BY ELLEN ROSSOW
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After graduating with a degree in business administraion this summer, alumnus Alex Vasichek is moving up the world after starting his own LLC.

Vasichek has been involved in the industry since 2010, when he was a sophomore. He started work at Northwestern Mutual as an intern and  is now employed at Red River Financial Group, which is serving as the jumping off point for his new LLC, NorthStone Holdings.

Like many students, when Vasichek came to MSUM he wasn’t completely sure what he wanted to do. His involvement at Northwestern Mutual actually came unexpectedly.

“When I was a sophomore in college, I played football here,” Vasichek said. “To get out of ‘study table’ you could go listen to a half hour presentation.”

Instead of participating in his supervised study session, Vasichek went to a presentation, which eventually got his foot in the door.

“At first I thought it was going to be a joke, but it turned out to be pretty awesome,” he said.

Because of his attendance at the presentation, Vasichek was able to meet with Ryan Botner, who then hired Vasichek as an intern.

Vasichek now works as a full financial professional at the Red River Financial Group.

“I look at people’s short, middle and long term financial goals, and I put them into a full financial plan,” he said.

According to Vasichek, he specializes in agriculture.

“Almost 60 percent of my clients are farmers or have a farming background,” he said.

Agriculture is not foreign to Vasichek, so he seems quite at home.

“I come from a small town and an agriculture background,” he said. “It was an easy transition for me. These are the people I like to talk to, so it’s kind of fun.”

Vasichek hails from Michagin, N.D.

While he is now quite successful, Vasichek was a self-proclaimed “terrible college student.” He gives a majority of the credit of his success to a handful of professors that really encouraged him, specifically Mark Anderson.

“He is the most intelligent man I’ve ever met,” Vasichek said. “He doesn’t do it to be pretentious or anything. He is just a really intelligent guy.”

Vasichek is also grateful for being able to know Anderson because of the real world experience he was able to bring to the table.

“He took a bank public,” he said. “No one in North Dakota can really say that.”

Even though he may have struggled in college, Vasichek is confident in where he is now, but he still feels the pressure of wanting to do well when it comes to his new LLC, Northstone Holdings.

“It gets pretty nerve racking,” he said. “You have to produce and do well.”

He is grateful for the “extremely good group of guys” he gets to work with.

Although he graduated with a business administration degree, Vasichek is full of advice for students of all majors.

“I honestly believe if you just keep your eyes open, opportunities will come,” he said. “That’s exactly what happened for me. Everything will just fall into place.”

Vasichek believes it is also important for students to keep their heads up no matter what.

“Don’t get discouraged,” he said.

Working with a vast array of people has also opened Vasichek’s eyes to the importance of doing what you love.

“If you don’t like what you’re going to school for now, you won’t like it when you get into the real world,” he said. “Do what you enjoy.”

Vasichek says it is easy to tell when people are having to work a job they don’t like.

“That’s not fun for you,” he said. “It’s not fun for anybody.”

While all of these points are important to success, Vasichek’s biggest advice is for students to break out of their shells and meet people.

“Your degree and GPA look good on paper, but in the end somebody that knows somebody is going to get ahead of you,” he said. “Get out there and network with people.”