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Newsroom

Michael Mazmanian '15 

Everybody can learn something; and everybody can teach something. But the richest and most valuable professional sharing often takes place when people from two generations get together and exchange ideas based on their different journeys.

This series introduces us to a host of millennials, baby boomers, Gen Xers — and even members of the Silent Generation, born between 1937 and 1945 — as they collaborate, counsel, mentor or reverse mentor across the generational divide.

Actually, as we’ll see in the coming weeks, age gaps seem to shrink, or even disappear, when the multi-generational give-and-take is mutually rewarding.

That’s certainly the case for millennials, who are drinking from the mellow cup of older-generation experience as they launch careers while, at the same time, refilling this aging vessel with the cutting-edge fizz of the digital age. 

I received my Bentley diploma on Saturday, and this summer I’ll have an auditing internship in Boston at Deloitte. I hope to roll this opportunity into a full-time job, especially since I’ll be getting a masters of accounting degree in December at Bentley.

I chose accounting because it’s a field that allows you to do almost anything in business, and it helps you see how a wide range of companies and industries really operate. I can’t think of another job that provides exposure like this so early on in your career.

My ultimate goal and true passion is to blend the knowledge I gained with in accounting degree program with work in a small- or medium-sized technology company.

I’ve been able to figure out what I want to do partially because I’ve had a great mentor and sponsor who took a real interest in me at Bentley. That was John Sims, executive director of external relations for Academic Affairs. He really guided me, and he connected me with the right people to help meet my personal and professional goals. I would definitely say that he helped shape my career trajectory. Every Bentley student should have a mentor and sponsor like John.

That’s my first piece of advice.

The second piece of advice is to dedicate yourself to something that truly interests you. You’ll have a lot more enjoyment in your career that way, and I think you’ll be more successful personally and professionally. For me, that’s fusing a love of technology with business.

My third piece of advice is to find balance between work and fun. A professor in my freshman year at Bentley — Candy Bianco, senior lecturer in Finance — suggested that I work hard from Monday to Friday and play hard on the weekends. I put in long hours during the week, but I was able to relax during my free time on the weekends. This helped me have a positive experience at Bentley by balancing work and play, which subsequently led to a more robust education since college is about learning both inside and outside the classroom.

My last piece of advice is to meet the real world after graduation with a positive mindset. There are going to be challenges after Bentley, for sure. Even with on-the-job training, you’re going to face complex situations with no clear-cut solution; but if you have a good attitude, you’ll be able to tackle and handle whatever comes across your desk. The important piece is to approach these problems with a positive frame of reference and a can-do attitude.

I know there’s no way you can be prepared for everything in the real world. And there’s always an internal struggle between the need to know and the fear of knowing.

But, as I face some pretty radical changes in my life over the next 6 to 12 months, I’m embracing change and saying, ‘Hey, this could lead to some pretty nice opportunities and good things.’

Let’s talk a year from now.

Michael Mazmanian '15 graduated from Bentley on May 16 with an accounting degree.