Meet Some of Our Finance Students

I applied Early Decision to Champlain. It's actually the only school I applied to—I don't know what I would have done if I hadn't gotten in! It has a good business program, and I really liked the small classes sizes. The tight-knit community, the classes Champlain offers, and the Burlington area all make for an overall great college experience.

I think for anyone like me who wasn't sure what they really wanted to do, the Upside-Down Curriculum really helps because you can try things out. Before I decided on Finance, I took a variety of accounting and finance classes because they're so similar. If I wanted to switch into Accounting or any other business major, I would have been equipped to do so.

When I was in high school, I didn't do a lot of extracurricular activities, so when I got to college I knew I wanted to get involved. I've been in CHAMP (Champlain Has Activities and Motivational Programming) since my first week here, and I became an Orientation Leader my senior year. I've also been a Resident Assistant, and I play intramural basketball every Tuesday. What I tell every first year is to just do everything, get out there, and try new things. Your college experience is what you make of it, so make the most of it.

The Upside-Down Curriculum is not only empowering, but it also prepares you for the real world from the start. You know in your first year if your major is really what you want to pursue in life. I have friends at other schools who are just now getting in their accounting and financial management classes. I'm able to say that I did that my first year. 

I think that the Core is very important. At first, you come into the Core with a high school mind-set, and you just want to get it over and done with. But sophomore year, we're able to choose our own Core classes. I took Ethics & the Environment, and we focused specifically on water. That was the best class I think I've had at Champlain. Not only did it open my mind to environmental ethics, but I pursued a new lifestyle where I'm now GMO-free—everything is organic.

I am a part of CHAMP (Champlain Has Activities and Motivational Programming). We put on events for students on campus, like Spring Meltdown and our Snowball Dance, which is amazing. One year, Snowball's theme was "Enchanted Forest," and it was honestly the best event I've ever been to. I met a ton of people. I thought no one would know who I was. I don't know how I did it, all I did was dance in a circle, but I pulled random people in and danced with them. People still come up to me and say, "Hey, I remember you. You danced with me!"

I am the Director of Finance for the SGA. Over my two years in this position, I learned the importance of time management and effective systems. My job was to account for and manage a budget of nearly $400,000. With transactions occurring every day, I created an internal financial management system that helped streamline the process. I was able to innovate solutions in order to optimize efficiency.

I took a finance class where we built data models in Microsoft Excel. The knowledge I learned in this class allowed me to build data models and systems as I worked at other jobs. I was able to create Excel systems that streamlined processes and analyzed data that were then used by my employers.

Champlain taught me how to act professionally, encouraged me to be a team player, and provided me with a foundation of knowledge to help propel my future career. At the end of my internship with KPMG, I was offered a full-time job post-graduation! I don't think I would have had the opportunity to work for a Big Four accounting firm if I hadn't landed the internship.

In my Business & the Entrepreneurial Mindset class, we ran a six-week simulated coffee shop competition, called BizCafe. We made weekly decisions surrounding coffee orders, hiring servers, setting employee wages, and promoting the business. We placed first out of six virtual coffee shops in our course.

The Freeman Foundation Grant allowed me to spend two months in Shanghai, China, interning at meXBT, a FinTech company that operates in a payment service provider industry, all while experiencing authentic Chinese culture. My internship experience proved to be valuable in terms of exposure and knowledge, and provided me with a cumulative opportunity to integrate all I have learned at Champlain and apply it in a practical setting. 

One of the great things about going to college in a small town is the way the community caters to students. Eateries stay open late, public transportation is convenient, and local businesses welcome their student customers. College is also a great time to be living so close to the great outdoors. Champlain has active outing clubs that sponsor free or highly subsidized trips, so students living in the city can still enjoy the natural beauty of Vermont.