This I Know: Alumni Insights from Ann Dominick ’82

Ann Dominick is an Owen alumnus from the Class of ’82. Her professional roles have included CFO and Vice President of Finance in small and large companies, domestic and international. She has consulted in government and industry. Ann spent ten years at MCI and started her career with PriceWaterhouse. Her MBA from Owen was in Finance and Accounting. She is a CPA, licensed in Virginia and originally in Louisiana. Her Bachelors in Economics was conferred by Smith College, Northampton Massachusetts.

Last week I attended an alumni meet and greet for prospective Owen students in Washington D.C. There was a ton of energy in the room as our alums spoke excitedly about their current endeavors. I came away with the desire to share some of the thoughts and experiences in the time since I graduated from Owen. My 30th reunion is this spring and since we’ll all be gathering soon, I’ve invited my fellow alumni to share their own insights in a new series of posts on OwenBloggers.

Taking a famous line from someone else, “This I know”:

1. Make the decision about what you want to do and go for it! You can do it! Do not be dissuaded by short term limitations or failures, continue to push! The biggest factor in achieving your goal is to make the commitment to it.

2. Have a mentor and be a mentor. Have help figuring out what you want to do from someone who has been there and do that for someone else. I have not had as many mentors as I should have – but I have also been very fortunate to have some who were of tremendous help and great fun to spend time with.

3. When the going gets tough, keep going. Disappointments are going to happen in your professional life and your personal life. Develop a Plan B, a Plan C, etc. all the way down to a Plan Z so long as you are able to identify the best way to keep moving forward. Industries and companies are going to decline (in my case telecom) so figure out your next move to keep learning and adding value for your next position.

4. Geography matters. Whether “geography” is the company, the physical location or the industry, pick one with growth. Growth drives professional opportunities. Pick a company which respects its employees, has a healthy human resources department, and understands its finances.

5. Connect! The old word was networking, but the importance of staying in touch with former colleagues or developing new relationships as an experienced professional or as a student can’t be overstated. Facebook and Face to Face. Why? It’s how you keep learning and how you find your next role. And it’s how you give back for the experiences you’ve been provided.

For the last thirty years, I’ve shared and expanded my Owen experience through attending events such as the one last week and through hiring recent Owen graduates. Now that I’ve shared my “secrets”, I hope that these will be of help to you as you consider your future at Owen and beyond.