The Bresnahans

Samantha Weihl ’09 and Patrick Bresnahan ’09, G’14 are a happily married couple living in Atlanta. Patrick runs the accounts payable inventory team for Vallen Distribution Inc., while Samantha is a producer for CNN’s international features department.

Samantha and Patrick met at a Syracuse University football game during their sophomore year. Patrick would earn both a bachelor’s degree (information management and technology) and a master’s degree (information management) from the School of Information Studies, while Samantha was a dual major in the College of Arts and Sciences (international relations) and the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications (broadcast journalism).

As an undergraduate, Patrick was one of the first students to participate in an on-campus internship program JPMorgan Chase, a position he credits with launching his career. He accepted a full-time job with JPMorgan Chase before his senior year at SU had even started.

“My Syracuse experience has meant a lot to me, professionally and personally,” Patrick said. “Through the incredible resources at the iSchool, I was able to secure a very challenging and fruitful internship with JPMorgan Chase. Through my SU alumni connections, I landed another opportunity in digital marketing at Travel Spike. This shows the true power of our alumni network.”

Samantha attended an internship fair at Newhouse during her sophomore year at SU, an interaction that led to an internship with CNN. After graduating, she was hired for an entry-level journalism position at CNN.

“SU really gave me the foundation on which I have built my career,” Samantha said. “I really hit the ground running after graduation, and I attribute that in large part to my experiences at SU. The opportunities on campus to be involved helped me learn how to balance my time, which was crucial after college. Professionally, I felt prepared and equipped with the foundation I needed to make an impact at work right from the start.”

The Bresnahans said their favorite time at SU was meeting each other and laying the foundation for their happy marriage.