For communications executive Suzanne Swistak, BS Marketing ’99, George Mason University gave her the chance to begin growing her professional and personal networks before she even entered the workforce.
After starting her college career in a more rural setting, Swistak missed the heartbeat of the Northern Virginia suburbs, as well as the closeness to the city. Her decision to transfer to Mason was the right choice.
Said Swistak, “At Mason, I really started to understand the importance of building your personal network and how that can help you both personally and professionally.”
The courses Swistak took in marketing, consumer behavior, and communications were her favorites. She developed skills in a public speaking class that have been helpful throughout her career. Swistak was also involved with the sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha, which allowed her to form close friendships and be an active member of Mason’s campus community.
After earning her degree, Swistak took on a variety of marketing and business development roles, including a position at Engineering Consulting Services (ECS), a geotechnical, construction materials, environmental, and facilities engineering firm. Throughout her career, Swistak has tried to cultivate strong relationships to create quality work projects and to forge connections to build future partnerships.
“Whenever I can have two people shake hands and make a connection that is going to be valuable and beneficial, knowing that I played a role in that is huge to me,” said Swistak. “Whether it’s for my own company and helping a client solve an issue, or connecting two developers that might want to discuss a joint venture, just helping others to make those connections is when I feel the most rewarded.”
In January 2021, Swistak was promoted to the position of communications executive at ECS, where she oversees all of the firm’s internal and external communications. Her team is responsible for supporting growth strategies and strategic partnerships, marketing campaigns for internal and external audiences, and philanthropy and social responsibility initiatives, among other objectives.
One of the initiatives Swistak is most excited to work on is an office branding program. She will look at how the 70 offices at ECS currently represent themselves, and strategize how to brand the office in a way that reflects the culture of the overall company while also incorporating local flair and art influences into the design.
Swistak attributes her early networking and career success to Mason: “I think if you’re at Mason, you’ve made a really wise choice,” she said. “There is a lot of quality programming and leadership offered that can really help propel someone’s career and education, and there are folks from Mason that I’m still in touch with today.”
Written by: Kristen Greiner, MFA ’20