Professionalism Personified in Class, on the Job with Fortune 500 Company

Even after months on the job, every time Dom Fowler steps into the office it still feels a little surreal.

That will happen when you’re a 21-year-old college student who’s already working part time for General Electric, one of the largest companies in the world with revenue near $150 billion.

“Every single time I walk in that building, I think to myself, ‘I cannot believe I’m walking in here.’  It blows my mind,” Fowler says.

Fowler is a senior

communication

major with a minor in

political science

and a certificate in public relations. He is president of the University of Cincinnati's chapter of the

Public Relations Student Society of America

, is active in the McMicken College of Arts & Sciences'

student ambassador program

and has served as a

Student Orientation Leader

(SOL).

This summer Fowler had an internship with GE Aviation in Evendale, where he worked in a support role for the communications manager of the global supply chain. He wrote news stories and filmed and edited videos to promote GE Aviation via internal communication channels. His performance was so well-received, when his internship ended he was asked to stay on part time through fall semester.

One of the greatest lessons Fowler has learned through his experience at GE is the importance of professionalism. With his work being seen by thousands of employees for the Fortune 500 company, it quickly became clear to him that professionalism was paramount.

He credits the array of resources available to students at UC – including the

Center for Exploratory Studies

, the

Career Development Center

and the

Division of Professional Practice

– for helping him polish his professional demeanor. Taking advantage of these learning tools helped him refine essential career skills such as how to write a cover letter, how to conduct himself in a job interview and how to give an elevator speech – and he’s seen how those abilities pay off in the real world.

“Those skills will set you apart from another job applicant with a generic cover letter and simple resume,” Fowler says. “Beyond that, these abilities and techniques are easily transferable to a corporate setting, and anyone at UC can learn how to do them. There are so many resources at UC that can help you stand out.”

Fowler is originally from Lansing, Mich., and grew up with a love of cars. His grandmother was a mechanic and taught him how to drive in a rusty pickup on the empty roads near her home when he was 13. That enthusiasm for being behind the wheel combined with all he’s learned at UC and on his internship have helped fuel his professional aspirations. He’s working toward a career in advertising and is especially interested in print photography and video. One day he’d even like to take a seat in the director’s chair for car commercials.

“I was at work and it just hit me. I have such a passion for cars, and now I’ve found out that I love doing videos,” Fowler says. “When I watch TV and commercials or read print ads, I think about how effective that advertising was or how it appealed to my emotions. I’m as interested in the ads as I am the program I’m watching or article I’m reading.”