Justas Klimavicius Awarded LIBN 30 Under 30 Honors
September 11, 2020
Justas Klimavicius is a business development analyst at the Faculty Student Association at Stony Brook University, a private not-for-profi t that provides services to the Stony Brook community. He was born in Kaunas, Lithuania and moved to Shirley, Long Island in 2000. He graduated from Longwood High School in 2015. Maintaining his Lithuanian heritage, Klimavicius is very involved in the Eastern Long Island Lithuanian-American Community.
In his role at the university, he is tasked with monitoring, analyzing and improving the Faculty Student Association’s business ventures and several contracts managed within his department including a small cafe, vending services, bookstore and campus merchandise and apparel stores.
Klimavicius began working full-time at Stony Brook University Hospital in March 2020 as part of their Food Service Management, where he oversees inventory controls and is an integral role in an inventory management systems project.
Before working at FSA, he served as the president of the Undergraduate Student Government.
Klimavicius focuses a great amount of time on community service and different philanthropic endeavors. As a Brother of Pi Kappa Phi, he quickly became involved with the Ability Experience - a philanthropic organization owned by the fraternity. Under his direction as Philanthropy Chairmen, the Chapter raised over $4,000 for the Ability Experience in one year.
He received his B.S. in business administration and political science, with a minor in international studies. Now while working full-time, he is also pursuing his MBA with a concentration in management and operations.
What attracted you to your industry?
I highly value a life of service and quickly jumped at the opportunity to be fully employed on the campus I planned on attending, especially in a position where I know I am positively affecting my fellow students, peers and community members. Now, I work alongside a large production kitchen and can proudly say that I am a part of the team that makes sure all of our patients, faculty, staff and students get fed.
How has COVID-19 impacted you as a young professional?
COVID-19 has definitely made me a stronger leader and individual. I was thrown into the hospital environment mid-March, right before the peak of the spread on Long Island. I had to quickly adapt to the new work assignments with little training and a very short notice meanwhile we were all facing new challenges few saw coming. It has been very stressful but even more rewarding to be working with a highly experienced team. I have been able to build trust while influencing and improving the department.