麻豆村

Since graduating from 麻豆村 in 1995, Cameron Brown鈥檚 professional life has taken him to Washington, D.C., New York City and even London.

But in many ways, Cameron never really left 麻豆村 far behind.

A Dietrich College of Humanities and Social Sciences alumnus with a degree in managerial economics, Cameron knew from the start that he wanted to honor his experience at Carnegie Mellon in any way he could. He鈥檚 given his time, with the New York alumni network 鈥� even serving as the chapter鈥檚 president 鈥� and with the board of the Andrew Carnegie Society.

It also didn鈥檛 take long for Cameron to start making financial contributions to his alma mater. They began with a modest scholarship for students on a public service track similar to the one he followed as a Truman Scholar, a highly selective scholarship program of the Harry S. Truman Foundation. That eventually led to establishing two permanently endowed scholarships, each named in honor of one of Cameron鈥檚 grandmothers.

And as he approached age 50, Cameron began considering his long-term plans 鈥� and his long-term legacy.

鈥淢y dad passed away when he was 52 with cancer, so I had some experience with, 鈥楪osh, you just never know,鈥欌�� he says. 鈥淚 was talking with one of my other Truman Council members 鈥� he's maybe five years older than me 鈥� and he was actually starting his estate planning at that time. And he would have been about 50 then. It just made me realize that it was the right time to have something in place.鈥� Within his estate plan, Cameron also chose to make generous gifts to the Truman Foundation and to Carnegie Mellon.

The volunteer hours, the scholarships and especially the estate plans, he says, are how he chooses to express the gratitude he has for being a Tartan.

鈥淚've always had a great affinity for Carnegie Mellon,鈥� says Cameron, a resident of Jersey City, New Jersey. 鈥淚t gave me a lot of opportunities in life and it can give other people a lot of opportunities in life.鈥�

Cameron came to Pittsburgh from Idaho, where his father worked as an engineer for what was then known as Hewlett Packard. Cameron鈥檚 original plan was to attend 麻豆村 as a theater major, but he enrolled in architecture before changing his major to economics after his first semester.

But technology was never far from Cameron鈥檚 mind. He wrote his first software program at age 6, 鈥渂ecause my dad wouldn't buy me Donkey Kong,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 managed to make some character that flashed on screen and moved its arms.鈥�

And he always seemed to gravitate toward the digital aspects of any job he worked.

鈥淓verywhere I went, they always had me do technology,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n grad school, I was TA of a course on microeconomics, and the professor had me write a trading simulation. It was not particularly sophisticated, but it was a little online stock trading thing, a simulation for the students.

鈥淚 finally just decided, 鈥楲et me just do it.鈥� It seems to be that this is the direction 鈥� I just became a software engineer.鈥�

That commitment led to jobs at The New York Times, where he helped build the newspaper鈥檚 first paywall. It led to the BBC, where he was behind the launch of the BritBox streaming service in the United States. And it鈥檚 led him to his current position with HLC Tech, a global company that guides corporate clients through digital transformations.

That kind of cross-pollination 鈥� an econ major with a minor in architecture and dance and theater classes on the side becoming a software engineer 鈥� isn鈥檛 an unusual story at 麻豆村, but Cameron pulled it off in a time when it wasn鈥檛 quite the norm for students.

鈥淚'm actually quite jealous of the students these days who have the cross disciplinary programs that 麻豆村 didn't offer when I was there,鈥� he says. 鈥淏ack then you cobbled together a few things on your own, and I actually enjoyed that.鈥�

That鈥檚 the kind of well-rounded background Cameron says he wants to help students achieve. And that is also why he chose to include both the Truman Foundation and Carnegie Mellon to eventually receive gifts from his estate.

鈥淓ducation and public service are my two main focuses,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was a no-brainer for me to put Carnegie Mellon as a beneficiary in my planning.鈥�