By Matthew Leon
The Externship Program's seminars are in full swing, with successful people from all types of careers coming to advise Columbus students. On Tuesday, February 25, Matthew Bruno, the Regional President of United Community Bank, spoke to students about his experiences as a student, banker, leader and father. His talk emphasized the importance of making early connections and relationships, even in high school.
Career Journey
Matthew Bruno was a bare-minimum achieving high school student with a social life and a lot of friends. He didn't go to Columbus but had many friends from both there and Belen. He graduated in 2001 and attended Junior College at MDC for his first year. He wasn't sure what to choose for a degree and ended up with Finance.
Bruno met his future wife at a party through mutual friends, and she got him to focus on school and find a career for himself. He got into FIU for the following years and decided to work in banking.
After taking undergrad classes at FIU, he was looking for a grad school that would take him for just about anything; however, he continued to fail important tests like the LSAT for law, or other tests to get into top finance schools. This changed when the bank he worked at gave him an amazing opportunity to advance his career.
Bruno went through a credit training program that taught him everything he needed to know about banking. He learned accounting, finance, and everything else required to be a banker for 2 years. He was rehired after the program, but he was left wanting to do more.
He ended up being drawn towards Business Development once he was 24/25 years old. Business Development is the process of identifying business opportunities, building relations, and fixing problems that stop businesses from succeeding. Bruno felt that his calling was to help people, and he was able to show it through his work. Despite his young age, connections were everything for him.
Current Life
Bruno recently worked at the same bank for about 23 years and built great connections there. About 4 months ago, he took a leap of faith and took a job opportunity as the Regional Manager at United Community Bank, where he works today. He also works with many nonprofit organizations to give back to his community, like the Live Like Bella Childhood Cancer Foundation, Centro Mater Foundation and The Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.
Biggest Takeaways
A main theme of the seminar was to always take advantage of any opportunities you're given, especially networking opportunities. Building relationships can lead to job opportunities and support at any career level.
The little things go a long way in all lines of work. Something as small as always picking up the phone can lead to better relations with clients and coworkers. Relationships go a long way in all areas of life.
People who progress and want to get better at whatever they do experience success. Even if you're already a professional and have a college education, it's always beneficial to learn more.
The relationships you build as early as high school will be the same ones you do business through in the future. It's detrimental to make connections as soon as possible if you want to be successful.
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