Graduate Assistant Dan Ambrosio is currently pursuing his Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) degree at Walden University. In Dan’s Take, he shares his perspective on career management from a student’s eye view. Dan lives in Germany where he teaches business English. He enjoys traveling, studying, riding motorcycles, and working out.
Residencies are an excellent way to network with faculty and classmates. Fortunately, I was able to attend my first residency early on in my doctoral program and had the pleasure of meeting many fantastic people. I was actually surprised to see this many people attending a residency and was very satisfied with my experience. The faculty were extremely helpful, and the information has helped me to better prepare for my course assignments and particularly for the final doctoral research project. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet my classmates, many of whom are experienced business professionals with very interesting backgrounds. I was not only able to learn about their careers and professional lives, but most importantly why they chose to pursue a doctoral level education with Walden University.
Residencies give students the opportunity to network face-to-face. Typically, students are divided into their respective doctoral programs. In my case, students were primarily grouped by specialization. This was advantageous for networking because we already have a common interest. The typical conversation starts by asking people where they come from and if it was their first or second residency. I happened to speak with two gentlemen who had already been to their first residency. They both suggested that I attend a seminar about developing a problem statement for my doctoral research project. This was not a mandatory course, but had I not gone, I would have missed out on some very valuable information. I found it beneficial to get to know as many people as possible to get a feel for what my (DBA) program is all about. Since I am a bit younger, it gave me a better idea as to what potential careers I could pursue when my program is completed. In addition, since we are all experiencing a virtual learning environment, residencies allow the opportunity to meet with faculty and staff in person. This was very helpful so that I could become more personally engaged with Walden employees.
Two residencies are required for DBA students. This is a great way to not only get questions answered, but most importantly to establish relationships with faculty and classmates. I am very excited to go to my second residency. I know I will also be better prepared and will have more ideas for my doctoral study. Overall, I would suggest taking advantage of networking at residencies as much as possible. One of the best ways for me to follow-up was to connect with my new contacts via LinkedIn. Exchanging phone numbers and emails were also common. I highly encourage you all to get out there and be social. I wish you all the best with your future residencies!
Written by Dan Ambrosio, Walden DBA Student, Career Services Graduate Assistant
