Alumni Profile: Robert Lake
Alma College graduate Robert Lake is proof that an economics major has a variety of career options.
With a double-major in economics and business administration, Lake is currently a neuroscience sales representative for Eli Lilly & Company based out of Cadillac.
"The economics degree is very flexible," the 2004 graduate says. "Many people think of a profession with an agency such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis when they think economics; my career path, however, illustrates that much more is possible with an economics major.
Attracted to Alma by the Pre-Dentistry program, Lake was able to find his true interest in business and economics because of Alma's liberal arts focus.
He is pursing a Master of Business Administration degree at Ferris State University, and hopes to continue in a marketing or management career.
"I feel that my experiences at Alma College, my practical experience and my experiences at Ferris State University make the possibilities endless," he says. "Alma College has prepared me to be capable of competing in a very competitive working environment."
Lake credits Alma's small class sizes and personal relationships with professors with his continued success.
"I sent an e-mail to Associate Professor James Mueller asking that he be a reference for the position that I presently hold," he says. "I sent the e-mail to him in 2006, two years after I graduated, and he remembered me very well and had a genuine interest in my career aspirations and me as an individual."
While at Alma, Lake was an economics tutor, a teaching assistant for Mueller, and a volunteer for Adopt-a-Highway and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Gratiot and Montcalm Counties.
