Navigating the vast trade, commerce, and supply chains that result in technology we take for granted is something that 2003 Institute graduate Ed Brzytwa does every day.
He began to develop these skills as a master’s candidate in what is now called the MA in International Trade program. “I owe the start of my career to the Middlebury Institute,” he says. “If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t have been able to get an internship at the U.S. Department of Commerce.” His career eventually led to the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), where he was recently named vice president of international trade.
First assignment as new VP? Help bring CTA’s massive Consumer Electronics Show (CES) to Las Vegas. Consumers know CES as a peek into the future tech for everything from smart dog collars to color-changing cars to personal air taxis—all things that people may soon have in their garages or in their pockets.
Brzytwa, who organized and moderated a panel on trade and global competition, says this technology is more than just a laptop screen you can fold down the middle. “I think technology is going to solve problems—how is this technology going to solve climate change, or food scarcity? Just saying this technology is cool doesn’t cut it.”
In Las Vegas, Brzytwa took a few minutes from his busy schedule to chat with Middlebury’s Andrew Cassel on Discord. Watch the full interview below.
“MIIS introduced me to the entire field of international trade along with offering me access to accomplished alumni who were willing to help.” Annathea Cook MAIPS ’16 describes how the Institute helped her launch her career.
| by Jessie Raymond
Dean of the Institute Jeff Dayton-Johnson gave a virtual talk on the concept of freedom in the U.S. and how it can—and can’t—be measured by traditional economic indicators.
An alum from the ITED program helped me secure my internship with the International Trade Administration, and that role, above all else, helped me land my current job. If there is one piece of advice I would give current students, it’s that it’s never too early to start networking and looking for your summer internship or your full-time job.
