After international journey, Business grad finds himself back at York College for MBA

Though he now works for a huge, worldwide corporation, when Ed Crumbock ‘08 left his small, Delaware high school, he was overwhelmed by large colleges. “York College was the perfect size for me and still had the programs I was interested in,” Ed recalls.

On the way to a Business Administration degree with a concentration in Finance and Accounting in 2008, Ed took advantage of opportunities outside the classroom, expanding the horizons of the small-town child from Delaware and leading him to jobs around the world with increasing responsibility.

Now the Manager of Controlling for Corporate Services and Digital Solutions for Voith US Inc. in York, Ed traces his career path from experiences at York College. “I had an internship with Junior Achievement and was put on a project to develop a financial model for JA Biztown, which teaches elementary students about business,” he says. “This was the first time I developed a financial model. I now do more complex models, but they’re along this line.”

Classes translated to real world

A number of York College classes related to Ed’s real-world experiences. “I liked the case studies Dr. James Forjan presented in Finance class. He had a good sense of humor, incorporating Seinfeld references, which made the class more relatable and easier to understand,” Ed recalls, noting he remembers some of Dr. Forjan’s class examples in his job today.

Because York College is smaller, Ed’s professors got to know him personally, leading to his first job. “Dr. Mary Meisenhelter referred me to an opportunity at Voith,” Ed says. “I got that job and have been with Voith for 12 years.”

His first position was in estimating and pricing. “When Voith bids a hydro job, they must calculate their costs to build the turbine, the number of hours it will take, then estimate, including many variables, the total costs, their target profit, then determine what to bid.” Using what he learned from York College and his internships, Ed estimated one project for over $100 million.

Expanding his role

As he expanded his worldview at York College, Ed has widened his work experiences at Voith, moving from estimating into HR and recruiting. “I got to meet all department heads and learn how Voith is laid out administratively,” he says. “As part of management training, Voith puts you in areas you wouldn’t normally have contact with.”

Two overseas assignments followed. “I worked in the controlling department for the Hydro holding company in Germany,” Ed says. “I learned how controlling works, learned accounting rules, Voith’s internal accounting rules, and how to do financial reporting for this.”

In Germany, Ed also learned the difference between the United States’ Generally Accepted Accounting Principles and the International Financial Reporting Standards, important when working for a multi-national corporation. “Doing corporate accounting, I got to see all the different operating units around the world, how their financials differ, how their business practices differ,” he says. “I spent time with the operating unit, learning about inventory management and valuation. I also worked on project controlling, evaluating the finances of a given project.”

Moving to China, Ed worked for a turbine manufacturing operating unit. “China operates similar to the U.S. in terms of heavy manufacturing, so it was a good learning experience for when I came back here,” he notes. Both overseas assignments were great cultural experiences, and Ed still interacts with colleagues he met in both places.

Back to classes

Ed is now back at York College pursuing his MBA. “York College has a great business program, the professors have a good level of experience, having worked in finance and other aspects of business,” he says, adding the school accommodates his needs. “York College allows me to study remotely, so I can log on and participate in class. At the same time, the brick and mortar is nice, to go to a physical classroom and engage that way.”

Ed says he decided to work before pursuing his graduate degree because he wanted to get some real-life experience first to apply in class. His undergraduate experience taught him the importance of mixing the real work with the classroom. “But, as you progress in management,” he says, “you need the next step in education, to learn more about the strategic aspect of business.”