Image

Chris Jones '96 has a confession to make. When he first arrived at Pace, he was "hell bent" on pursuing a career in television news or sportscasting. He wanted to become an on-air talent.

When he enrolled in his public relations class, however, his professor, Donald Ryan, made this Literature and Communications major realize that he was as passionate about curating content as he was about being the focus of it.

It was 1992, and, although Jones didn’t know it then, the trajectory for a successful career was set in motion. He enrolled in several more of Ryan’s classes, served as an editor for Pace’s student newspaper, and became “hooked” on the new direction.

Today, Jones is vice president of communications for FanDuel Group, the leading mobile sports gambling company in the industry. Over the course of his twenty-plus year career, he has moved from a corporate publicist, to an investor relations and mergers and acquisitions communications executive, to chief marketing officer of the largest independent advertising technology company in the world.

“The patchwork quilt of marketing approaches in today’s fragmented media world requires a level of experience and empathy that ensure your tone and associations are understood to be innovative, but also inclusive and responsible to the world we live in,” he said.

A Yonkers and Bronx-bred New Yorker, the professionalism Jones embodies was shaped by tests very early on in his career.

In 1998, he was a junior corporate communications manager when his company was thrust into the largest criminal accounting restatement in modern US business history. Jones was guided through the enormous task of an SEC investigation and subsequent steps to restore the company to fully audited financials, a two-year process that was both a personal and professional learning experience.

It was during this difficult time that he returned to Pace, enrolling in the MBA program in the Lubin School of Business with a focus on managerial marketing.

“I wanted a practical MBA, not a theoretical one,” Jones said. “I was working already and needed that real-world acumen, and Pace was the choice.” As far as enrolling anywhere else–well, all bets were off.

He knew he could rely on his alma mater to create the opportunities that would allow him to go further.

In the increasingly complex and challenging climate of today’s workplace, Jones advises students to not skip the steps necessary for success, but instead, to be patient, receive advice from trusted sources, and embrace hard work.

“While an Ivy education is wonderful, I identify with that [go-getter] Pace grind,” Jones said. “It still empowers me today.”

The founder of Urban Sound, the cultural hip hop dance group on the NYC Campus, Maryam Dimson ’20 brings incredible passion to both the dance floor and her academic career. She’s been inspiring others through the arts since middle school, performing hip hop, tap, jazz, and much more, a passion that she brought to Pace from the moment she stepped onto our campus. “I was literally mesmerized [by] how nice the students were and how welcoming everyone was that, by the end of the tour, I knew this was school for me,” Dimson told us.

Taking advantage of the numerous opportunities in Pace’s robust marketing department, Dimson explored her interest in special events marketing by signing up for a class. It was there that she discovered her true passion for hotel hospitality and tourism, a major we offer right here at Pace! “Everyone who knows me knows I love helping others, I love working on a team, and I love making people happy. That’s what the hospitality business is all about.” Through her classes, Dimson got the chance to hear from several guest speakers who work in the industry, and she knew she could also turn her passion into a career just like they did.

But she didn’t stop there. Dimson has always been incredibly motivated to help others, and launching a student-run organization seemed like a natural next step. Literally. “I was surprised that there was no dance team on campus,” she explained. The solution was an easy one for her. “At first, the name was Locomotion, and I was like, ‘We need a much cooler name.’ So I went online and found a name generator. It generated Urban Sound, and I was like, ‘That’s the one!’”

Dimson approached the formation of Urban Sound with a specific goal in mind: to allow anyone who wanted to dance the opportunity to do it. No previous experience necessary. “We have a performance team that [performs] at events and competes at the end of the year, but I wanted to give more people a chance to be an active part of Urban Sound,” she told us. That’s where the masterclass series came in. Students who didn’t feel comfortable competing could sign up for classes taught by choreographers in a variety of styles. “It has been a huge success!” Dimson enthused. “It has brought so many people who love to dance or want to try to dance together in a fun, supportive environment.” They even got the likes of Broadway Dance Center choreographer KC Castellano to show them some moves, and she was very impressed!

Not one to slow down when it comes to pursuing new opportunities, Dimson also landed an impressive five internships across several different industries. It provided her a perspective both into the unique inner-workings of many jobs as well as her own personal preferences when it comes to working environments. “One thing I realized is that I am not a person to sit behind a desk,” she said. “I am someone who likes to be on the move, solving problems, greeting people, and working on projects.” And she certainly excels at every one of those things!

Looking toward the future, Dimson plans to one day launch her own event planning production company. But for now, though, she’s finishing up her degree. Did you know she’s actually royalty, too? “My grandfather was the king of some lands in Ghana, and after he passed away, my father decided not to continue the reign.” That technically makes her a princess, just FYI.

Pforzheimer Honors College student Debra Perlman ’21 has been extremely busy in her time here at Pace. She’s been part of the first-year and second-year honor societies, Alpha Lambda Delta and Lambda Sigma, a member of the Pace Women in Tech organization, a participant in Pace’s NYC Design Factory, and even a 2019 Forbes Under 30 Summit scholar—not to mention her internships with major companies.

Before all of that success, though, she told us that she’s always had her eye on attending Pace. “I had been interested in Pace since I was a freshman in high school,” Perlman explained. “I ended up visiting campus multiple times. Each time, I had this feeling, like this is where I belong and this is where I need to be.” She met extensively  with staff members from the Admission team, Seidenberg, and the Honors College, which further solidified her decision to attend.

Originally, Perlman chose to major in computer science, but she was struggling to learn code in high school. “Though I still wanted to go into computing, I also had an interest in business, as I was planning to and already pursued marketing, accounting, and other business-oriented classes,” she explained. She attended a Pace Admitted Students Day event with this in mind, and spoke to a staff member from Seidenberg about her interests. That’s when she found out about a different major. “Information systems combines two of my favorite subjects and passions—technology and business—into a degree program that is perfect for me,” Perlman said.

She took those passions all the way to the top: along with three of her fellow Seidenberg students, Perlman attended the 2019 Forbes Under 30 Summit as a scholar. There, she got the chance to network with other like-minded peers and attend several panels, one of which left a lasting impression on her. “[It was] about social media influencers and design in the media,” she explained. “At that time, I was apprehensive about my own social media and public media endeavors, but seeing this panel [...] gave me the new perspective that social media isn’t all about the likes, it’s about the engagement with others, and showing them and yourself your passion.” Since then, Perlman told us she felt empowered to post more about fashion on her social media, and gain followers “organically over time.” You can read more about her experience at the summit on Seidenberg’s blog.

But Perlman’s ambition didn’t stop there! She’s also interned for two major (and very different) companies: Mount Sinai and 1-800-FLOWERS. “This was my first ever job,” she said of the Mount Sinai position, where she filed claims for a government project concerning hospital expenses. “My small team had to file millions of these claims in a short time,” Perlman told us, going on to explain that her coworkers “took me under their wing” to explain the ropes of the job and the industry. “Working there was an experience that changed my life, giving me both life and corporate skills.”

Her internship in the marketing department for 1-800-FLOWERS was more “technology and project management-based,” she said. “I was responsible for many tasks including email marketing tasks, website QA (quality assurance), assisting in managing offshore developer tasks, daily sales reporting, and [more].” Perlman said the office environment was very inclusive, and the team made great efforts to involve their group of interns in many activities. Her advice to students looking to get the most out of their job opportunities? Ask for help.

“I know that asking for help, especially for me at first, was embarrassing, and I felt like I did not want to bother my managers. But I learned it is more efficient to ask for help rather than have to [redo] a task or have it taken away. Asking for help no matter when I needed it is one important reason why I was so successful.”

Wise words that will surely carry Perlman through to her next incredible opportunity. We can’t wait to hear what she pursues next!