Pursuing your passions can lead to great results — especially if you figure out a way to combine two of them.
Mark Munz, BS’09, tied together his love of music and entrepreneurship to start his own business repairing and maintaining electric and acoustic guitars.
“My Kelley education absolutely helped me to start my own company,” said Munz. “It gave me a foundation to work from and provided the education to gain experience as well.”
Munz majored in marketing while at Kelley Indianapolis. His first job out of college was at Harrison College, where he worked as a certified financial aid analyst. He left there to take a position as an operations analyst at Angie’s List, and now, he works as a solution advisor at Salesforce. During this time, he also received his master’s degree from Trine University and started his company, Munz Fretted Instruments Inc.
For current students, Munz says don’t be afraid to explore new things.
“Don’t be afraid to explore different options and entertain ideas outside your major. Get as much experience doing as many things as you can, whether that be through internships or volunteer work. And don’t do something just to build your résumé, do something because it interests you,” added Munz. “When you graduate, that will help you to focus on where you want your career and your life to go.”
“For me, my Kelley moment wasn’t realized until after I’d already graduated and started my full-time job,” said Munz. “It was when I was working, and saw how presentations are put together, that I realized why I-Core is so important. I realized I already knew how to do this – because I’d done it before in I-Core. That realization and appreciation of Kelley was my Kelley moment.”
Munz decided to give back to Kelley this year by matching all gifts made up to $1,000 to the 2016 Kelley Indianapolis Scholarship Challenge. The scholarship challenge is an initiative driven by the Kelley Indianapolis Young Alumni Council. Their goal is to raise money to provide a scholarship to a deserving undergraduate student on the Indianapolis campus.
Why donate?
The choice was easy, says Munz.
“I chose to give back to Kelley Indianapolis because it prepared me so well for my career after college. I felt I could jump right in and swim. I never felt that I was over my head,” said Munz.
“For others, I would say consider giving – if not monetarily, give of your time. I remember when I was about to graduate in 2009 in the height of the recession, how helpful and meaningful it was to hear from or see other alumni close to my age who’d been successful in business, even in those tough times. Anything our alumni can do to give back positively impacts current Kelley students and the entire Kelley network,” said Munz.