Tiger Tuesday: a Q&A with Josh Bregman
This article is part of a series introducing you to our Tigers.
By Megan Bradshaw on June 19, 2017
Josh Bregman, 鈥�19 / business administration major with a minor in entrepreneurship
Tell me about where you鈥檙e from.
I鈥檝e moved around quite a bit. I don鈥檛 have one place I call home. I鈥檝e lived in Chicago, Brazil and Maryland鈥擨鈥檝e gotten around. That comes with pros and cons. But I鈥檝e been blessed with a life of travel and I wouldn鈥檛 trade that for anything.
Where was your favorite place to live?
It really took me moving back to the US before I realized how amazing that experience was. It鈥檚 kind of a shame because I didn鈥檛 fully appreciate what I was getting down there [Brazil]. I got to travel all over. I鈥檝e been to the Amazon rainforest and swam in the Amazon River with pink dolphins鈥攕tuff people dream of doing. I took complete advantage of it, but I didn鈥檛 realize how great it was until I moved back here.
Tell me about your family.
I have two parents and two little sisters. I really owe everything to my parents. They鈥檝e taken me all around the world, they鈥檝e given me the best life possible and they鈥檝e pushed me every single day to do the best I possibly can. If I suddenly came into the lottery鈥攖here鈥檚 no question鈥攅verything would go to them. My mom is a special ed teacher. That鈥檚 gotta be one of the hardest jobs. And my dad is a vice president that owns a bunch of universities around the world. They鈥檙e really inspiring. They鈥檝e taught me what it is to work hard, stay motivated and be disciplined.
What made you choose 吃瓜网?
For me it actually came down to opportunity cost. 吃瓜网 was actually my second-to-last choice out of eight schools. It came down to the University of Georgia and 吃瓜网. I had to ask myself, 鈥業s the degree I鈥檇 get from Georgia really worth eight times the one I鈥檇 get from 吃瓜网?鈥� I think you know my answer. I love it here; I have no regrets. I wouldn鈥檛 want to be anywhere else.
What made you pick your major?
I heard the stat that 90 percent of Americans work for someone else. I understand how tough it is to find a job and when you do, it鈥檚 not always guaranteed security. I chose entrepreneurship because I want that autonomy in life. Honestly, the biggest thing is for me I want to be able to look at my [future] kids and never ever have to say 鈥業 can鈥檛 come to your basketball game because I have to go to work.鈥�
Also, I worked in a restaurant in high school. I was a bus boy, and I was working so much harder than the next guy. And we were getting paid the exact same thing. I looked at myself and said 鈥楾his isn鈥檛 fair. I want to be paid for the work I鈥檓 doing, not working twice as hard as the next guy and us getting the same paycheck at the end of the day.鈥欌��
What attracted you to entrepreneurship?
Entrepreneurship allows me to build my passion. No one has said 鈥榟ere鈥檚 your dream job.鈥� You have to build it yourself, and that鈥檚 what I鈥檓 willing to do. This past summer, I worked for a marketing firm six days a week, 10 hours a day. I was doing door-to-door sales, and I loved it. I know that doesn鈥檛 sound very sexy, and I don鈥檛 think too many other people would like it. I was in an entrepreneurship training program, so it really gave me the idea of how hard you have to work and what you have to do to run your own company.
What do you do for fun?
I鈥檓 an avid runner. I鈥檓 a firm believer that you have to be physically healthy to be mentally healthy; you can鈥檛 be one without the other. So I鈥檓 also a very avid reader. Those are probably my two main hobbies, but I love playing the guitar, I love fishing, and I love sports, mainly basketball. I love TedTalks. I watch them all the time.
What鈥檚 your favorite class or professor?
My favorite professor is Sam Leppo; he taught micro-economics for me. I didn鈥檛 even do that well in his class but by far the best teacher I鈥檝e ever had. The man is incredibly passionate about what he does here and that translates. You can tell he loves what he does. He鈥檚 really good at it.
What is your favorite thing about TU?
For me it鈥檚 gotta be the Greek life. That鈥檚 probably what I鈥檓 most involved in here. I鈥檓 vice president for recruitment for the Inter-Fraternity Council (IFC) and vice president of my own fraternity, Pi Kappa Alpha. Absolutely love it. I met my best friends. It鈥檚 so cool walking around campus getting high fives and handshakes in every building just because you know someone. Everyone in Greek life here, since it鈥檚 not that big, knows everyone, so I feel like I have a small community that I鈥檓 a part of. Plus there鈥檚 always events going on. My weekends are jam-packed. It鈥檚 given me some amazing opportunities. I really think the coolest part about it is that as I move up, I鈥檓 able to help the younger people move up too. I鈥檓 able to say, 鈥榣ook, here鈥檚 what I did and here鈥檚 another cool opportunity you should check out.鈥�
What are your plans for the future?
[My work last summer] really gave me a foundation for what I want in a career and what I want to do with my life. The plans for the future are to just keep trying other things and worse comes to worse, I find out I don鈥檛 like something. But it鈥檚 really cool I鈥檝e found something I like so much already. It鈥檚 really been a great experience and I can鈥檛 thank them enough. I just can鈥檛 wait to see what the future holds for me.