Elizabethtown College alumnus Ted Delgado is a prime example of Etown’s motto, “Educate for Service.”

He graduated from the College in 2001 with a Bachelor of Science degree in international business with concentrations in marketing and finance and Magna Cum Laude honors. In addition, he is also a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant and Certified Financial Manager.

Delgado is currently a financial planning and analysis manager in the international division and supervising senior auditor for the Hershey Company. In addition to working for Hershey, he currently serves the International Business Advisory Board here at the College. Despite having a career that takes up the majority of his time, he frequently comes back to the College to serve on the board and give back to the community.

Delgado was born in Russia, but moved to Ecuador when he was only two. He spent his childhood and adolescence there and then moved to the United States to study as an undergraduate at Etown.

While studying here, Delgado was a student worker in the College’s marketing and public relations office. He considers this to be one of his favorite memories while he was a student. He believes that with this opportunity the College provided him a job that offered a good opportunity to get a solid understanding of the real life workforce experience.

While reflecting on his time as a student at Etown, Delgado said the College’s international business program helped him achieve success as an employee at Hershey. While enjoying his time here, Delgado worked hard and made sure he mastered an essential skill, time management, to effectively complete his work. “The international business program was great for me and is a great program. I got to work with some great people,” he said.

Of those great people, Delgado believes the professors are among the ones instrumental in developing his success. He believes they were helpful, taught him a lot and were overall welcoming people. “The professors here at Etown are special,” he said. “They always make time for students who need or want help. Not a lot of colleges and universities can say that about their professors. It’s what makes Etown not only a special college, but a great one.”

After graduating from the College, Delgado earned a position at Hershey. He began as an auditor and financial manager. Over time, his hard work paid off as he was able to work his way up and get promoted to his current position.

Delgado enjoys working as a financial manager and auditor at Hershey. He likes that his job provides him opportunities to work cross-functionally with people of different expertise. Delgado enjoys being able to work with many departments at Hershey. However, despite all of that, he does not consider it the most rewarding aspect of his job. “The most rewarding part of my job is working with people of different cultures and backgrounds,” Delgado said.

In addition to working with people of various backgrounds, Delgado loves traveling the world. The one destination he thinks of as his favorite is the Cayman Islands. Despite his enjoyment of traveling to different areas, he tries to return to the Cayman Islands every year. While there, he particularly enjoys diving, but also participates in other leisurely activities.
When Delgado is not working, he enjoys participating in a wide variety of activities. The ones he enjoys most are spending time with family, hanging out with friends, going for runs, taking walks and playing with his three Shih Tzus. He is also musically inclined and plays the guitar in his free time.

Delgado is currently working on his Masters of Business Administration at Penn State, and will finish his degree in August. “If I had the opportunity to do school and my career all over again, one thing I would change is probably to be getting my MBA earlier,” he said.

For those graduating and completing their degrees, Delgado has some advice to offer. “They should focus on getting a good internship,” he said. “But the most important thing is that I would recommend that they primarily focus on keeping those grades up. They should not slack in any class or semester. Their GPA will matter a lot, especially when applying for their first job after college. That is the first thing they will see.”

Through his success and dedication to advancing himself in every aspect, Delgado has put a positive mark on Etown, and is a model alumnus who students can follow.