Name: Victoria Bennett
Major: Canfield BHP, Economics, Health and Society
Previous internship: McKinsey and Company
Topics of Interest: Healthcare, service, economic policy, the color yellow
For UT students interested in the intersection of healthcare and business, Canfield BHP junior Victoria Bennett is living proof that a career path from these industries can be paved. In addition to Canfield BHP, Victoria is studying Economics and Health and Society. While juggling her three majors is no small feat, Victoria says that her passion for healthcare paired with the community and opportunities Canfield BHP offers makes it all worthwhile.
Victoria actually didn’t know that she wanted to focus on healthcare and business until after an internship she had with McKinsey and Company after her freshman year where she was put on a healthcare project.
“The (summer healthcare project) inspired me to apply for the health and society major and shift the direction of my academic career to focus on the business and economics of healthcare,” Victoria said. “I really had no idea that that was something I was so passionate about until that summer experience. Now, I really want to specialize in healthcare consulting after I graduate.”
Before attending UT, Victoria attended a small school in Dallas. She said she initially felt intimidated by UT’s size, but that Canfield BHP made all the difference in finding both an initial community and the internship that helped develop her passion for healthcare.
“I actually went to the same school my entire life. From ages four to eighteen I was with the same people and my class size was a little over a hundred people, so I was nervous about attending UT,” she said. “I expected it to be a place where I could easily get lost in the crowd, but when I came and realized (Canfield BHP) was a real community I had that experience of an actual home base. It was really so surprising for me. (Canfield BHP) made me feel comfortable in college so quickly.”
Victoria said her classes in the program make her feel at home even if her immediate friend group isn’t there.
“One of my favorite things about Canfield BHP is that I can come into class and I don’t even think about whether or not my best friends are going to be in that class,” she said. “I know that I can walk into a class and like find a group of people who are going to be super sweet and super nice to me and we’ll have so much fun even if I only see those people in class.”
The community in Canfield BHP stretches beyond class, however. Victoria said students in the program also have each other’s backs when it comes to recruiting. In fact, she would never have been introduced to healthcare if not for a fellow Canfield BHP student.
“I know the main reason I am working at (McKinsey) is because my freshman year a senior in Canfield BHP who I kind of knew just sent me an application to the freshman leadership program, which I had no idea about previously,” she said. “It’s really cool how much people in Canfield BHP look out for each other and just help everybody in any way that they can,” she said.