Name: Andrew Peterson
Hometown: Glenview, Illinois 
Current Location: Austin, Texas 
Graduation Year: December 2017
Degree: BS in Communication Studies; minors in history and Japanese
Current Job: Headhunter, GLG Gerson Lehrman Group 

New Major, New Trajectory 

Andrew Peterson came to Texas Christian University with a plan. He was going to major in health and fitness, join a fraternity and start his own gym in Chicago. However, when Peterson switched his major to communication studies his sophomore year, the trajectory of his life changed. Today, Peterson is a Bob Schieffer College of Communication graduate working in Austin, Texas, as a headhunter at GLG Gerson Lehrman Group and couldn’t be happier.  

Peterson was born in England and lived in Tokyo for five years before his family settled down in in Glenview, Illinois, 20 miles north of Chicago. Leaving TCU, he thought he wanted to return to Chicago to open a gym and be a personal trainer. After a year and a half of personal training, Peterson realized the part of his job he loved the most was the sales aspect. “I didn’t feel my education and skills were being fully utilized in my role as a personal trainer. My favorite part of the job was convincing people to sign up with me—it was what I was best at,” he said. 

Upon this realization, he started applying to jobs in sales, ultimately receiving an offer in Austin. Peterson loves living in Austin. “The culture here is fantastic. There’s stuff to do… festivals, street fairs, hiking, rock-climbing—it’s a very warm and welcoming culture.” Even better, he loves his job and talked about how if he hadn’t switched over to communication studies, he wouldn’t have the foundation and skillset that helped him in his career. “Learning how to argue and present my points helped me a lot in sales,” he said. 

Peterson said a communication class he took about effective leadership at TCU was one of his most helpful classes. “I still have the book that I bought for that class about how to communicate as a leader.” He said another valuable skill came from a communication class about current events. “Learning to read your audience and how to present your points is important to know right now no matter what job you’re in.” 

Peterson has sharpened his soft skills since being in the working world, and he had some advice for current students. “It’s so important to not get caught up in the obstacles in front of you right now. Don’t let them overwhelm you because even though you are stressed now, when you look back, these things won’t be important anymore. I used to get frustrated with temporary issues and learning to manage stress and expectations helped put things into perspective for my long-term picture,” he said. “Is it going to matter in five years? Most of the time, the answer is no.”  

One of Peterson’s favorite hobbies is reading, and he wanted to share two books that he believes everybody should read: “The American Spirit” by David McCullough and “Unbroken” by Laura Hillenbrand.

All in all, Peterson in very thankful for his time at TCU and is especially grateful for his time in the Bob Schieffer College of Communication. It excites him to think about the skillset that today’s TCU students are building and what they will be able to do with their futures after graduation. Peterson’s hope is that this story, his story, will help today’s graduates become excited too.