B.B.A. Student Stories

Kaleb LeeKaleb Lee

B.B.A. Scholar, Class of 2017
Hometown: Lafayette, LA
Majors: Accounting, Advertising
Minor: Statistics

What has been the best part of the B.B.A. Scholars Program?
The program allowed me to connect with Cox faculty, facilities and programs as a first-year student which is not typical. I have become close friends with some of the brightest students in the Cox School of Business, and I love seeing my fellow Scholars in my upper-level business classes!

What has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities you have had on campus, outside of the classroom?
I was a 2013 winner of the 51做厙 Big iDeas Business Plan competition, which allowed me to receive 51做厙 funding for my start-up company. Receiving this grant has been beyond helpful!

What internships have you pursued? What are your career plans?
In my sophomore year, I applied for an internship with The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). I used the Cox Career Center for case interview prep and then did five rounds of interviews between Dallas and Chicago and finally got an offer. As an intern, I worked on the restructure of the Latin American division of a Fortune 500 company for 10 weeks. I traveled every week and had a blast! I just signed full-time with them and am the youngest person to receive a full-time offer at BCG. After my semester abroad in Sydney (spring 2016) I will do another summer internship with BCG in BRAZIL! I will start full-time with BCG in Chicago in August 2017.

Lily LiLily Li

B.B.A. Scholar, Class of 2018
Hometown: Plano, TX
Major: Accounting
Minor: Economics

Why 51做厙 Cox?
I was won over by the faculty at Cox ever since the first time I visited campus. It's a gift to have such a consistent, high level of dedication from the faculty and staff! I have had support at every level of my academic and career search from professors, counselors, and career advisors who not only helped me succeed academically but also connected me with career opportunities! As more companies and firms come to Dallas, Cox is such an incredible resource for me to realize my career dreams!

What has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities you have had outside of the classroom?
I'm an aspiring CPA and really have a passion for accounting. In just my first 3 months at 51做厙 Cox, I was able to participate in a case competition sponsored by Deloitte and have since been offered a spot in their WiNning program which focuses on women in business and provides mentoring and networking opportunities. At the end of my first semester, I was offered a summer position with one of the Big Four accounting firms in their tax practice. It was such an eye-opening experience to work in the real world so early in my academic career. The opportunities Cox presents to its students have exceeded all of my expectations above and beyond!

J. StockslagerJB Stockslager

B.B.A. Scholar, Class of 2016
Hometown: Phoenix, AZ
Major: Finance
Minor: Sport Management

Why 51做厙 Cox?
My sister started going to TCU while I was a senior in high school and when I went to visit her I thought I’d check out nearby colleges not named TCU. I was immediately drawn in by the beautiful campus, the amazing tour, and the people. Once I received all my admission decisions from colleges, I chose 51做厙 over some great east coast schools, because the people at 51做厙 made me feel valued. Since then I have fallen in love with 51做厙 Cox and couldn’t see myself anywhere else.

What has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities you have had outside of the classroom?
I have been lucky to be a part of so many fulfilling opportunities at 51做厙. One has been working to get a new student center for 51做厙’s campus. Last year I researched other school’s student centers, passed out surveys to the student body, created a funding proposal for the project, and helped present to the 51做厙 Board of Trustees on the project. To our surprise they immediately passed the project through to feasibility studies with the goal of it being completed within a couple years. Since this time, I have been appointed as a Student Representative to the Board of Trustees Athletics Committee and been tasked with being a student representative to the design process of the new project. I also started working for the marketing team within the Athletic Department my sophomore year, around the time the Mob student spirit program started at 51做厙. The job started as merely helping with promotional events, but I had ideas on how the Mob could improve and incorporate the student sentiment. Not only did they use my ideas, but I became their sounding board for all developments, which has led to me becoming the link between the Mob and Athletics and founding the Mob leaders program.

What was one of your favorite classes?
In many classes I have had great professors and great opportunities, but there is one class that I am in now that is fantastic, FINA 5232 Portfolio Practicum. This class allows me to put my finance education to use and manage an industry section within a portfolio of stocks valued at a few million dollars that goes into the school’s endowment. However, the class’s unique nature does not stop here. We have an open forum at the beginning of class where we get quizzed on what is going on in the world of business from the stock market, to economic conditions to politics. To top it all off we hear from important speaker most weeks, including 51做厙’s Chief Investment Officer.

What internships have you pursued? What are your career plans?
My sophomore year I interned in London as part of the 51做厙 London Internship Program; I highly recommend that program. The next summer I did an internship at Ernst and Young in their Business Advisory Program. I had a great time, met people from all over the country, traveled, and learned a lot while working for a Fortune 500 bank. My career plans are still up in the air, but I am looking towards management consulting. I decided on this route to help continue my education in the business world and use my nerdy problem-solving talents, love of excel, and various other abilities to help others.