After graduating with his finance degree from Newman University, Grant Sacket ‘21 was left at a crossroads.
“I had been turned down for several internship roles before ever getting an interview despite my academic performance,” Sacket explained.
Associate Professor Larry Straub, DBA, knew Textron Aviation was hiring, and arranged a dinner with his son — a Textron employee — and Sacket.
“My son (Brantley) could see what a sharp young man Grant was and began to advocate for him on a couple of jobs,” Straub explained. “It is very important to note that … all he or I can do is get people in the door (on our best day); Grant did the rest of the heavy lifting.”
Straub said Sacket “killed it” in his interviews and even used his collegiate soccer experience as an advantage in sharing his brand/identity.
Sacket had countless opportunities for personal growth as a student-athlete on the Newman University men’s soccer team. After enduring a season-ending soccer injury his first year, Sacket walked away knowing how to overcome adversity, take risks and push himself further than he knew possible.
“Perhaps most importantly though, I learned more about how to interact with people,” he said. “Leading by action, holding yourself and your teammates accountable and understanding how to motivate the people you are marching towards a common goal with are invaluable traits to have in any setting.”
Textron Aviation hired Sacket in June 2021 for a finance business partner role to support the engineering team. There, Sacket built monthly, annual and long-range forecasts for the engineering leadership team. He also built financial models and presented business cases for different or new aircraft changes/enhancements.
Sacket’s work gave him the experience to score a job at Koch Industries in 2023. He started working for Koch Engineered Solutions, and then transitioned in January 2024. to Koch Capabilities.
“(I’m now) the senior financial analyst in the shareholder support space, and the most rewarding aspect of my job is that I get to grow and learn every day. I am also surrounded by an incredibly bright and collaborative team,” Sacket said.
A ‘Degree of Difference’ at Newman University
Years earlier as a high school graduate, Sacket had another decision to make.
“I spent some time contemplating whether I wanted to pursue an engineering degree or a finance degree. With the breadth of opportunity being abundant in both fields, the ability to play soccer at the next level is what ultimately led me to Newman,” he said.
Scholarships and the ability to transfer advanced standing credits gave Sacket a sense of security that drew him into his first year at Newman University. The one-of-a-kind community kept him there.
He also experienced passionate, dedicated professors in several classes.
“I had a few professors that I could tell from day one were extremely passionate about developing their students,” he said. “Newman is blessed to have people like Professor (Patrick) Nance and Professor (David) Cochran — both highly technical in their respective fields and both very willing to take the time to help students absorb and understand the material.”
He also acknowledged Straub for his understanding of a holistic business education.
“He taught me the ability to adapt and constantly develop/stretch one’s skillset and strategy, and one’s ability to build and grow their relationships,” Sacket said.
Straub teaches all his students in the School of Business and Technology about “strong vs. weak tie relationships” and the importance of both.
“It is weak tie relationships that many times result in getting us over the hump with jobs,” Straub said.
Straub said that while it’s great when students can utilize their Newman connections to help secure internships and jobs in the workforce, “you can’t necessarily count on it.”
“That’s why we require all of our business and technology students complete at least one internship while at Newman, which accomplishes two things: it gets them thinking about jobs earlier in the process and it gives them experience pounding the pavement,” Straub said.
Advice from experience
Just as Sacket received invaluable advice from Newman faculty, he has his own advice to share with current students.
“Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Have a plan, do your research and attack the goals that you set for yourself — in whatever setting that might be. Be careful not to shut doors of opportunity because of a fear of being uncomfortable, a seemingly challenging learning curve, or a general hesitancy when it comes to making new connections. Lastly, know your opportunity costs when it comes to making decisions in your life. Understanding this will help you be deliberate when investing in things that provide the greatest value to you in your life.”
Have a plan, do your research and attack the goals that you set for yourself.
Grant Sacket
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