An Actor Finds his Calling in Business School
Dwight Braswell, a 2010 graduate, with his son Noah
He acted in an acclaimed HBO miniseries, appeared in soap operas like The Guiding Light, and even sang lead for a rock band. Now Dwight Braswell, at the age of 30, is graduating from Rutgers.
And despite his considerable accomplishments in show biz – the miniseries was Tom Hanks’ and Steven Spielberg’s World War II epic, The Pacific – Braswell’s bachelor’s degree is neither in music nor drama.
He is graduating from the Rutgers Business School on the Newark Campus, where he learned new ways of applying his singular skill for connecting with an audience. He wants to bring the dramatic flair he has honed since childhood to the corporate world and help reach a new generation of managers and employees.
“I have a knack for standing up and getting people involved,” Braswell, of Jersey City, said. “I’ve always loved the challenge of motivating people, getting them to see and understand a vision and having them get excited about it.”
He sees just such a challenge, and a career opportunity, in trying to reach members of Generation Y, or Millennials - those born between 1978 and 2000. It is a generation that some critics have derided as lacking leadership and problem-solving skills. Braswell, however, argues in his honors thesis that Millennials are creative, skilled, and motivated but tend to thrive in a flexible work environment that engages them and gives them the autonomy to make decisions and develop their own ideas.
Growing up mostly in Colorado Springs, Braswell learned a thing or two about communicating to an audience from his father, a minister in the Southern Baptist denomination who served as a colonel and a chaplain in the U.S. Air Force.
“He was very conversational and used stories to teach,” Braswell said. “When you talked to him, you didn’t realize you were being affected. It would sneak up on you. And that’s a style, if you think about it, that’s perfect for Generation Y. They are not big on someone coming up and saying ‘oh now we are going to learn something.’ ”
Braswell and his wife, Maritza moved from Colorado to New Jersey in 2004, after a drama coach noticed his potential and encouraged him to pursue an acting career. While his wife attended Rutgers School of Law–Newark, Braswell worked his way up the ladder, acting in commercials, getting soap opera parts and serving as a pitchman for a video on-demand service, owned by Starz Entertainment.
He also found the time to sing with Mere, a rock band influenced by U2. Despite a crowded playing field on the alternative rock circuit, the band attracted a following and contributed a song to a soundtrack for Team USA in the 2008 Olympics put together by AT&T.
But it was the role of Pfc. Steve Evanson in the eighth episode of The Pacific that really set his star rising. He even met Spielberg during one of the auditions.
“He took a break, and just hung out, talking like anyone else,” Braswell said. “And I’m just sitting there in awe, wondering ‘where am I?’ ’’
Nevertheless, even as he headed out to Australia for the shooting of The Pacific, Braswell was having second thoughts about his future. He had several years of college under his belt from his Colorado days, and longed to continue his education. He was also influenced by the many books on management and leadership that his father had kept around the house.
“When you are on the set, you don’t have any control. You are ‘the talent,’ ’’ he said. “The decisions are really made behind the scenes. I began thinking that if you have a business background, you can add some value. I wanted to start adding value and being more influential.”
He had become acquainted with Rutgers through his wife, and enjoyed the urban atmosphere of the university. The transition back to school was seamless, he said.
“Everybody has been so welcoming and helpful,” he said.
Braswell said he plans to return to Rutgers to obtain his MBA, and hopes to hone his management theories and prepare for a career in corporate training and development.
“It’s not hovering management,” he said. “It’s empowering management.”
Meanwhile, he has taken on a new, demanding role: parenthood. His son Noah was born last September.