“Meet 220” is a series of posts featuring staff of the Smeal Professional Graduate Programs. “220” refers to the suite of offices within the Business Building where the team is housed.

Ryan Hess, Assistant Director of Employer Relations and Recruitment, Professional Graduate Programs

What’s your role with the Smeal PGP office? 

I am just starting out as the Assistant Director of Employer Relations and Recruitment for the MBA and MOL programs. Essentially, I’ll be working with everyone from prospective students to alumni and employers, and everyone in between.

What did you do prior to coming to Smeal?

Right before joining Smeal, I worked for the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University and recruited for the Full-Time MBA program, MS- Business Analytics, and MS-Information Management. Before that, I helped open a new campus for Wilkes University in Arizona, worked as a consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton, and coached college football at Lafayette College, Wilkes University, and Rowan University. I actually coached Ben Webb (who many of you may know) when he was a Freshman and Sophomore at Wilkes.

What’s your favorite thing about your role? 

I am the most excited about the chance to build strong relationships with our students, starting before they arrive on campus and continuing long after graduation. I would love to get to know you and learn your story. How did you get to where you are at now? What do you want to do moving forward?

What’s the most interesting thing about you that we wouldn’t learn from your resume alone?

I am a huge Green Bay Packers fan! I was born about an hour north of Green Bay, in Michigan, but grew up in the Poconos. So I’m also a huge PSU fan and already have my season football tickets.

If you could trade places with any other person for a week, famous or not, living or dead, real or fictional, with whom would it be and why? 

Easy. What could be better than being James Franklin during the Whiteout week?