This story is part of an occasional series, Why Liberal Arts, that explores how a liberal arts education helps people grow as thinkers and leaders and opens doors to meaningful careers.

Fifteen years ago, Phillip Forgo-Hess '10 walked across the stage to collect his diploma in Blacksburg and then promptly headed to Manhattan to begin a career in advertising. 

Now, he is a creative and design consultant at Powers Creativity, a New York firm. But years earlier, he hoofed it across the Drillfield with hordes of other hardworking Virginia Tech students as he worked toward dual degrees, participated in multiple organizations, and dreamed big.  

Forgo-Hess graduated with degrees in marketing management and public relations. However, he originally enrolled at the university as a biology and chemistry major with plans to attend dental school. During his sophomore year, he realized he wasn’t passionate about his classes. 

At about that time, he watched the 2003 film “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” and felt intrigued by the character played by Matthew McConaughey and his career in advertising. Forgo-Hess decided that if he was going to veer away from dentistry, he needed an equally rigorous path.    

A visit by a guest lecturer changed his career trajectory. 

Chris Shumaker, who worked as the chief marketing officer for Publicis, an advertising and public relations company based in Paris, visited one of his classes. At the end of the lecture, Forgo-Hess worked up the courage to introduce himself to Shumaker and the two began an email correspondence. 

Shumaker, also a Virginia Tech graduate, connected Forgo-Hess with executives from several agencies. Soon after, the student bought a train ticket to New York to meet them and gather information about their companies.  He accepted a position with McCann, an advertising agency, shortly after graduation and began working his way from account management to strategy while paying close attention to insights from his mentor Devika Bulchandani, who was the company’s chief strategy officer.  

“I realized strategy wasn’t for me,” Forgo-Hess said. “I didn’t like that I didn’t get to make the stuff that solved the problems that strategy solved.”  

Luckily, the chief marketing officer of McCann saw a presentation that Forgo-Hess created and promptly offered him a role as a designer. As a result, the pieces of his career puzzle began to fit together. 

“That really kind of kick-started my design career,” he said. “I was really successful on that team. I enjoyed it.” 

After that, he built design teams at McCann and McCann Worldgroup, and later became the director of the McCann Worldgroup brand globally. Forgo-Hess left McCann for his current position at Powers Creativity. The company helps organizations unlock creativity and innovation to deliver successful business outcomes.

As Forgo-Hess looked back at his career journey, he offered some advice to current communication students. 

“Networking is the most important thing and other than that, you need to have a strong body of work to show,” he said.  

He also highlighted the importance of clarifying career goals and developing a proficiency in artificial intelligence. Additionally, he stressed that maintaining connections with alumni, particularly those who can offer career advancement opportunities, is a key aspect of effective networking.

Forgo-Hess said he learned a great deal in his time at Virginia Tech and sometimes found small chunks of his education to be more life changing than the whole, such as the guest lecture that jolted his post-graduation life into high gear.   

“Certain teachers and classes teach you how to think or prepare you to develop your skills in a way that makes you a better performer in the job market,” he said. 

Written by Emelia Delaporte 

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