Milgard Alumni Spotlight: Pat Bendon

Educational Journey and Career

After graduating from a regional high school and spending a couple of years with collegiate sports in California and Oregon, Pat knew he wanted to return to the Pacific Northwest to study business. He ended up finishing his business prerequisites at Pierce College and transferring to the Milgard School of Business in 2011. Growing up an avid gamer, Pat was curious to learn more about how the gaming industry brands and markets their products to consumers, which led him to pursue a marketing major at Milgard.

Through HuskyJobs (since replaced by Handshake), Pat was able to secure a marketing internship at Gensco, a local company specializing in HVAC manufacturing and distribution, which ultimately turned into a full-time marketing role following graduation. After about a year, Pat moved into a sales role at Gensco but found himself curious to learn more about the world of finance. Through casual conversations with his boss about investing, and a bit of self-study on the side, Pat turned back to the resources on HuskyJobs to land his first role at PitchBook, a financial and software company based in Seattle. This career move allowed Pat to stretch himself intellectually and dive deeper into the world of business finance, an area which was a growing passion. Six years later, Pat is now a Senior Director of Business Development at PitchBook.

The Milgard Impact

When reflecting on his Milgard years, Pat emphasized that the richness of his educational experience came primarily from the guidance and care of his Milgard faculty. Specifically, Pat recalled a memorable encounter with one of his professors, Dr. Altaf Merchant, who is now Dean of the Milgard School. Upon arriving to an office visit with Dr. Merchant, Pat recalled his professor noticing he had scribbled notes on the back of his hand in class. In response to this observation, Dr. Merchant smiled, handed Pat a notepad and pen and was instructed to ruthlessly pursue his ambitions. Pat attributes his success at Milgard to the one-on-one attention he had with Dr. Merchant and the other Milgard faculty.

Advice for Future Generations

In sharing his most important advice for future generations, Pat stressed that students should know their own value and look for a workplace that recognizes that value. He also urged students to get to take advantage of the small class sizes at Milgard by getting to know classmates and the faculty well. Years after graduating, Pat still runs into classmates all around the South Sound and often turns to this network of peers to stay connected to the local business community. Lastly, he recommends that if students make a mistake, just “be a sponge, soak up as much information as you can and don’t make that same mistake again.”