Before coming to Cal State Fullerton to pursue his degree in business administration at the College of Business and Economics, Mark Wax ’23 (human resources) toured the world as a professional ballet dancer. His passion for performing began at a young age with his involvement in youth choirs and local theater productions. In 2008, he joined the Boston Ballet and launched a decade-long dance career culminating in a five-year stint with the Norwegian National Ballet ending in 2018.
“When I saw the Broadway production of ‘Cats’ in San Francisco, I was enamored with the dancing component and wondered how I could ever be involved in a performance like that,” says Wax. “I began classes as soon as I could at 12 years old. I quickly realized that classical ballet was where my heart was, and I trained intensely until I became a professional at 20 years old.”
Wax holds the camaraderie of his fellow dancers close to his heart. “It’s a very difficult life to be a professional ballet dancer, and we all make a lot of sacrifices,” he explains. “Since we all go through very similar things, we can all be proud when we come together to create a beautiful performance, and we enjoy the process in the studio as well.”
Due to the development of osteoarthritis in his right hip, Wax decided to transition from dancing to academia.
“I think the biggest challenge for me has been learning how to sit still. In class and rehearsals, you are always moving and growing through physical trial and error. In academia, you must sit still and calm your body to be able to read textbooks and study for exams,” says Wax. “Another challenge has been to temper my perfectionism and not let it devastate me when I don’t get that perfect exam score. In performances, you can hide a lot of the mistakes in ways that are imperceptible to the audience, but if you get an answer wrong on a test, there’s no way around that.”
Wax, who is 33 years old, credits the CSUF Business Honors Program with helping him move forward in this new chapter.
“Business Honors has been a lifesaver for me because it provided a specific roadmap for my journey through college. When I started out, it was very hard to see how I was going to get through all the requirements of school,” he says. “However, I received a lot of support and guidance that helped me focus on one step at a time.”
On campus, Wax is currently director of Titan Talks for TEDx and the Center for Leadership’s vice president for operations. Looking forward, he hopes to translate the teamwork and discipline skills he gained from his career as a performer into the next stage of his life as a human resources professional.
About the Business Honors Program
CSUF’s Business Honors Program has more than 130 undergraduate students divided into cohorts, with fewer students in some courses, robust networking opportunities, valuable mentoring, and enhanced opportunity for personal connections with their peers. Reserved for high-performing students who maintain a 3.5 GPA, the program helps business students excel well beyond their undergraduate years. Graduates from the Business Honors Program go on to work for companies such as EY, Deloitte, KPMG, Boeing and many others. Other benefits include a cohort-based study abroad trip that covers the global business requirement. Find more information on the CSUF Business Honors website or contact [email protected] with any questions.
