Posted on December 5, 2025 by Rebekah Alegria
When Carson Cowan walks the stage this December with a bachelor’s degree in finance, he’ll be closing a chapter in his academic journey, but beginning a new one as a full-time treasury analyst at Wells Fargo.
Carson Cowan, BBA Finance '25
Carson Cowan’s introduction to San Antonio began because of the financial crisis of 2008. And even though he was young at the time, the moment stayed with him. “We moved from Phoenix because of the great financial crisis,” he said. “My dad happened to find work here in San Antonio. I’ve been here since, so this is basically my hometown.”
Cowan first began his journey at UT San Antonio as a biomedical engineering major, inspired by his grandfather’s battle with Alzheimer’s. But within his first semester, he found himself drawn more to conversations about markets, risk and financial systems than to his engineering coursework. After realizing his interests aligned more naturally with finance, he changed his major and quickly immersed himself in the department’s community.
Among the faculty he met, Ron Sweet, professor of practice in finance and former USAA executive, became one of his most transformative influences. Sweet had played a pivotal role in safeguarding the pensions of thousands of workers during the 2008 financial crisis, the same event that uprooted Cowan’s own family and brought them to San Antonio.
“This thing that wiped out my family, he was able to turn it around for the company he worked for and made it one of his crowning achievements,” Cowan reflected. “That had a lot of influence on how I viewed the world and the field of finance.”
Carson cowan, alvarez fall graduate, bba finance '25
With that perspective in mind, Cowan threw himself into the college’s Investment Society student organization, where he found peers who were equally driven, curious and unafraid of a challenge. He eventually became president of the organization.
“We’re a younger school; we don’t have a massive alumni network. I decided to get creative and take asymmetric approaches when pursuing my career.”
His persistence defined the rest of his undergraduate experience. He first interned at Howard Energy Partners in mergers and acquisitions, analyzing pipeline assets and building valuation models. He later joined Frost Bank’s treasury team, where he spent nearly a year designing dashboards, coding and supporting client-facing projects. And through it all, he tracked his job applications with meticulous care, logging more than 1,400 submissions into a spreadsheet until he finally began earning callbacks.
But the turning point came when he decided to take a personal risk. After applying to Wells Fargo months earlier, Cowan chose to attend a conference in New York City, using his own money, in hopes of meeting someone from the company.
That decision put him in front of people from the treasury world and led to a grant-funded opportunity to attend a later conference in Boston, one of the largest global gatherings of finance and treasury professionals.
Because of this networking opportunity he met leaders in Wells Fargo treasury unit and was invited to the company’s private reception. He was able to make a strong impression with the firm before he had even been formally interviewed.
“If it wasn’t for taking the extra steps of networking and putting myself in these positions, I don’t know if I would’ve gotten the job,” he said. “That really made the difference.”
A few weeks later, Wells Fargo extended him a full-time offer for their highly-selective treasury analyst rotational program in Charlotte, North Carolina. “I am so excited to begin my career with Wells Fargo. It’s an incredible opportunity with so much room to grow,” he shared.
Cowan credits Sweet and Vipin Agrawal, professor of practice in finance, for giving him the academic challenge, industry perspective and support he needed to thrive. He describes Sweet as a mentor whose impact extended beyond coursework, shaping the way he thinks about finance, responsibility and resilience. Agrawal, whom Cowan calls “a mad scientist in the best way,” strengthened his analytical skills through complex casework and countless chalkboard sessions. Their influence, he says, taught him that “finance can feel overwhelming, but if you’re curious, it doesn’t have to be.”
Reflecting on his time at UT San Antonio, he believes the key to success lies in the people in which you surround yourself.
“In the Investment Society, when one person landed an internship, it pushed everyone else to try harder. You think something is impossible until you see your friends do it,” he said. “And suddenly, you believe you can, too.”
Cowan hopes incoming students understand that while the path is competitive, the community makes it meaningful.
“You might find that you actually enjoy the chaos,” he stated with a smile. “And at UTSA, whether you pursue—finance, engineering, art—you can find your people.”
— Rebekah Alegria
Share this story:
