Alexander Tabolsky
- Vice President, Legal
- The ONE Group
School Information
School: Eller College of Management of the University of Arizona
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2009 to 2011
Career Information
Working For: The ONE Group
Title: Vice President, Legal
Industry: LegalWhat Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?
Winning my first trial in my second year of practicing law.
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
College Works Painting is a game-changer.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
After my College Works Painting experience, I worked for Barry’s Bootcamp directly under the President and CEO for a few years. During that time, I graduated magna cum laude from The University of Arizona, Eller College of Management with a degree in Business Economics. Upon graduation, I interned at Sony Pictures Television. Three years later, I graduated from the Pepperdine University School of Law, where I interned with the Los Angeles Rams and clerked for Novian & Novian, LLP. The fall after graduation, I passed the California State Bar and became an associate attorney with Novian & Novian, LLP. I attribute most of my success to College Works.
What do you want to tell your clients about what it meant to work with them and how it has helped you get to where you are today?
I would like to tell my clients that I greatly appreciate the opportunity afforded to me. Each and every client gave me a chance to earn their trust by delivering quality customer service and a great product. I learned how to take that chance very seriously. They helped me grow as an entrepreneur and an individual.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
It is all about building relationships.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
My best friends worked in the same division as me. On a daily basis, we still hold each other accountable, listen to each other, advise each other, motivate each other, and trust and enjoy the process of developing ourselves in our respective career fields. Every month or so, we get together for brunches, dinners, LA nightlife, events, or vacations. We are family now.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
The Best Internship in the World
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Try to develop an owner’s mentality early. Do what you have to do now, so you can do what you want to do later. Focus on building relationships with your clients and colleagues. Feel the fear and do it anyway.
Many college students struggle to choose between an internship specific to their target industry or doing CW. What advice would you give them on this subject if they wanted to enter your career field?
The skills you gain in College Works Painting are transferable in any career field. College Works Painting teaches you the fundamentals of entrepreneurship. Although you may develop industry-specific relationships in an internship specific to your target industry, you will develop skills and core values in College Works Painting you will use and apply every day. I would pick the latter every time.
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Before entering the practice of law, learn what it means to have an owner’s mentality. College Works Painting helped me understand this critical principle. When you have an owner’s mentality, you prepare to win, take responsibility for wins and losses, hold yourself accountable, problem solve, anticipate the next step, and you find a way to deliver elite customer service. As an attorney, the application of these principles in the practice work wonders.
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
My favorite memory was running with my best friends on the sand in Cancun and jumping into the turquoise-colored ocean. At that moment, all of our hard work had paid off.
Last words of wisdom?
Do not be a quitter.