When Jack Witmer (McIntire ’25, M.S. in Global Commerce ’26) arrived at UVA, he envisioned a clear set of steps for himself: Graduate from McIntire with concentrations in Finance and IT, finish his football career, and enter the workforce.
A fifth year at school was not part of the Houston, TX native’s plan.
“Originally, I was actually going to take a job after my fourth year, when UVA Football was finished. And then they offered me a chance to come back for another year,” he says, having been a part of the team’s historic 11-3 record. But even before a Gator Bowl victory would come to pass, the now former UVA offensive lineman was looking beyond athletics: “I realized that I would love to get a master’s degree and do something else with this fifth year.”
Rather than pursue a certificate, he searched for a program that would elevate his credentials. When he learned about McIntire’s M.S. in Global Commerce (MSGC) and the opportunity to study at partner school ESMT Berlin, the decision became clear.
“I’ve never been outside the U.S. before,” he says. “That was one of my big goals: to be able to go abroad and experience other cultures in less of a tourist way and more like a local.”
For Witmer, MSGC became a strategic bridge between college and a global career, one designed to deepen his business foundation while pushing him beyond his comfort zone.
Academic Depth and Cohort Experience in the M.S. in Global Commerce Program
From the program’s first semester in Charlottesville, Witmer saw that MSGC was built to expand, not repeat, his undergraduate experience. “It added on to what I learned at McIntire,” he explains, “and filled in gaps in areas that I did not focus on 100% in undergrad.”
Global Challenges: Commerce in Context with Professor Peter Maillet quickly became “a really big cornerstone” of his grad-level learning. The course anchored the semester, connecting strategy, global management, and finance to unfolding geopolitical and economic events. Weekly executive global market presentations required students to analyze current developments and communicate implications with clarity.
Global Financial Management with Professor Larry Murphy further broadened his perspective beyond domestic markets into capital flows, trade deficits, and swaps.
Equally transformative was the cohort model. Every MSGC student takes the same classes and works through the same experiences together during the first semester on Grounds. “I definitely think this was much more of a group,” Witmer says of the MSGC coursework. “I felt a lot closer to the people that I was in this program with.”
Global Immersion and Social Impact Consulting Through the MSGC Experience
In January, the cohort relocated to Germany. For Witmer, it has offered much more than what he imagined. “Berlin is definitely an interesting city,” he says. “There is a lot of culture, art, history, nightlife. It has a little bit of everything for everyone.”
The immersion meant living within a new culture and collaborating across backgrounds, not simply visiting. Travel to Austria, Czech Republic, Italy, Hungary, and Norway expanded that exposure. In the classroom at ESMT, his Negotiation class stood out. “It really built on my skills and helped me learn how to intertwine it in my everyday life.”
The program’s hallmark social impact consulting project (SIP) will take his team to Pamplona, Spain, to partner with AM Lighting, a sustainable transit lighting company. The team is designing an incentive structure to increase adoption of energy-efficient products within global transit systems.
“We are going to be working with them to help them build an incentive structure,” he explains. “Strengthening my skills will be actually being able to input the work that I have learned here and cross-culturally navigate the boundaries of working with a Spanish company.”
That global foundation is already shaping his future. Witmer accepted an offer with international Spanish bank Santander, where he will work in leveraged finance in New York. “I love the bank, love what they are doing, and love the team,” he says.
Before he heads into his professional life, he already credits his choice to enroll in MSGC as a defining step: “This program is a great step outside of your comfort zone,” Witmer says. “To be able to go see the world in a non-tourist capacity and live within the culture and meet all these different people has been great.”
For students who want more than another year of school, the MSGC offers academic rigor, a tight cohort, immersive global learning, and real-world impact. It prepares graduates not just to enter the workforce, but to lead within a truly global economy.
