Legacy of Excellence Alumni Profile - Sean R Fitzsimmons
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Legacy of Excellence Alumni Profile - Sean R Fitzsimmons
Sean Fitzsimmons can trace his career success back to a Commodore computer he used as an eight-year-old at Crissman Elementary.
“The computer led me and another student, Matthew Dippel, to take programming classes at Eisenhower, thanks to Mr. (Konrad) Dzwonkiewicz,” he said. “I walked out of high school and got a job at a Microsoft partner in Michigan. I met my wife there, she led our move to Texas. I made the leap from there to Microsoft and the rest is history.”
The “history” is a successful 20-year career at Microsoft, where he is now a Senior Director in Customer Success - Retail & Consumer Goods. He helps lead the team responsible for one of Microsoft's largest and most strategic retail customers.
He is a proud K-12 product of UCS, moving from Crissman to Malow Junior High School to Eisenhower High School, where he graduated in 1996.
He landed his first job in technology at a company in Auburn Hills one year after high school graduation while he worked to earn a computer science degree from Oakland University.
“I would not have been able to get a job in technology almost right out of high school without the opportunities afforded me by UCS,” he said. “I owe UCS and many of its teachers everything.”
Fitzsimmons and his wife, LeeAnn, and 21 year old son Hayden are currently living in Texas. And while he is five states away, he has participated with virtual students in the annual UCS Career Focus Day with sixth graders. This year, he will be traveling back to Michigan to take part in this UCS tradition.
“It is awesome to hear from some of the students regarding what they might want to do with themselves once they graduate high school,” he said. “Getting them to put thought into their future at such a young age is so valuable.”
It is also a way to give back to a community that put him on a successful path.
“I know I am not the only person who can say they owe a whole lot to the amazing place where we grew up and the schools that we got to attend,” he said.