Posted on December 1, 2011 by Christi Fish
100beststudents
The College of Business recognized the 100 Best business students during a reception Tuesday night attended by university administrators, alumni and business and community leaders. With over 5,000 undergraduate students in the College of Business, the 100 Best Business Students epitomize the top two percent of all business students in the college.
“The College of Business has placed a renewed focus on academic, professional development and career services for our students,” said Dean Lynda de la Viña . “We are transforming business students into business professionals. And, as this event showcases tonight, this has been a success.”
Honorees were junior and senior business majors who were nominated by faculty and staff. The students were chosen based on their record of outstanding academic achievement, leadership and professional development. Each student received a lapel pin that denoted their honor and will serve as ambassadors for the college.
“Tonight we celebrate excellence in our student body and recognize the top business students and perhaps the top students at UTSA,” said President Ricardo Romo . “UTSA is providing enriching educational experiences for our students that result in student success.”
As a group, the 100 Best have an average grade point average of 3.7. One third of the students are members of the Honors College and participated in the college international immersion program. Ten percent of the students are veterans or serve in the Reserve Officer Training Corps and 70 percent of the students completed an internship or held a professional position while also being active in a student organization.
Representing this distinguished class of students four of the honorees shared their personal stories. Student speakers were Andrea de la Garza , a junior majoring in finance; Lakecia Pitts , a senior majoring in small business and entrepreneurship; Mario Telles , a senior majoring in economics; and Derek Trimm , a senior majoring in real estate finance and development.
“Attending UTSA as a second generation Roadrunner has proven to be the best decision that I could have possibly made,” said de la Garza. “UTSA is more than just a university. For me, UTSA represents pride in one’s city, home and culture.”
Telles shared how the college’s Center for Student Professional Development prepared him for a recent grueling interview with the FDIC in Washington, D.C. Following a three-day interview, Telles was one of 23 individuals nationwide selected for a position as a financial institution specialist with the FDIC. “This experience was a good measure of everything I had learned as a student at UTSA. The assessments were difficult, but since I had performed similar tasks as a student I felt comfortable, confident and prepared,” said Telles.
“The UTSA College of Business has been an unbelievable home and resource for me,” said Trimm, the former president of the student body. “From the staff in the CSPD to the awesome counseling and professional coaching to the great professors in the Real Estate Finance and Development program, my educational experience has truly been an unmatched investment.” Trimm, who will graduate next spring, will participate in the Bill Archer Fellowship program in Washington, D.C. this spring and has already accepted a job offer to work at Marathon oil company.
This is the inaugural year for the college’s 100 Best business student recognition.
Wendy Frost–
Send your comments to wendy.frost@utsa.edu
— Christi Fish
