By Jess Garner, Copyeditor
Saint Leo University’s new program, “Mission-Driven Leaders: Conversations on Purpose,” welcomed alumnus Nick DeMarinis back to campus for an interactive conversation to kick off the second day of Business Week on March 28, 2022.
University president, Dr. Jefferey D. Senese, introduced DeMarinis, who graduated from Saint Leo in 2005 with a bachelor’s in business management and now works as vice president of sales at WeWork, a company that leases office space to business corporations.
After the introduction, DeMarinis sat down to speak with Saint Leo’s Dr. Mark Gesner, founder of the program, professor, and vice president of Community Engagement and Innovation at Saint Leo.
Gesner led the interview-style conversation as attendees listened attentively. The audience consisted of Saint Leo students, faculty, and guests who gathered either in the Greenfelder-Denlinger Boardrooms or online via Zoom.
DeMarinis started the conversation by reflecting on what he has done since graduating from Saint Leo. He spoke about his focus while he was studying for his master’s degree in international business from St. John’s University in Rome, Italy.
“I was getting my MBA, so I spent a lot of time on that and making sure I got the most out of not just the curriculum of a master’s, [but]also the networking that comes with it as well,” DeMarinis said.
Relationships are at the core of everything in DeMarinis’ life. “Mutual opportunity” took him from an internship where he stuffed envelopes to his respected position at WeWork “in the midst of one of the greatest comeback stories in corporate history,” as shown on his LinkedIn profile.
DeMarinis attributes much of his success to the opportunities his Catholic family and education provided him. He told the audience, “Talent is actually evenly distributed across the world, but opportunity is not… [You start] at a certain point, but the influences your family, your environment, and your community have and your experiences—they help shape who you become.”
DeMarinis considers himself an intelligent risk-taker. He explained that he often approaches decision-making mathematically by asking himself, “Is there three times the upside versus one times the downside?”
This approach, however, does not bring about guaranteed success. When asked how his values of relationships and intelligent risk-taking align with his actions, DeMarinis shared that a career on Wall Street lasted a day and a half for him. He said, “Another value of mine is to give gratitude… for even the experiences you have in your life and having that perspective, that those experiences can shape who you are.”
DeMarinis emphasized that career failures can help applicants land a job. He asks every person he interviews to tell him about the worst job they have ever had, and he looks for answers that include the lessons learned from those experiences.
Before closing the event, DeMarinis took questions from the audience on Zoom and in the boardroom. A Saint Leo student asked, “How exactly did you stand out to get to where you are now?”
“Inform, perform, and transform,” DeMarinis answered. He expressed the importance of making goals and passions known, working hard while connecting with others in the company, and being willing to step out of the comfort zone to achieve excellence.
The conversation with Nick DeMarinis was enjoyable for all. Students said the interview-style discussion and the opportunity to ask questions made the event “engaging.”
A junior and business management major, Hannah Burrows, said, “In college, you don’t know who you are. I still don’t know what I want to do after I graduate…The way he found out what it was he wanted to do gives me motivation to continue.”
Justin-Sahin Colak, a junior majoring in business management, said, “[The conversation] helped me understand the importance of acknowledging the relationships I have with others and to build on them. It also helped me to understand that it’s ok if I don’t know what I’m going to do out of college yet.”
After the conversation, a clinical psychology major and junior Noah Henry reflected on his own core values, “My top three are respect, community, and personal development.”
Instructor of Management Peter Marian, MBA, greatly appreciated DeMarinis’ conversation.
“A lot of the concepts I teach in my classes, he just completely validated in his presentation.” Marian said, “It’s always great to hear that I’m on track, teaching my classes all the things that students still need to learn.”
When asked in an interview what he would like to say to Saint Leo students, DeMarinis addressed freshmen, saying, “Learn as much as you possibly can and build as many relationships as you possibly can.”
DeMarinis advised seniors to be open-minded when evaluating their next steps after graduation.
“Be open to all opportunities. No one has it figured out. I’m about to be 40 this year and still don’t know. WeWork will come to an end eventually, and I don’t know what to do next. You’d think I would, but there’s always a journey of finding ways to figure out what your path is,” DeMarinis said.
