Andrew Patterson ’06
Andrew Patterson ’06 isn’t afraid to chase what he wants. Sometimes that means spending years looking for it—but he’s not afraid of that, either. It’s a lesson he learned from the Morehead-Cain.
“You build a path forward,” he says.
Andrew works as director of new media for Major League Baseball Advanced Media. He’s been there for more than seven years, but it took him some time to find that perfect fit. His first job after college was at a hedge fund. His second was with an advertising network. Then he worked for a business startup, followed by an advertising agency.
“In the first four years out of college I had four or five jobs in a row,” he explains. “I was willing to jump to something new, and when I found something that I was happy with, I settled down.”
He says he was able to make those leaps because of his preparation with the Morehead-Cain.
“I think you get the most out of the Morehead-Cain when you’re a risk-taker,” Andrew says. “That’s a large part of what it means to be a Morehead-Cain Scholar.”
Andrew was the first employee working on social media for MLB, and he says he has loved the challenge.
“It’s a new field. It’s constantly changing,” he says. “I’ve been able to grow with partners and the platforms as they grow.”
That kind of fast-paced evolution is exactly why he loves his current city. Andrew lives in New York, which he calls “an adventure in itself.”
“Within a year, everything changes around you. Friends are always flying through, dropping by to visit. It’s an amazing city.”
Despite everything the Big Apple has to offer, Andrew still loves to travel. He says one of the best parts of the travel afforded by the Morehead-Cain was that early sense of freedom. As a scholar, he was surprised by the level of trust the Foundation put in its scholars.
“The Foundation gives you what I look for in a job: the chance to fail but also the opportunity to succeed. That’s a really liberating feeling, that you don’t have to be perfect, but you’re trusted with responsibility.”
For Andrew, the most exciting element of the Forum will be interacting with other Morehead-Cains—people who value risk-taking and new experiences as much as he does.
“I’m just grateful for the experience,” he says of his time at Carolina. “All the experiences I’ve had have made me who I am. I’m quite happy with who I am and where I am today. I know the four years I spent at Carolina are a big part of that.”
Photo courtesy of Debra Morrison
