Growing up in the Twin Cities region of Minnesota, an area scattered with rivers and lakes, Curt Shneider witnessed the environmental damage caused by pollution. That insight inspired him to prepare for a career in the environmental field, and beginning with his sophomore year, he came to DU to do just that.
“I’ve decided to work with environmentally focused companies because I believe we need a greater focus on sustainability if our children are to have as many opportunities as we have enjoyed,” says Shneider, whose plan to work marketing environmentally conscious organizations led him to double major in marketing and digital media studies.
“Daniels [College of Business] is helping me reach my goal through its constant commitment to ethics,” says Shneider, a senior. He notes that the subject of environmental ethics usually comes up in his classes because it’s becoming an important concern in the business world. And, he says, he’s benefited from the management and accounting classes that teach students to consider economic, social and environmental factors in business decisions.
Aside from his academic workload, Shneider also is involved in almost a dozen extracurricular activities, including serving as vice president of the Digital Media Student Group and as a British Council student ambassador—a role that stems from his Cherrington Global Scholars study abroad experience in London.
Theresa Conley, a Daniels College of Business lecturer and one of Shneider’s advisers, is sure Shneider will be successful in this field once he graduates.
“Curt is successful because he is confident and comfortable in his abilities and ambitions without being arrogant, and he contemplates bigger questions that young people often don’t consider,” Conley says. “He’s open and seeks insight from others who may have guidance, and he’s smart enough to know he does not know all of the answers.”