Craig Vollmer, B.S. '08
Business Administration, Marketing
For alumnus Craig Vollmer, his college experience didn’t take a typical path. His path was one of a working adult who was able to learn, grow, and evolve all while studying at the Merrick School of Business.
Vollmer, a 2008 graduate and marketing major, had maturity on his side during his pursuit of a bachelor’s in business administration. While in school he worked full-time at the global investment management company, T. Rowe Price—gaining practical work experience that helped him in the classroom.
“My college experience wasn’t typical,” said Vollmer. I found one of the most helpful benefits was being able to learn and apply classroom concepts immediately to my various roles at T. Rowe Price. People often say that graduate degrees are working degrees, but I can confidently say that my undergraduate education was very much a working degree.”
A transfer student from Carroll Community College, Vollmer knew UBalt was the ideal fit for his career and life experience.
“UBalt is a university that values working adults and understands the demands placed upon them, daily, while pursuing a bachelor’s degree,” Vollmer stated. “That’s an important distinction because it’s very difficult to balance career and educational goals. UBalt provided me with an opportunity to accomplish one of my life goals, which was to graduate from college.”
Perhaps Vollmer’s fondest UBalt memory was writing a research paper entitled “Conceptual Paradigm for Internet and Search Engine Marketing”with marketing professors Michael Laric and the late Peter Lynagh. He shared personal connections with several professors, learning lessons inside and outside the classroom.
“I discovered that collaborating with my professors and publishing research was an invaluable and unique experience. This is a wonderful example of what differentiates UBalt. It demonstrates that faculty will truly support you, if you have drive, an interest, and a willingness to learn.”
Today Vollmer has been working for T. Rowe Price since 2000.He is currently a lead manager in Product Marketing (Fixed Income Investments). His primary responsibilities include investment (integrated) campaign development, investment training and education, and enterprise initiatives (SME). He devotes part of his time leveraging research and/or ideas at T. Rowe Price with academia and other financial services firms.
“My job is hybrid role of investments and marketing. I get a really good mix of interactions between collaborating with our investment professionals, while working with other marketing managers to effectively tell the T. Rowe Price story (or perspective) to institutional investors.”
The recently married alumnus and graduate student at a local university does return to campus once in a while to help with the professional growth of our current students. One job-hunting secret he believes all undergraduate students should recognize it that finding a job takes patience and networking. He emphasized that students should fully optimize internships, mentors, and social media (e.g. LinkedIn).
When asked about how attending UBalt has helped his career Vollmer explained how the Merrick School of Business helped him build out his business tool belt.
“I’m better equipped to solve a multitude of business problems and challenges in my career since attending UBalt,” he said.
This Merrick School of Business alumni profile was added in September 2012.
Follow up note to Vollmer's profile. He was promoted to Assistant Vice President at T. Rowe Price in December 2013.