This Worldly Student Transitioned from the Sciences to Marketing and Management
Daniel F. Atlan, a second-year Marketing and Management student, is no novice at this college education thing.
A walking embodiment of diversity, Daniel has lived in Brazil, France –- he’s French/Brazilian by birth — the United Kingdom and now, the United States. He speaks Portuguese, French and English fluently, studied Spanish for five years and German for a year.
Daniel entered Woodbury last January as a transfer student with four years of higher education already under his belt. Technically a sophomore, his college career began in the UK, where he attended a University Foundation Program in Sciences and then spent another two years working on his BSc in Medical Sciences. For a change of pace, he’s now pursuing his BBA in Marketing and just added Management as a double major.
While at first blush his trajectory may seem dizzying, Daniel is taking it completely in stride.
“To me, there was only a subtle transition from the sciences to marketing,” he says. “A researcher/scientist still has to strategize and sell their idea in order to request funding and build a reputation. Then and only then does the research truly start. That concept is surprisingly similar to what is found in a business environment, making marketing/management the perfect match for me.”
The more Daniel progresses in marketing, the more relevant he says his training in the hard sciences has become. “My background in the sciences is an essential asset to me,” he says. “It allows me to apply my learned analytical and research skills commercially, thus benefitting my marketing/management majors.” While he reports that his career options remain open, Daniel is leaning toward starting his own venture.
He found his way to Woodbury through the same kind of deliberation and analysis that has marked his entire academic life, speaking with college counselors, taking a campus tour, poring over the university’s accreditations, and evaluating the university’s “smaller, more focused classrooms.”
“Coming from a traditional European university, I wanted to combine tradition with a dynamic and conscientious American business education,” he explains. “At Woodbury, I could find both of those values.
“The experience in the U.K. was enriching, and there certainly is a higher focus on tradition and pomp,” he says. “Here in the U.S., however, there is an environment of innovation and dynamism that cannot be ignored. The American experience brings a greater level of energy to the table.”
A product of the U.K.’s University Foundation Program – which tests and prepares international students for entry into the U.K. system — Daniel took that opportunity to internalize essential university best practices, including research methods and study skills. And being a polyglot didn’t hurt.
“Fluency in multiple languages has made me a more open-minded and conscientious human being,” he says. “It also has given me great facility communicating and dealing with different people and cultures.”
Now, the culture of commerce awaits, which is where Daniel’s role as VP of Marketing in Woodbury’s CEO (Collegiate Entrepreneurs Organization) Club comes into play. “We’re focused on promoting entrepreneurship and networking for college students,” he says. “These capabilities matter, not only to business majors but to any student who’s considering starting a business.”
Whether or not there’s an actual science to entrepreneurship, you get the feeling that Daniel may have the formula.
Learn more about the Marketing program
Learn more about the Management program