Matt Jones ’07

Suffield’s College Counseling and Alumni & Development Offices hosted a college-to-career virtual discussion on January 19. The program invites alums to speak with interested students about their careers, college major choices, and experiences at Suffield. As part of the junior-year Leadership Program curriculum, students are asked to attend at least three of eight sessions offered each academic year. The goal is to expose current students to life beyond Suffield and provide guidance from alumni professionals working in various fields.

Matt Jones ’07 attended Gettysburg College and graduated in May of 2011 with a history major. He currently works for Oracle, the third largest software company in the world. His title is Manager of Business Development and he oversees Business Development Consultants, who are responsible for generating new business opportunities by qualifying leads and prospecting into accounts to engage with potential buyers. 

Matt shared details about his experience selecting Gettysburg as his college, saying, “I wanted to be far enough away from home, but close enough that I could get back... I also wanted a defined campus; I didn’t really want that type of city setting.” He went on to say that he wanted a smaller school environment, where he felt he would be more successful and happy, which he recommended the juniors consider when making their own college choices. “Go look at some places, get a feel for them. Could you see yourself there? Is this the environment that you would do well in?” Matt also touched on the difference between course loads at Suffield versus in college, saying that for his major he noticed a greater reading requirement in college and the classes being more challenging, but the course load itself was comparable. His last bit of advice was to soak in everything at Suffield, not rush into the next stage of life, and enjoy the place you’re in while you're there because time moves fast. 

Juniors preparing for the college application process are heavily supported by Suffield’s college counselors and alumni mentors. While their college choice is an important decision in their lives, the mentoring sessions provide insight into many unanswered questions. It is made very clear that communication is a key to success and there is more than one way to accomplish a rewarding future.