The beauty of a collegiate journey lies in the opportunity to discover one’s passions and turn them into a purposeful career.
For McKenzie Preston, ’16, that journey began after graduating from North Gwinnett High School and spending his first year of college elsewhere before transferring to Georgia Gwinnett College (GGC), a move that set the course for his future.
“I chose GGC because of its strong focus on teaching, affordable tuition and flexible course offerings, all of which made it possible for me to work full-time while pursuing my degree,” Preston explained. “During my time there, I balanced a full course load with full-time positions at JPMorgan Chase and Navy Federal Credit Union.”
Preston majored in business administration, drawn to its focus on management, leadership and marketing, areas that matched his growing interests. After earning his bachelor’s degree from GGC in 2016, he went on to receive a master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology from the University of Georgia in 2018, followed by a Ph.D. in business administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 2023.
During his graduate studies, Preston held positions in diverse industries, from business management software to real estate and even the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but something still felt missing.
“I realized I hadn’t yet found my true sense of purpose,” he said. “Through several long conversations with Dr. Douglas Johnson, a former GGC professor now at Wake Forest University, I came to see that academia aligned much more closely with my aspirations for autonomy, problem-solving and making a meaningful social impact.”
That realization ultimately led him to join the NYU Stern School of Business as a tenure-track assistant professor. He described the position as a natural fit.
“NYU and GGC both share a deep commitment to education and innovative learning,” he says. “I still remember my capstone course at GGC, where we worked in teams to run a simulated company. It was an incredible hands-on experience that mirrors the type of experiential learning I now see at NYU.”
Though NYU operates on a global scale, Preston credits GGC’s faculty for laying the foundation for his success.
“Dr. Douglas Johnson’s leadership courses were not only engaging and informative, but they also had a lasting impact on my career,” Preston says. “He has continued to be a key mentor and source of guidance over the years. I also vividly remember many of the outstanding professors whose courses shaped my time at GGC – including Dr. Jason Delaney, Dr. Eric Gresch, Dr. Phillip Hartley, Dr. Ali Kooti, Dr. Sanjaya Mayadunne, Dr. Carlos Enrique Ruiz Burgos, Dr. Luis Torres and Dr. Mei Miranda Zhang. Their enthusiasm for teaching and dedication to students left a lasting impression on me.”