Whether in the world of commerce or philanthropy, Chris Purcell ā10 is not one to waste time. Since graduating, he has already tackled three big jobs, enough to preoccupy any young mover and shaker. Yet giving back has also been front and center, and he has had the foresight to designate life insurance policy proceeds to fund a full-ride scholarship for a future Auggie.
āAugsburg has done a lot for me, and I want to give back, especially financially since I was a beneficiary of financial aid,ā he says. āAnother way is to go back and network, and I encourage my classmates to do so, too. One of the most valuable things we can offer is our networks, to bring more Auggies into good companies.ā
Purcell works for Amazon, most recently in Seattle as a buyer on the menās fashion team, but soon in New York City as an advertising strategist. Amazon recruited him from Target, where he worked after a stint handling mergers and acquisitions for a now-defunct Minneapolis investment bank.
āI saw myself going out to Wall Street, so I started out as a finance major and then added economics,ā says Purcell, who grew up in Northfield, the son of a carpenter and a middle school math teacher who strongly encouraged his educational aspirations. Recruited as a baseball player and the recipient of a Regentsā Scholarship, he loved moving to the big city and finding such a diverse, inclusive community within it.
āAugsburg feels much bigger than what it really is. You have a very small community right there on that three-square-block campus, but so much is going on all around you,ā he says. He also discovered āphenomenal professorsā such as and , found a āvery inspirational mentorā in Marc McIntosh, and treasures the formative advice he received from baseball coach .
āHe used to say, āLifeās not fair, Iām not fair, deal with it.ā Those words have helped immensely in getting me through tough situations,ā says Purcell. āAugsburg helped me build my social abilities, which is extremely important in any corporate environment, and gave me critical reasoning ability. Thatās the huge benefit of a liberal arts background. You learn things outside your main focus, and you learn to understand broad concepts as well as the specific issues youāre taught to deal with.ā
His insurance gift will help a future student, preferably a baseball player with an interest in business, learn to navigate obstacles like the ones Purcell encountered when trying to break into the post-recession job market. Despite the bleak prospects, professors, mentor and coach urged him to keep fighting until he found something. That is exactly what he did.
āAugsburg set me up really well,ā he adds. āGo Auggies!ā