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Class Notes: Porter Williams (MBA '11)

Porter Williams in the boxing ring In The Ring with Porter Williams

Porter Williams (MBA ’11) is not your typical MBA. He has a BS in musical theatre, he’s living in London, and he’s a Muay Thai fighter. Porter intended to travel the world with a theatre company, but when he didn’t get into his top-pick graduate programs, he and his wife, Erin, took some time to reflect on what they wanted in life. “We decided we really didn’t want the lifestyle of traveling theatre professionals,” Porter said.

He started looking at ways he could use the skills he learned in theatre in the business world and became a corporate trainer. In order to make a big career shift, he needed a formal business education. “Westminster was perfect for me. I liked the flexibility of the MBA program, and I liked that Westminster appreciated my unconventional background.”

A Westminster connection helped him in what he calls a “career-defining move.” A classmate who is related to Mark Newman (’05), CEO of HireVue, suggested he apply for a position with the fast-growing video recruiting platform company. In 2010, he joined HireVue as the manager of client services and operations. In June of this year, he moved to London to become the director of client services for EMEA, a European division of HireVue.

Porter credits his Westminster education for helping him see business and people holistically, a skill that not only helps him professionally, but also in the ring as a Muay Thai fighter. In 2011 Porter took a few classes at Muay Thai Institute in Salt Lake City.

“My wife got me a punch pass for Christmas. I went the day after New Year’s with everyone else, but I stuck with it. It’s one of my favorite things to do.” Muay Thai has changed the way Porter looks, feels, and thinks about life. The biggest lesson he’s learned is “failure only defines you, if you let it.” 

 

 

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The Westminster Review is Westminster University’s bi-annual alumni magazine that is distributed to alumni and community members. Each issue aims to keep alumni updated on campus current events and highlights the accomplishments of current students, professors, and Westminster alum.

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