Collins Graduates First in MBA Class, Named Top-20 Nationwide
Paul Collins, who graduated from UMF with a degree in business economics, earned an MBA in finance at the University of Maine and graduated at the top of his class. Based on his academic standing, business experience and recommendations, he was named one of the top-20 MBA students in the United States by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. And based on the top-20 honor, he was recently invited by the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States and the University of Ottawa to discuss U.S.-Canadian trade policies with government officials and business owners in Canada.
Now a branch manager for KeyBank in South Portland, he oversees $25 million in assets and another $6 million in loans. For Collins, the integration of business and economics course work in the UMF degree program was a significant factor in his MBA success.
“At UMF, you get a strong grounding in economics, which requires a study of regression analysis as well as finance and international finance,” he said. “This played directly into my MBA finance classes. I was already skilled with the quantitative analysis required in graduate school. The MBA program was a deepening of what I learned at Farmington.”
At KeyBank, Collins focuses on providing businesses with a broad range of financial services, including 401K retirement plan administration, payroll management and even equipment leasing to supply companies with everything from computers to construction equipment.
Away from work, Collins serves on the board of directors for the South Portland/Cape Elizabeth Chamber of Commerce and is a driving force behind Kiwanis Club community development activities in southern Maine. Involvement with the Chamber and Kiwanis Club helps him achieve both professional and personal goals: developing business relations while doing good in the neighborhood (like organizing Kiwanis and Chamber of Commerce scholarships in excess of $5,000).
While Collins served as president of the UMF chapter of Students in Free Enterprise, his then fiancée, Danielle, served as vice president. The married couple are still partners in business as, Danielle, who graduated with a degree in international studies, is part owner of the Kebek 3 Hotel in Old Orchard Beach. She put theory to practice by earning a master’s degree in hotel management and hospitality from Southern New Hampshire University while running the prosperous 35-unit, seaside inn.
-- By Marc Glass, managing editor of the UMF alumni magazine
