Greg Dobson (B.B.A.’91, Management; MBA’95)
How were you involved on campus?
RSO- Residence Halls Association, Western Student Association and lived and worked in the residence halls my entire undergraduate career.
Hometown: Quincy, MI
Current Location: Mattawan, MI
Job Title and Company/Organization: Principal & COO, AVB, Inc. a real estate development and construction firm in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Favorite campus memory: My senior year, interning for WMU President Dr. Diether Haenicke. This included my first trip to New York City.
Story
As a high school senior, I always assumed that I would attend Michigan State University after graduation. My grandfather, both my parents, two of my aunts and three of my uncles all went to MSU. However, a posting on the wall of my high school physics classroom changed my life forever. Mr. Weber, the physics teacher, had done the posting. When I asked Mr. Weber about the Paper Science program at WMU he touted its academic rigor, the high job placement rates and the hands-on learning style. I was partially hooked.
My focus at that time was to get started with college in a program that I found engaging. I was also trying to figure out how to pay my own way through college. I had found that with the Paper Engineering program at WMU. I enjoyed math and physics and thought this program would be perfect for me. Further, the tuition scholarship that I earned for the Paper Engineering program helped me understand how I could finance college on my own.
So, I made application to WMU and made my first focused visit to campus. I was able to tour the paper pilot plant in McCracken Hall as well as the printing facility in Welborn hall. Neither of these buildings even exist any longer. The program was interesting to me and while I knew little about WMU, I knew that I liked this program. The rest is, as they say history. I made application, was accepted, and began planning for a fall at WMU.