Anne Rogers Cammett

LeBow College of Business, Class of 1985

When it came time to go away to college and begin her studies, the idea of giving up one of her favorite pastimes was unimaginable. That’s why Anne Cammett ’85 decided to enroll at Drexel, attend class, complete her co-ops with Robert Morris Associates and McNeil Pharmaceuticals, and earn her finance degree, all while continuing to dedicate time and energy to something that she had a real passion for – figure skating.

“Since college studies and figure skating, or any sport, are so different, I found that studies and skating actually offset each other nicely which helped me handle both at the same time,” Anne said.

“Skating took my mind off of classes, papers and exams and gave me a very physical outlet for the pressures of college. Attending Drexel and the work associated with it took my mind off becoming all-consumed with what I wanted to achieve as a competitive figure skater.”

Anne presently works for Bausch & Lomb, an eye-health company based in Rochester, New York. In addition, she is an international figure skating judge and lecturer.

In her capacity at Bausch & Lomb, Anne has worked on a large customer relationship model application and oversaw the development for the sales and marketing modules. Currently, she is managing the information technology aspects of Bausch & Lomb’s Sarbanes Oxley application.

And when she’s not working to improve information technology systems for Bausch & Lomb, she’s dedicating her time and expertise to the world of figure skating.

“I was the U.S. Chair of Judges for three years and currently oversee the U.S. International Judges and Officials,” said Anne. “I was on the U.S. Task force to implement a new way of judging introduced internationally after the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City and have facilitated many judging seminars within the United States.”

This past season, she judged the World Junior Championships which took place in Sofia, Bulgaria. During the 2008-2009 season, she is scheduled to judge the "Grand Prix Final" which is in December, and also the World Championships in Los Angeles in March. The "Grand Prix Final" occurs after a series of six events have taken place around the world; the top six skaters in each discipline (Men, Ladies, Pairs and Dance) compete in this final event in Seoul Korea.

Though they may seem to have little in common, Anne actually finds many similarities in her two chosen career paths. One major similarity, she says, is that she works with people on an international level.

“I judge and work on technical aspects of skating with individuals from all over the world and I also have contact with other Bausch & Lomb employees worldwide on a daily basis,” she explained.

Anne said that she found it especially interesting that when she was implementing a new judging system in the U.S. for figure skating, she was also implementing a new system at Bausch & Lomb.

“And with both, I needed to manage both short and long-term tasks,” she said.

Ann says that one of the most valuable lessons she has learned in both of her careers is to be open to change and new ideas and to be flexible with changing priorities.

She credits her education at Drexel with teaching her teamwork through various classroom assignments and with teaching her how to adhere to deadlines - both of which are traits essential to success in her professional life.

“The most important area that Drexel helped me develop was to become a public speaker and a teacher,” she said. “Although I skated in front of large audiences, I was terrified to speak in front of people. But through several classes in different subject areas at Drexel, I learned to be comfortable with public speaking.”

She went on to say that interviewing for co-ops taught her how to interview, to be succinct, get her ideas across quickly and attempt to connect with people in a short time.

Now, more than 20 years later, Anne is still maintaining a balancing act – only these days it’s among work, figure skating, and being a wife and a mother.

“Aside from figure skating, my hobbies include spending time with my children in their activities and helping them with their homework!”

Anne lives in upstate New York with her husband of 15 years and her two children, Ben and Megan.