Preparation for Life

IN THE FALL OF 2000, Brandon Randall '04 was just one of about 300 other freshmen; like them, he was anxious about the college years ahead and eager to move forward with a career after earning his degree. In fact, the ease of making and building close relationships in this academic community acted as a catalyst to boost his self-confidence.

"I always felt comfortable about approaching another student or a faculty member," he says. "As a physics student, I had many of the same seven or eight guys in every class. We worked as a team and learned together."

Now a supervisor with Anheuser-Busch, Brandon is putting to the test many of the organizational, writing, and interpersonal skills he acquired at Hampden-Sydney College. He majored in physics, not in business or economics, but he is succeeding in one of the country's largest corporations with many diverse operations.

While the College provided the confidence-building, it also presented a few challenges, in the classroom and on the playing field: the grueling work of a major in physics and the sustained effort needed to excel in athletic competition. Together they tempered him.

Above all, though, Hampden-Sydney's liberal arts curriculum prepared Brandon for a wide variety of life and career choices, helping him to develop the skills that could lend themselves as well to a journalist's desk as to a technician's table. "Hampden-Sydney challenged me while preparing me," Brandon says with characteristic modesty. "The school gave me tools and helped me to sharpen them. I've found myself much more prepared for life after college than most people my age."