Fast 15: Sam Duncan

When Sam Duncan graduated with a finance degree from the University of Arkansas on May 10, he had already accomplished a feat toward which many of his fellow grads will likely be working at least the next few months. He landed a corporate job.

In February, during his senior year, Duncan was hired as an assistant buyer in the jewelry department at Sam’s Club Inc.

He started as an intern in apparel in June and was impressed by the talent and generosity possessed by his senior employees, he said.

Many of these, including Joel Heiligenthal, merchandise director; Cindy O’Connor, senior vice president and general merchandise manager; and Michael Dodd, associate buyer; have become his mentors and also his friends.

That is part of his career plan: to make a lot of friends and to learn from them. The other part is to work hard.

Generally, interns are not expected to provide the company much return on investment, Duncan said. However, he took the role seriously and embraced the assignment given to him, which was to streamline the process of getting apparel online.

Because he hoped to work for Sam’s after he graduated, when the internship was over, he took initiative to get a job in one of the stores, working as checkout supervisor from October until he earned his promotion in February.

Duncan has a history of taking action in his career.

As a sophomore, he saw a gap in high-end men’s clothing. He noticed the brands geared toward his demographic usually either had a coastal or western flair. He wanted a style that evoked the culture of the South, which is something altogether different, he said.

Drawing inspiration from his two grandfathers, one who was a businessman and the other a farmer, he created the brand Pride and Proper. His merchandise was sold at the Squire Shop in Fort Worth, Texas, Mr. Wicks Gentleman Shop in Little Rock and Walker Brothers Menswear in Fayetteville.

But, it was not a raving success. Duncan wanted to plunge into a career at which he knew he would be great.

And now, he is passionate about gold hoop earrings — something he never expected.

He loves his job and intends to continue a career either with Sam’s Club or Wal-Mart Stores Inc. as long as possible. “I want to be with that company for the next five, 10, 15, 25 years,” he said.