By Drew Jacobs

I recently spoke with Schuyler Coppedge, a Middlebury history alumus from the class of 1995. He wrote his Junior Thesis on the Trail of Tears and his Senior Thesis on the Negro Baseball League in Pittsburgh as a vehicle for social change. Presently, Schuyler is a Partner at Energy Capital Partners in San Diego, a Private Equity firm investing in North American energy infrastructure. He spoke of his appreciation of his Middlebury education, despite not receiving any formal business training at Middlebury. After graduation, he enrolled in accounting classes and applied for positions on Wall Street. Due to his History background, he had to convince employers to take a risk on him. In interviews, he stressed the work ethic and critical thinking ability which his history major instilled in him.

After six years at JP Morgan Chase working in energy financing, Schuyler joined Energy Capital Partners. In his present role, he leads investments in energy companies and sits on the board of these companies. Ideally, his firm will later sell the companies for a profit once they’ve been improved. While Schuyler emphasized the need for financial acumen in his work, he stressed that the skills he learned at Middlebury were more valuable. First, he spoke to the critical thinking skills instilled in him from his history degree. He must digest a great deal of information about a given company and distill this information into a coherent plan for investment. Then, like in a history class, he must communicate his investment thesis both orally and in writing. He works to convince his fellow investors and partners at the company of his thinking. These abilities were strengthened by the discussions and essays at Middlebury. Schuyler’s ability to write clearly, a skill strengthened as a history major at Middlebury, is one of his greatest assets. He is constantly writing letters and documents, and is recognized as one of the top writers in his firm. In fact, one of his responsibilities is to train the younger analysts on how to write more clearly and coherently.

Ultimately, his education at Middlebury taught Schuyler how to respectfully debate with his peers when having a difference in opinion. This ability to debate and come to a resolution serves him well today. He explained how many of his colleagues are very skilled analyzing data and working in excel, yet struggle to explain their findings both verbally and in writing. Additionally, the ability to resolve conflicts within his own firm, or the companies which his firm has invested in, is a vital skill strengthened at Middlebury. The diversity of opinion and open communication in class strengthens this conflict resolution and ability to understand other points of view. Schuyler utilizes his ability to think critically, problem solve and clearly communicate in his daily work at Energy Capital Partners, all skills strengthened as a history major at Middlebury.