy of religion course is a lot harder than I thought!
Loving: My internship with YCP's Alumni Relations Office
Watching: An Idiot Abroad with my family
Admiring: The grace and kindness of my friends
Getting: Excited for what the future holds
Wondering: What plans I'm going to make for my birthday
Playing: Every day & embracing my inner child
Noticing: That the future has started to look a lot brighter
Giggling: At random text conversations & how funny I think I am
Bookmarking: Profound HuffPost pieces such as this one on Nice Girls
Deciding: To take risks
Hoping: To continue improving upon my happiness
Contemplating: How to plug away at this thesis paper
Wanting: Better sleeping habits
Thinking: About my Twitter usage and how to increase my following 
Knowing: I am loved
Opening: A window and closing a door
Feeling: Content
Marveling: At life

#SpartaNation 2015

After ending the fall 2014 semester on a high note (yay for a GPA boost!), I enjoyed a lovely holiday and spent some quality time with my family and friends. Of course, my hustle mentality prevented me from having down time for too long.

 January 7th marked the beginning of the SpartaNation 2015 tour through NYC, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Towson, and back to York. This was my second time acting as one of the #YCPRoadCrew members and couldn't wait for this journey to kick off. Last year's #YCPRoadCrew became a family, and I count many of the former Road Crew members as dear friends. Not only did we bond as a mini YCP Family, but the opportunity to meet with various York College alumni and prospective YCPers was a treat itself. I had made great connections last year and knew that this year would be no different.

Our journey started in Long Island and NYC. The highlight of this part of the trip was standing out on plaza of The Today Show in frigid 8 degree weather. Although at the time the windchill made the experience torturous, I can honestly say that it is a memory I will never forget and wouldn't change a thing about it.

The journey continued to Philadelphia, New Jersey, and DC, but around this time, I unfortunately came down with the flu and had to miss New Jersey and DC. However, in Philadelphia, we toured the Phillies and Eagles stadium--during which I practiced my acting skills and pretended that I have a substantial interest in baseball and football! Although the experience wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, I was surprised when we went in the locker rooms and found out that one of the Eagles players wears Crocs!!

For Towson, I was still under the weather from the flu so I missed out on the tour of Under Armour, but I did make an effort to come to the networking reception that evening and spoke with many alumni that I hadn't seen in a few months and reestablished connections with them.

Sadly, last night marked the last SpartaNation event. We ended on a high note back on home territory at the Strand in York. The attendance rates were stellar and the Road Crew was able to have one last hurrah together. I was also fortunate enough to be named a Home Town Hero during the director of Alumni Relation's speech and received a generous award that I will treasure immensely.

Although I'm sad that the tour is over, I can honestly say I made wonderful new friends and numerous connections. Networking is one of my favorite past times and was what I enjoyed most during SpartaNation. I cannot thank the YCP Alumni Relations Department enough for this opportunity. I hope I can repay them this semester by doing an excellent job as their intern!

If you're interested in seeing more of our adventures, our tagboard is available on the YCP Alumni page.

The End is Near

Representative Schreiber & some of Team 95

The beginning of the 2014-2015 marked numerous big changes for me. I resigned from my job at Career Development and instead accepted an offer to go work for the York College sponsored literary magazine, Story. The routine that I had established over the past couple of years was suddenly
disrupted and I had uncharted territory to figure out. This job change was 100% the right choice for me and I'm so happy to working with Story's amazing team. I'm getting back to my writing roots and it's a wonderful feeling!

At the same time, I also began interning with Representative Schreiber. I had a feeling that going into this internship that government work was going to be a whole new world and that assumption was right on the money. I've enjoyed every minute of working in the political arena, but most importantly, I've learned that my passion is bettering the world rather than getting caught up in bipartisan battles. I wouldn't change this experience for the world. Plus, it helps that entire staff is amazing and truly dedicated to their positions.

As the semester begins to wrap up, I'm craving graduation and getting started in the "real world." My college experience has never really been a typical one. Like I've always said, I'm an old soul so the traditional college scene doesn't appeal to me. But going out into society and making palpable change? Sign me up!

Of course, by no means am I wishing away my senior year. I know that I'm going to miss being here more than I can imagine in the present moment. This final semester is essentially going to be a celebration of all things Spartan green. Plus as soon as I graduate, I plan on getting involved with the young alumni committee (which I'm already kind of involved in...)!

Going back to visit at Career Development