News

Josh Baltzell ’91 knows a thing or two about being a silent partner in business deals that get everyone talking.

As a venture capitalist with the firm Split Rock Ventures, he’s played a behind-the-scenes role in business transactions that have made headlines, like Medtronic’s recent purchase of RF Surgical Systems.

One thing he isn’t quiet about, though, is how the liberal arts education he received at St. Olaf College has prepared him for a successful career in the business world. He shared his experience earlier this year with St. Olaf students participating in the San Francisco Connections Program, and spoke to students on campus recently as part of the Alumni in Residence Program.

In doing so, Baltzell says he hopes to provide students with real-world insight on what a career in business actually entails.

“The education you can get at a liberal arts institution like St. Olaf arguably prepares you even better for a career in venture capital than some of the bigger schools because you are exposed to a broad variety of academic subjects and challenged to excel in how you think and communicate on a daily basis. My liberal arts education definitely contributed to my success in the venture industry,” Baltzell says, noting that his line of work requires a solid acumen for financial analysis, business strategy, and marketing — and, more importantly, the ability to see the big picture.

“You need to be able to think about how the world is constructed, contextualize that, develop a strategy, and articulate your vision,” he adds. “I honestly don’t know if I could do that without a St. Olaf education.”

The value of alumni insight
For students, the opportunity to hear from accomplished alumni — and ask questions about the career path they took — is an invaluable experience. That’s why the St. Olaf Piper Center for Vocation and Career has created a number of programs that connect current students with alumni.

The Alumni in Residence Program brings alumni back to campus to meet with students to discuss careers in a specific field. The program has given students the opportunity to sit down with alumni like Brigham and Women’s Hospital President Elizabeth Nabel ’74 and Pulitzer Prize–winning New York Times reporter Gretchen Morgenson ’76.

Baltzell has visited campus twice to participate in the Alumni in Residence Program — once in the fall of 2013 and again on September 25.

He’s also participated in the Connections Program, which brings students to cities around the country to meet with alumni and see firsthand how Oles are succeeding in all sorts of endeavors.

This February, Baltzell arranged for students on the San Francisco Connections Program to tour one of the Bay Area companies that Split Rock Ventures had invested in.

“Through the Connections and Alumni in Residence programs, students are able to witness firsthand the ways in which a wide variety of alumni feed their passion for learning and leverage their liberal arts skills,” says Piper Center Senior Associate Director Kirsten Cahoon ’98. “Students are inspired and encouraged about their own potential through these events.”

An enduring education
For students, it can also be helpful to hear from alumni how their majors or career plans changed during the course of their time at St. Olaf and after graduation.

Baltzell came to St. Olaf with plans to major in physics and math, in preparation for a career as a biomedical engineer. He eventually switched his major to economics and made plans to pursue a law degree.

By the time he graduated from St. Olaf — having majored in economics and philosophy — his plans had changed again, and he started graduate school in industrial relations. He ended up earning an M.B.A. from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management.

“It’s frequently challenging for today’s students to know what they want to be when they’re starting or even finishing college. And one of beauties of St. Olaf and a liberal arts education is that students are equipped with a broad skill set that they can use to excel in a wide range of things,” Baltzell says.

“I felt like I could have done any of the things I was interested in because of my St. Olaf education.”