It’s difficult to predict one’s path in life. There are many branches and opportunities out there, but it’s the ones you don’t expect that sometimes have the biggest impact. One example of this: my relationship with NYIT, which started during my senior year in high school in 1967. I wasn’t much of a student until then, but when an accounting teacher told me about the future of computers, I got hooked. My class took a “programmer’s aptitude test,” which I aced—truth be told, I think it was the first thing I ever aced.

Afterward, I did some research and learned about a small college that had just launched its computer science program. NYIT accepted me even though I didn’t have the best grades. In fact, I thought I was average at best.

In those days, the college had punch cards and card sorters to keep track of classes and grades. By today’s standards, it was the dark ages. But I was so fixated on computers during my first semester that I made myself a pest at the NYIT computer center in Harry Schure Hall. During my first summer vacation, I was hired to work as a student aide, which I continued to do for the rest of my college career. I minored in business administration, which, in retrospect, was the smartest thing I could have done, since it set me up for much of my career.

I was able to complete my undergraduate degree in three and a half years. Upon graduation, I went to work as a programmer for New York Telephone Company, thanks to a recommendation from a fellow NYIT student who already worked there. It wasn’t the most exciting job, but it certainly helped me develop my interpersonal and business skills.

After five years, I got my dream job at American Express as an internal business consultant. In this role, I was a representative of the computer services group and interacted with the marketing and finance departments. While at American Express, I enrolled in the weekend M.B.A. program at NYIT. Regrettably, I never finished that degree, but I did learn a great deal through these classes. At American Express, I also had the good fortune to evaluate the acquisitions of smaller businesses and realized I wanted to be more of an entrepreneur.

Eventually, I left American Express to start my own consulting practice. After two years as a lone practitioner, I joined forces with an NYIT alumna—the same graduate who got me the job at New York Telephone Company. We established the first company in New York City to sell network systems for PCs.

Then came the phone call that changed my life. My aunt and uncle called to see if I could help them with a business problem. As absentee owners of a small music publishing company that seemed to be losing money every year, they were trying to clean up the business and sell it. After a few months, it became clear that they actually had a diamond in the rough. All they needed was to reorganize and modernize to become profitable and expand their business. They offered me the opportunity to take over the company and see if we could make a go of it.

Happily, I took on the challenge. Today, our company, the Cherry Lane Music Group, is one of the fastest growing independent music publishing companies in the world. We have more than 70 employees in our New York headquarters and have offices in Los Angeles and Nashville, Tenn., as well as Canada, France, Holland, Germany, and the United Kingdom. We either own or represent the music rights for artists as diverse as Elvis Presley, Quincy Jones, John Legend, The Black Eyed Peas, Barbra Streisand, and John Denver. In addition, we have joint ventures with major brands, including Electronic Arts, the NFL, and NASCAR. And lastly, we jointly own music rights for children’s programming, such as Pokemon, Yu-Gi-Oh, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 

It all goes to show you that you may not wind up on the exact path you set out for yourself. But if you keep your eyes and ears open, take advantage of your education, and have an open mind, you may find yourself in a place you never thought possible.

Peter Primont is the chief executive officer of the Cherry Lane Music Group.