At the Romain College of Business, alumni are making an impact on organizations and communities across the country. This edition of the alumni spotlight features Nathan Baker, a 2000 business administration grad from Loogootee, Indiana. Baker is Vice President of Franchise Commercial Operations at Jackson Hewitt Tax Services in Sarasota, Florida.
What brought you to USI? Probably a number of things—Major, cost, proximity to home, friends already attending.
Did you participate in any extracurricular activities or study abroad opportunities while in school? Yes! Intramural sports. The South Loogootee men's, women's and coed teams were dynasties in the late ’90s!
What made you choose business administration as your major? I was originally going to major in engineering and attend a different university. Upon touring that school, I decided that wasn't what I wanted to do. I really wanted to work in sports, so that led me to business administration with a marketing concentration.
What has been the biggest joy and challenge since graduation? My children have been my biggest joy. One has an undergraduate degree and is early in their professional career. The other two are currently in undergraduate programs here in Florida. I have really enjoyed being able to be a part of their process as they have evaluated what they want to major in, how they're navigating that journey and just being a resource for both. My biggest challenge has probably been my profession. I work in the tax industry, and it was probably the last thing I wanted to do coming out of college, but I've built a career over 24 years.
What advice would you give current or prospective USI students? Regardless of what you think you might want to do professionally, you just need a starting spot and someone to give you a chance. If your starting spot doesn't directly line up with what you want to do, that's okay. Take a chance on the opportunity. You never know where it will lead. It's the first step in the direction of the next opportunity, and that might just take you in the direction you had envisioned for yourself. All of that to say, USI was my starting spot to launch my career, which started with a quick stop in minor league baseball before moving on to the career I've been in for the past 20-plus years.
Anything else you would like to include? Take advantage of all the opportunities USI offers you as a student. Experience everything. You're only going to be there for a short time in your life. While it might not make sense to you right now, you don't want to look back in 20 years and say, "I wish I would have ______."