This is the 69th article in Bears Doing Big Things, a weekly column celebrating the stories of notable M-A alumni.
Chris Abramson ‘68 majored in history with plans to become a lawyer until he discovered his love for helping people after working at an academic resource center and then developing his career in human resources. Abramson lived on Valparaiso Avenue and moved to Lindenwood at a young age.
Now, he volunteers weekly at the Atherton Historical Association. Last fall, he put together an exhibit on the history of Atherton schools for the Town’s Centennial celebration. After his Tuesday volunteering, Abramson gets Chinese food and drives through Lindenwood. “I love the history, it’s just got tremendous memories for me,” he said. He also wrote a piece recently for the Lindenwood Homes Association detailing its history and his time there.
Abramson was on the swim and water-polo teams at M-A. He and a friend from swimming also joined the cheerleading team. “We thought it would be a kick to be male cheerleaders. We had a blast going to football games,” he said.
Growing up, Abramson always wanted to be an attorney. Lacking the funds for out-of -state tuition at the University of Oregon, he attended Cañada College and then transferred to UC Davis. He said, “My classmates and I were the first ones to attend Cañada in the fall of 1968. They were still paving paths and planting trees.”
Abramson graduated from UC Davis with a degree in history. There, he began to find his true passion coordinating academic internship programs for students. “That got me into career planning and placement,” he said, “which ultimately got me into a career in human resources.”
Counseling students taught Abramson how many different paths students can take to find what they’re passionate about. “For some people, it’s fine to be locked into a specific career direction. It’s also great to have a myriad of different experiences to help you focus on what it is that you’re really interested in. I didn’t think I wanted to go into human resources until I started career advising,” he said.
Abramson spent the bulk of his career in Human Resources working at Coopers & Lybrand, an accounting firm which became PricewaterhouseCoopers, then later at several other professional service firms. His responsibilities ranged from interviewing and recruiting college students to managing performance programs—where he would assess employees for promotion, compensation and training.
Looking back, Abramson’s time studying history—mainly U.S. history—in college showed him that people can improve situations by coming together, whether working with leaders or through community organizations. With that template, he said, “I could identify issues and work with groups to solve them or achieve progress towards specific goals.”
Abramson recently started a podcast, Note The Past, where he interviews guests about anything from music to sports. “I always wanted to be in radio, doing a podcast is as close as I can get.”
Abramson’s advice to current students: “Get involved. Join clubs and athletic teams or be a part of plays—activities that will help shape your interests. A key to a satisfying life is having experiences that can help you decide what it is you’re interested in, and what it is that you’re not interested in. If you don’t explore you’ll never know. In high school, take advantage of all of the great things that M-A has to offer and get out of your comfort zone.
For students interested in a career in human resources: “Find out who the HR professionals are near you and companies that you might be interested in. What is the organization? What’s the product or service that they provide? What are the job opportunities and career opportunities? Think about what it is that you’d like to focus on academically and in internships.”
