Andrew Frisina graduated from Syracuse University’s College of Arts in Sciences in 2011. Since then, Frisina, who majored in psychology and minored in biology, has made good use of his education. The Wenham, Massachusetts native, who now calls the Sunshine State home is a clinical research manager, a career goal he says his Arts and Sciences education prepared him to accomplish. He also found love along the way.

We caught up with the Syracuse alumnus recently; he says the spirit of Syracuse University is still very alive and very relevant to him.

1. How did Syracuse University help you get to where you are today?

Syracuse gave me the tools to organize my professional life and gave me the education needed to get where I am today. By establishing quality study habits and good learning routines, I was able to excel in all other areas of my life.

2. How did the College of Arts and Science positively impact your life’s trajectory?

The College of Arts and Sciences opened my eyes to the many aspects of a career in both the arts and the sciences. My job is composed of both essential aspects of the College: the creativity needed to pursue novel approaches to research or even create advertisements and the investigative nature needed to pursue leads in research to identify the most relevant findings.

3. What are you most thankful for after reflecting on your experience at A&S?

I am most thankful for the attentive and creative educators who helped me to find my career aspirations and helped me pave a path to achieve them.

4. What role do you think a liberal arts education plays in achieving career success?

My liberal arts education helps to display a dynamic approach to my career. It took a while in college to realize that no job is single-minded. Even if you are in a completely scientific field, logic, math, creativity, and many more skills are needed to excel. My education helped me to experience every aspect of the skills I would need to succeed in my career goals.

5. Outside of academics, what was your favorite way to spend free time on the Syracuse campus?

I love to go to the Dome for basketball games. There is no feeling that rivals being surrounded by 30,000 fans wearing orange cheering for our awesome basketball team. I get excited walking to the Dome even as a 25-year old adult!

6. Is there anything else we didn’t ask that you’d like to share about how A&S impacted your life?

The College of Arts and Sciences helped me pursue my career in psychology and adapt that major into its finer parts, particularly research. It was only through my advisor that I realized that psychology was a big major and I needed to find what was specific about the major that I liked most. That turned out to be research and it was finding this specialty that guided me to the success in my career today!

Furthermore, if it weren’t for the College of Arts and Sciences, I would have never met my fiancé! We now share a wonderful life together and have brought a loveable little dog into our lives. Without the positive aspects of A&S and its ability to give me the tools to pursue my goals (whether personal or career oriented), I would never have had the confidence to pursue a life with another person! Because of my love for education and my strength gained from my A&S experience, I earned a master’s in clinical research in May 2013!