First Year Friday: Spotlight - Owen Smith

This week hear from Owen Smith and about his first year (Fall 2019 start) at UNC Charlotte. It is important to get involved as a new student! Don't forget to check out tips from Dave and Ayanna too.

Name: Owen Smith  

Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina

Chose UNC Charlotte because... The Belk Scholars program and the unique opportunity to earn an acclerated master's degree in a field as prominent as Business Analytics stood out to me. Also, the many networking opportunities with Charlotte companies through the BCOB 

Major: Business Analytics and Finance

Student Involvement: Class Representative on the Business Honors Program Executive Board, Student Leader for Niner United Campus Ministry, Patron Services Assistant for UREC, Sports Analytics Club, Intramural Sports

Tips or things you wish you knew as a new student? I wish I knew that the college experience would only reward me as much as I was willing to put into it. Specifically, finding clubs and organizations that I was passionate about was difficult at first, but rewarding once I was able to find a good group of people to collaborate with. In the classroom, I wish I knew that procrastination would be my worst enemy. When on campus, I wanted to go out and have fun with friends, which led to mismanagement of my free time occasionally

Most beneficial class I've taken thus far... Business Practicum, a course in the BHP curriculum which provided me with substantial knowledge about the corporate social responsibility aspect of running a business. It showed that there is more to a business than making profits and paying employees.

Name a resource that's helped you be successful: DegreeWorks, along with my Academic and Career Coach. With DegreeWorks, I was able to plan out my coursework at UNCC and determine that there was room in my schedule to pick up a second major. My ACC was also able to point me in the right direction to what specific semesters I should take certain courses, which helped free up hours in my junior and senior years at UNCC. 

Awesome tips, Owen! Thanks for sharing with us!