MSM Alumni Spotlight: Drew Jacobson
Master of Science in Management alumnus Drew Jacobson recently joined Google as an Account Strategist. He’ll soon be moving outside of San Francisco to Redwood City, California. Jacobson shares with us how his experience in the MSM program got him to Google.
Q: Tell us about your background.
Jacobson: When I started my first business when I was 7, I knew I was hooked. There was a spark that ignited a passion that would continue to drive my path in entrepreneurship. This blossomed into helping others with their business journeys through marketing. Through the businesses I have started and run over the years, as well as my extensive list of side hustles and hobbies, each venture continues to excite me every day.
Q: Why did you join the MSM program?
Jacobson: I strived to combine my passions for people and business in my schooling. I decided to major in psychology and pursue either a business minor, double major or combined degree. I then discovered a combined degree business management master’s program called MSM which seemed to align with my needs perfectly. This program allowed me to take both undergraduate and graduate classes at the same time, which greatly enhanced my college experience.
Q: What advice do you have for those thinking of doing the MSM program?
Jacobson: The MSM program allowed me to earn my master’s degree at the end of my senior year (when most people are graduating with their bachelor’s), which was an absolute game-changer. Not only did this save me time by double counting some elective credits and finishing schooling earlier, but it also gave me more agency to customize my schooling to take classes that were more related to my career focus. This program also made difficult subjects more approachable by being a program only for non business majors, aka people without experience in these areas. I feel very fortunate to have been a part of this program and would highly recommend it.
Jacobson: While in the MSM program, I did many internships, and even started my own marketing company: ImpactCreativeMarketing.com. These were the experiences that filled my resume and prepared me for my role at Google (on paper), but during the interviews, something interesting happened: the majority of my answers to the behavioral questions were stories about my leadership in the MSM program, rather than my internships. This is because Google is a very team and collaboration-based company, and the MSM program is as well, so my experiences aligned seamlessly, even better than some of my non-team-based internships.
Q: Tell us 3 fun facts about you.
Jacobson: I narrate audiobooks for Audible, Amazon, and Apple. I stepped on a scorpion barefoot (accidentally). I lived in Israel for 3 months.
