The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

The Student News Site of Utica University

The Tangerine

Ryan Suwek constructively manages school and a career

Rylee Meelan, Staff Writer

 

Finding a full-time student who has his own successful business is pretty rare. But for sophomore Ryan Suwek, majoring in construction management along with having a jam-packed schedule of classes and managing his own business is exactly what he wants.

Suwek, a 2015 Whitesboro graduate, decided to stay local to further his college education. Ever since Suwek was a little kid he thought that becoming a physical therapist was his dream. When he came to Utica College, Suwek was a health studies major and it wasn’t until halfway through his first semester when he realized he wanted to pursue a degree in construction management.

Once he changed his mind, he was certain that construction management was the perfect major for him

“I started working in the construction field while I was still in high school,” said Suwek said. “After graduating high school I started to realize construction was what I wanted to do, but I needed to get an education first.”

Being so close to home, Suwek is able to attend his classes while running his own business. He already had close ties with Utica College, because both his sister and aunt graduated from here. Although it is close to home, it doesn’t feel like he is five minutes away from home while he is on campus.

Suwek started his career in the carpentry business after four and a half years of working behind many different carpenters. Once he was able to see what it is like to run your own business he wanted to one day have his own.

But he wasn’t sure if running it all on his own was the way he wanted to go or not.

Most college jobs are flexible but Suwek found that being a carpenter and operating your own business wasn’t going to be as flexible. A close friend of his has his own concrete masonry business and looked to him for inspiration. He shared his knowledge about what owning your own business involves and pointed him in the right direction to be successful.

“I went and got my business license and it all took off from there,” Suwek said.

He hopes to break away from his current status of being a general remodeler and builder to start developing land for housing.

“I would really love to grow into more than a small general contractor,” Suwek said.

In his short time running his business, he has been quite busy and proud of what he has accomplished. He has completed many projects and left his customers extremely satisfied. Starting your own business in this profession can be tricky because there are so many other businesses like it, but being a dedicated, full-time student while running his own business makes him quite the standout contractor.

“I hope to one day be able to give back to the construction management program by being someone who can employ the up and coming construction managers,” Suwek said.

From installing sliding doors, reconstructing a kitchen, installing floors and anything else Suwek is dedicated to give you his best work.

Starting out on your own can be difficult but he is figuring out his ways into making his business the most successful it can be one job at a time. His young age isn’t deterring him from finding customers because being a full-time student is enough for some but Suwek has gone above and beyond to better himself and his career.

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