From Candy Bars to the Frontiers of Computing

Wes Patterson is the rare guy who decided right out of college that he wanted to be a fundraiser. Those positions jumped out at him when, looking for what he calls “mission-driven work,” he was combing through job listings for nonprofits. After all, he was the school kid who sold all his candy bars and the college kid who earned his way as a salesman working on commission.

His early certitude about his career path eventually led him to “one of the most challenging and intentional decisions” he ever made: leaving an institution he loved so he could come to USC. He explains his decision this way: “I wanted to work with and learn from the best fundraising professionals, work at the most exciting fundraising institution in Los Angeles, and be in a large organization with a path for upward mobility.”

Today he’s University Advancement’s associate vice president for strategic initiatives, leading a team of fundraisers focused on raising principal gifts for one of USC President Carol Folt’s primary moonshots: the Frontiers of Computing initiative (FoC). He partners with his central and unit colleagues to champion FoC priorities internally and externally.

Now in his 12^th year at USC, Wes began his Trojan tenure at the USC Viterbi School of Engineering. Hired as director of advancement, he was promoted to lead the school’s major gift team in 2018, and three years later, completed his stint at the school as interim chief development officer.

“When I arrived at Viterbi,” says Wes, “I joined a team that was rebuilding. This meant that I could ask for and take on projects well beyond my experience. I did this throughout my time at the school, just focusing on being the best fundraiser I could and finding ways to be of the most value to my colleagues and team leaders.” 

Wes believes that the key to success is “intentionally identifying values you want to live by in your professional life, and then doing your best every day to live up to them. Authenticity, commitment to the cause, lifelong learning, building trust, doing good work and adding value beyond expectations are the mantras that I try to bring to my work life every single day.”

Wes also shares that mentors and leaders have been critically important to his professional growth — with one caveat: he tried to invest more into the relationships than he expected in return. “Having them invest in me,” he explains, “required that I was already enthusiastically committed, doing ‘good work,’ and willing to share my professional goals. Building and gaining trust was fundamental.”

It stands to reason that when Wes is off the clock, he’s coaching his daughters—not just on their spelling and multiplication—but making sure that they and the rest of their Girl Scout troop are number one in cookie sales. As he likes to boast, “No troop is better prepared to share their impact story and overcome objections than ours!”