Young Alumni Spotlight: Bill Yost

Today, we're excited to hear from Bill Yost, who graduated from Virginia Tech in 2013. While at Tech, Bill was awarded the Aspire! Award for pursuing self-understanding and integrity. We caught up with him recently, and he shares about life post-Blacksburg, his Keystone Experience, his Westiepoo, and vital advice about dental hygiene. 

Tell us what you’re up to these days. Where do you live, where do you work, how long have you been there, what do you do in that position?

It's been 3.5 years since I graduated, and it's been a whirlwind. After graduation, I got a job in Northern Virginia with a consulting company. I started living in Arlington VA, then DC, then Vienna VA. Most recently we just finished a move to our newest home, Denver CO.

My job title is Senior Technology Consultant, and I've been fortunate to have had some great work experiences. I focus on data analytics and visualization work, which allows me to leverage my educational background (BIT-DSS) to make some pretty fun and informative reports and dashboards. My work products help an array of end users, from operational managers to CFOs. In addition to playing with data, I have been on a number of IT Security, Audit, and Risk Management projects for about 15 different clients. I've been able to learn a lot and grow my professional network. And travel! I've been to San Francisco, Orlando, Sacramento, Phoenix, Charlotte, Toronto, and that's just off the top of my head. I also did two weeks in Hawaii for some client work - that wasn't so bad.

I married another Hokie (Megan McDaniel, HTM '13) on October 22nd of last year. We met our freshman year of college and were lucky to both find work in NoVA after graduation, and now we are living out a new chapter in life as husband and wife with our 1.5 year old Westiepoo named Arya. 

Looking back on your experiences as a Virginia Tech student, how did your time in Blacksburg prepare you for life post-graduation?

Virginia Tech prepared me in the most apparent way via my education. My BIT background gave me the skills to be both technically savvy and understand how that technology aids the larger business context, which has enabled me to be successful in my career.

In addition to that education, I had a number of non-classroom experiences that prepared me for life after Tech. My work in the Student Conduct office (as both a Peer Advisor and Intern) taught me how to empathize, communicate effectively, and how to operate in a small department environment. The Consulting Club at VT (now called the Consulting Group) gave me a jump start on creating a professional network and taught me how to act in a business context. It also gave me a great foundational network of young professionals in Northern VA, which significantly shaped my first years there.

Our Aspirations for Student Learning are Student Affairs’ hopes for Virginia Tech students. How do these Aspirations transition from your time at Virginia Tech to your time after Virginia Tech? Do you see the impact or effect of them in post-graduation life?

I'll admit, I needed a refresher on the Aspirations for Student Learning. When I opened the page and reviewed them, the most striking observation was that those Aspirations do not just apply to students - they apply to me as a consultant now, perhaps more than ever. Practicing these aspirations lead me to be a valued team member and mentor to my peers (Courageous Leadership, Self-Understanding & Integrity) and a great resource to my clients (Curiosity, Civility, Ut Prosim).

So that being said, I definitely see the impact of them in post-graduation life. And there isn't so much a transition as a constant refinement. You'll never master those Aspirations, but you can continually strive to do so.

We encourage students to live the Aspirations for Student Learning by creating their own Keystone Experience – the learning experiences, events, opportunities, and activities that define who they are and who they will become. What was your Keystone Experience?

The start to my Keystone Experience could most readily be described as a 'learning experience', however, it didn't quite seem like it at the time. I made a series of bad decisions that resulted in me being introduced to the Student Conduct office during the first semester of my freshman year. I'll spare the details, but the end result was one year away from Tech. At that age and in that position, it felt less like a 'learning experience' and more like 'the end of the world.'

I returned home to north central Pennsylvania to live with my parents, during which time I worked residential contracting. I was under a large amount of pressure to simply throw in the towel on Virginia Tech and start elsewhere, as my parents feared the year off would set me back in life. However, I really wanted to go back to Tech. There were a number of reasons, but the main one was that about a week prior to my incident, I had my first date with Megan. I really liked her. So I guess I was chasing a girl, mostly.

I returned to VT following my suspension with a new drive to succeed. I changed my major, overloaded credits for a few semesters, and was able to walk with my peers (including Megan) on graduation day. I used my experience with Student Conduct to serve as a Peer Advisor and help students who found themselves in similar situations to my own. Through my involvement with the Consulting Club, I grew my professional network and started learning about the industry I would join upon graduation.

With my incident so far in the past, it's much easier to view it as a Keystone Experience. Obviously, I would have done things differently if I could go back. But, I am quite proud of how I was able to recover from it: graduating on time, getting a good job, marrying the girl of my dreams. The actions I took and the lessons I learned during the experience truly shaped who I am today. My mentor at Tech told me that my incident "isn't something that defines you, but rather is a part of your story." That continues to resonate with me.

As a Virginia Tech alum, what advice would you give to current students?

Step out of your comfort zone. Doing so will make you successful in your career, so start practicing now. Go try that new activity you think you might be interested in or talk to someone new. And keep doing new things.

Also, brush and floss regularly. 

Do you feel you are part of the Hokie Nation? What does it mean to you?

I absolutely feel I am a part of the Hokie Nation. When I'm traveling, I typically have some piece of VT clothing on, like my baseball cap or a t-shirt. I never to fail to get a "Go Hokies!" from people in airports, hotels, and on the street. It's one of my favorite parts about being on the road - the random encounters with fellow Hokies in various parts of the country.

It also helps that I landed in an area where Tech graduates are so prevalent. Many of my co-workers are Hokies. My good friends from college mostly landed in this area, and we still see each other regularly. And I'm married to one. So, at any given moment, I am probably in close vicinity to another Hokie.

Are you a Virginia Tech alum? Send us an email at experiencevtblog@vt.edu! We'd love to catch up.