Ryan Dragoon
- Regional Project Manager
- Vantage Elevation
School Information
School: UW – Milwaukee
College Major: Business
Years at College Works: 2013
Career Information
Working For: Vantage Elevation
Title: Regional Project Manager
Industry: ManufacturingWhat Has Been Your Proudest Accomplishment Post-CWP?
Graduating college and accepting a full-time job offer with Uline in the same month!
College Works Career Impact
In one sentence, what has CW meant to you?
A lot. College Works Painting has been the hardest, yet best thing I have ever done, as they have given me a lot of the tools that I have needed to achieve my current level of success.
How did your CW experience impact your career? Immediately after graduation? Now?
During college, I was able to get a promotion at my old job after they learned about all of the sales, marketing, management, and business experience I gained over the summer. After finishing college I went to work for a $3.4B company that found that my work ethic through college and being able to juggle running a business were the some of the factors that gave me the edge on the other applicants.
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?
To all my clients in general, THANK YOU! They believed in me. Without them, my summer would have failed miserably and I might not have the opportunities now, that I did then.
What was the greatest lesson you learned from your CW experience?
The greatest lesson that I learned… That’s a tough one! I learned a lot of good and a lot of bad while with College Works Painting. I learned how to- and how not to- run a business successfully. If I had to choose one, I would say that learning to have the right people in the right place to to a job the right way (no matter the industry), makes all the difference in the outcome and the results of that project.
How have the friendships and networks you built during CW affected you?
Unfortunately, most of us interns parted ways. However, I have been in contact with my GM Riley Eichhorn and VP, Kyle Lindsey since then.
If you had to come up with a one line slogan for CW, what would it be?
Bettering the minds of tomorrow, one house at a time.
Advice
What advice do you have for potential CW participants? Current CW participants?
Finish what you start. Build your network. Keep an open mind. HAVE FUN WITH IT.
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?
If you are in a business related field, give College Works Painting a shot. You will learn real world skills on how to manage your own business that you cannot learn in a classroom or a cubicle. Failure is okay, you have people who have your back! Additionally, I think that if all else fails, you only lose one summer of your life, its going to be okay!
What’s your best advice for someone interested in entering your career field?
Just be open! Talk to your professors, talk to the parents of your friends… See what they do and try to learn more about it! You never know who you might bump into!
What’s your favorite memory from CW?
In my last week of the summer, I had one ($4k) house left to do… when we finished it on Wednesday, their neighbor liked how it looked so much, that they wanted theirs done too. After giving them a ($7k) estimate that night, they wrote me a check IN FULL to get the house done by Sunday as they were having the house sold the next week. I had to call in some extra reinforcements, and work some 12 hour days, but the reward was worth it.
Last words of wisdom?
“Do what you have to do now, so you can do what you want to do later.” Painting houses all summer was not the most fun I have ever had, but having an open, opportunistic mindset got me through it. Now, I can proudly say that it was the best thing I have ever done – I will now be making more than either of my parents and most of my friends while doing something that I went to school for, and truly enjoy.