From Principia to Amazon
Chance Weith (C'16)
Area Manager, Amazon
Chance Weith transferred to Principia his junior year and immediately felt at home. Right away, he noticed how Principia faculty were highly engaged in his learning. “As much as I valued my previous educational experiences,” he says, “I found that Principia faculty were hands down the best I’d had.”
These relationships were particularly critical his senior when Chance, a business major, was offered an interview with Amazon Corporation. “My business professors helped me prepare through mock interviews and by offering advice about what to expect during the interview process,” he notes. “It was a highly competitive, one-shot situation, and I had only about 10 days to prepare.” Chance’s careful preparation paid off. Less than a week later, he learned he’d been hired as an Operations Manager at Amazon’s state-of-the-art fulfillment center in Ruskin, Florida, where he leads a team of 90 employees.
“For my senior capstone project, I conducted a strategic analysis of Amazon to learn more about the company’s metrics and efficiencies,” Chance explains. “That study will help me uphold the company’s expectations, looking at how to best allocate people to tasks on the floor, for example."
Chance appreciated the breadth of study his liberal arts education offered. Among his favorite classes were Old Testament, Criminology, Strategic Management, and Life and the Universe. An outdoor adventurer, he spent many weekends on rock climbing routes near campus and served as treasurer of the student-led Outdoor Club.