Our latest addition to our series of Alumni Council Q&As features Council Secretary Matt Carlisle ('88).
Q: When did you graduate from Waynesburg University, and what was your major?
A: 1988, B.S., Business Administration
Q: Where has life taken you since graduating from Waynesburg University?
A: I have been in the investment management industry my entire career and have lived in Raleigh, Charlotte and now reside in the Tampa Bay area. I have been married to my college sweetheart (Mila McNay) for the last 30 years and have three wonderful adult children.
Q: What is your current job/title, and what is your current location?
A: Senior Vice President with TCW Group, which is a global investment management firm based in Los Angeles. As I travel throughout the southeast, I have flexibility as to where I can live and have settled in Clearwater, FL.
Q: Can you describe your typical day?
A: I focus my efforts working with independent investment advisory firms and select endowments/foundations across the southeast. Our firm manages fixed income investments, which is a vital part of any investment portfolio whether it be an individual’s or a university’s endowment.
Q: Can you describe your time as a student at Waynesburg and how it shaped you as a person?
A: My time at Waynesburg is filled with many fond memories of both the student body and faculty. I learned to be self-disciplined, to think independently and to always be guided by honesty and integrity.
Q: What is your favorite memory as a Waynesburg student?
A: Spending time with the very people who would become my life-long friends and of course meeting my future wife!
Q: Who was your favorite professor at Waynesburg, and why?
A: My Finance professor, Dr. Ramano, and my History professor, Dr. Holleran. The former was a very passionate man who demanded that we give our all and instilled in us the desire to be great and not just good. He is one of the reasons that I am in the industry I am in. As for Dr. Holleran, he definitely fueled my life-long obsession with reading and learning about U.S. and world history.
Q: Why is staying connected with your alma mater important to you? What does your role as an Alumni Council member and officer entail, and what motivates you to give back to the University in this way?
A: My time at Waynesburg helped shape me as a person and provided that springboard into the business world. It is both an honor and a privilege to be afforded the opportunity to attend college. By engaging with my fellow alumni, we can all work together to support the University’s mission and further strengthen the ties between the university, the students and the alumni. Now that I am in the later innings of my career and my three children are now all out on their own, I felt it was time to re-engage with the university in a more significant way.
Q: What advice do you have for current students? For recent graduates?
A: Determine your long-term goals for both career and family, and then work hard every single day toward achieving those goals. Achieving these goals is a journey with many starts and stops. Never give up, and be sure to learn from your mistakes as they are inevitable. And finally, always do the right thing… even when no one is watching.