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Alumni Spotlight: Arthur Li – Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group

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Alumni Spotlight: Arthur Li – Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group

Arthur Li, BHP class of 2006, is Head of Business Finance and Administration for Altamarea Group, a highly respected and industry recognized restaurant group in New York City comprised of Marea, Ai Fiori, Costata, Osteria Morini, Nicoletta, and The Butterflyin New York City; Osteria Morini and Due Mari in New Jersey, and Al Molo in Hong Kong. Arthur graduated with degrees in BHP and Plan II, and earned his MPA the following year. We recently spoke to him to find out more about Altamarea Group and his role there.

 

Tell me about your career path leading up to what you are doing now.

During my 5th year I was working for J.P. Morgan in Austin in the investment banking group with restaurant industry focus. After graduation I stayed on with the same group. I was fascinated by the restaurant industry and loved food, but knew I wanted to work in finance, so this opportunity combined both perfectly, and I got to stay in Austin. After a year, I transferred to J.P. Morgan’s consumer retail investment banking coverage group in New York. In November 2008, I moved on to Wasserstein & Co., a middle-market private equity firm. I spent two years there, and got some really great experience and got to learn more about other industries. But I was working 80-100 hours a week and starting to feel a little burnt out.

In 2010, I decided to do something new and different and started to explore something in the restaurant industry. I started looking at smaller restaurant groups in New York and other ways to get into the industry. I had always been reading the food blogs and keeping track of the hot restaurants in the city. One day, I came across a New York Times article on Altamarea Group. It was the first time I heard about the group, but after reading the article, I knew this could be my dream job. One of the owners, Ahmass Fakahany, who was previously the CFO of Merrill Lynch, had made the jump into the restaurant industry like I wanted to do. I figured if the group was growing that rapidly, maybe they could use an extra finance person. With nothing to lose, I emailed the generic jobs email address letting them know my interest in joining the group, and within days, Ahmass reached out to me. We had a few meetings, then the day before Thanksgiving, he offered me a position as Head of Finance for Osteria Morini. A year after joining Altamarea Group, I was promoted to serve as Head of Business Finance for all of the restaurants in the group. I currently manage a team of seven who perform day-to-day book-keeping, accounting, operational finance and administrative activities. I also work closely with senior management in growing the company, both organically at each of our current locations and through new restaurant expansion.

What appealed to you about Altamarea Group?

The group is entrepreneurial. We are building the business from the ground up. It is a very different scene, which I love. I traded Park Avenue for Soho. I have a lot of room to mold and shape the strategy of the group. I get to work with the best of the best in the industry and interact with GMs and chefs. I work with so many kinds of different people, which I love. I enjoy getting to see all aspects of the business – HR, operations, business development, construction. Plus, I get to call Chef Michael White, a multiple Michelin-starred, James Beard award-winning, and Relais & Chateaux chef, my boss.

What are the challenges and rewards of working in the restaurant industry?

In banking and private equity, we were able to move so quickly, because that is the nature of finance. It is not the same pace in the restaurant industry. The vendors we work with don’t move at that pace, so there are always road blocks and delays. It is definitely a challenge to move at a slower pace, especially when we are trying to execute such an aggressive growth strategy. There are also a lot of different personalities to manage, which can be exciting but also admittedly challenging at times. On the flip side, when our restaurants are successful as they are, that is the most rewarding feeling. When our clients are happy, we are happy. I work with all our chefs and GMs to figure out how we can maximize not just the top-line but our profitability as well. I literally go down every line item of the P&L to figure out how we can spend less to make more. It is also very rewarding when we open a new restaurant. I treat all our restaurants as if they are my children. Every new restaurant we open is like having another baby for me.

What is the growth plan for Altamarea and what role will you play in that?

We currently operate seven restaurants now, and we are excited to be opening six more this year – two in New York, one in New Jersey, and one in Washington DC. We are also opening a new concept in London next month, which is truly exciting. No two of these restaurants are the same concept, which makes it challenging but fun at the same time. Beyond 2013, we are actively looking at other markets for expansion, including Los Angeles and Asia. We feel like we have a lot of growth in front of us.

I work very closely with Ahmass and Michael, as well as our media relations, business development and legal teams, and play a role throughout the entire opening process, from lease negotiations, capital budget planning, design and construction, to opening. When we are opening so many restaurants so quickly, it is extremely important that we are managing our cash flow optimally. This falls squarely on the finance team’s shoulders.

How did you learn all of the elements of your job that you didn’t already know?

I am a relentlessly hard worker and will do as much as I can as best as I can to figure something out. A lot of it is just problem-solving, which I learned a lot of from BHP. I started with a good knowledge base and have been able to learn throughout my career the other aspects of managing a business and managing people. If you are smart, a hard worker and know how to work well with people, you will do well. Attention to detail and organization are also very important. I juggled a lot in college, so I feel like I learned a lot of these soft skills during that time. Problems, emergencies, dilemmas are so common in the restaurant business, it is important as a leader to remain calm and rational so we can figure out how to put out the fires.

In what other ways do you feel BHP prepared you for your career?

I was really into BHP when I was a student. BHP classes were my favorite. I was a recruiter, peer advisor, and a TA for BA 101H. I have realized over the course of my career that group projects and cases were very valuable experiences. I have been able to problem-solve and manage people better because I had a head start on this in college due to the interactive nature of BHP classes. Also, my focus on networking and getting involved put me ahead and helped set me apart in my job search.

What advice do you have for current students?

Regardless of whether they plan to go into finance, something finance-related, or even a non-finance career, accounting is a really important skill to have. I oversee the finance team, and when we are hiring junior people, a candidate with accounting background automatically stands out. Take your accounting classes seriously even if you don’t pursue this as a major or career because that knowledge will set you apart and will prove to be useful down the line in life. Also, take advantage of being part of a small cohort within the BHP community and get to know as many people as you can. Coming to New York, I knew a lot of people in New York who were BHP, and our worlds frequently collide. It is great to have that BHP connection, especially when we are so far away from Texas.

Student Profile: Jed Cole and Phillip Niels – Owners of Cole Niels & Co.

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BHP seniors Jed Cole and Phillip Niels started their own custom apparel business, Cole Niels & Co., together in 2011, and have printed close to 50,000 shirts since then and continue to bring on new customers. There were some bumps along the way, but their business has expanded significantly since that time and so has their knowledge of what it takes to run your own business. Jed will go to McKinsey after graduation and Phillip has one more year in the MPA program, but both plan to continue growing Cole Niels & Co. We sat down with them to learn more about the challenges they faced and the lessons they learned.

What is Cole Niels & Co.’s niche?

Phillip: We have positioned ourselves to serve student organizations, fraternities and sororities. They could get the same deliverable from other vendors, but our service is unique and valuable.

Jed: Leadership in student organizations and Greek organizations turns over each year. Our value proposition is that the new person coming in to handle orders won’t have to start from scratch. We tell each girl from the beginning that they can be as creative as possible, and we will take care of everything else. Because we know what they need from their previous orders and have a very high level of service, it is very easy on them to hit the ground running.

How did the idea for this come about? Had you always been interested in starting your own business?

Phillip: BHP brought the two of us together. We both had talked about wanting to start a business. We were on a train in Scotland, studying abroad the summer after our sophomore year, and that is when we really started talking about the business and how it could work. I had familial ties to screen printing shops and there was clear need, so it made sense. Jed got us our first client that August to do a print job for OU weekend.

Tell me more about how you got the business off the ground.

Jed: I called a girl I knew who was the apparel chair for her sorority and asked if we could lighten the burden on her by making their shirts and she agreed to let us do their OU shirts. On our first order we made some mistakes with trademark issues and therefore didn’t get to print all of the items. We learned a valuable lesson with that order to promise less and deliver more. From there I started connecting with other sorority apparel chairs and asking if we could work with them. The first quarter we had only worked with two sororities, but by the end of our first year of business, we were serving more than 10 groups, including fraternities and other student orgs.

Phillip: The business is very seasonal, so in the fall it is a bit slower, but by that spring we had a lot of orders. We have grown pretty drastically.

How did your coursework and BHP community help you in starting the business?

Phillip: Being in BHP, you are surrounded by natural entrepreneurs. The coursework along with the social aspect of it was inspiring. We have learned to be analytical and thoughtful in our decisions.

Jed: We started it in our junior year, so we had built a lot of the skills we needed in our classes. It felt very natural and comfortable to us.

Phillip: We also had to learn a lot along the way about how to start a business – things we hadn’t learned in a classroom. We had family and professors support us and offer advice.

What advice do you have for other students wanting to start a business while also managing school and other commitments?

Phillip: My attitude is that although as a student you will spend a lot of time in class, if you manage your time properly, you can accomplish pretty much anything. We did a lot of planning, and kept each other accountable. It is also crucial to be flexible. I think any student in BHP can accomplish whatever they set out to do, if they really set their mind to it, stay disciplined, and are passionate.

Jed: One of my favorite quotes is “don’t let school interfere with your education,” said by Mark Twain. I think that is very applicable. Starting our business has been an education in its own right. I think it is really fun and exciting and it is great working with a friend. It is like the greatest group project ever.

What were and are the biggest challenges you faced?

Jed: Being able to balance the line between friendships and customers. Our business revolves around the fact that we are friends with our clients and when something doesn’t go right, it is more personal because we feel like we have disappointed our friends. It makes it harder to leave work at work and not take it home with you.

Phillip: Being an entrepreneur, there is never a moment of the day when my work is not on my mind. I am always thinking about what needs to be done next for the business, so that has made it a bit harder for me to manage my time and give time to other projects and organizations.

How do you plan to keep the business growing after you graduate and leave campus?

Jed: Phil is MPA so he will be on campus another year. I will have to take on more of a supportive role since I will be in Dallas. We are going to try to bring a sophomore BHP student into the business next year to keep it going  while we can help facilitate forming relationships with the new apparel chairs before we leave. We hope to then pass off some of the workload to them once Phil graduates. We will always want to be involved, even when we move to other cities.

Phillip: We have done a good job of streamlining our process, so I think we can pass that on pretty easily. With our oversight, I think we will continue to grow and refine our services.

When you reflect upon your time in the BHP and on the 40 Acres, what do you think will stand out most to you?

Phillip: I was so excited when I got in to the program, but didn’t really know what it was going to mean to me. Now, I feel very fortunate to have been in the BHP and received such a strong education. I don’t think we would be where we are with the business without BHP. We are used to doing things at a high level. More than anything, the friendships will stand out along with having created a business that is successful. It is fun walking around campus and seeing everyone wearing a shirt that you helped make. We have made more than 50,000 shirts now.

Jed: It has been fun to start a business that meshes so many of our interests. We have gotten to meet so many new people, make new friends, and help organizations. It is the same thing we are doing in other orgs we are involved in, but it is also a business. It is also fun to see people happy when they receive their orders.

What are you most looking forward to about this new phase of your life?

Phillip: I am excited about starting another business in the future that is bigger, but also merges my interests like this one did.

Jed: We are both going to see what it is like to work for large businesses. I am going to Mckinsey and Phillip is interning at Bain this summer. I am excited to get back together after we have worked in this new big business environment and look at starting a business through a new lens. I think we would both like to start another business together again in the future. I never imagined that I would have a business capable of putting me through college and so it’s exciting to think of how high the ceiling can be 4 years from now as we expand our horizon’s and ambition’s.

Alumni Spotlight: Greg Gerstenhaber, Class of ’97 – Partner at Bain & Co.

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Greg Gerstenhaber is a partner in the Dallas office of Bain & Company. Greg graduated in 1997 with degrees in BHP and Finance and joined Bain immediately after graduation. He has been with the company for 16 years now and his experience includes airline, automotive, defense, construction, retail, manufacturing, and waste management. Most of his recent work has been in the industrial practice covering strategy and performance improvement. We visited with Greg to hear more about what he is doing now.

Tell me about your career progression coming up to what you are doing now.

I started with Bain as an associate consultant right after graduation. I did that for three years, then left for two years to get my MBA from Harvard. My business school tuition was paid for by Bain with the expectation that I would come back, and I did. When I returned, I was a consultant for two years, then was promoted to a manager and did that for four years. I was promoted again in 2008 to partner. Now my time is mostly spent on strategy work as well as performance improvement.   I also lead our MBA recruiting efforts for Texas as well.

You consult with a number of different industries. Which type of industry do you enjoy working with the most and why?

There isn’t any one industry. I have the most fun when I am working with industries that are going through a lot of change and the work we are doing has significant impact on our client’s business. In 2008, I was working with home building and there was so much change taking place with home prices falling dramatically that it was really challenging and exciting work.

What is most challenging about the work you do?

It is fast-paced. It is always a challenge to learn a new industry. To learn a new industry you have to really dig into analyst reports and other industry materials to try to absorb as much knowledge as possible. We have found over time that one of the key ways of delivering value to clients is integrated expertise. By being able to work in different industries and different types of companies, we develop our expertise in a certain industry, but we also bring new ideas and perspectives from having worked with other industries and clients. There is a threshold level of expertise that we bring to a client, but we also know that we create a lot of value by bringing a broader perspective to the table.

How do you approach the strategy work you do?

We have a tried and true approach that we use for strategy work. We start with the same core sets of tools. We first make sure we understand the current situation and have a data driven factbase.  . We then work closely with our clients to identify strategic options and then evaluate them with data. We will come up with a hypothesis of what the answer might look like, then collect the data and do the analysis to prove or disprove the hypothesis.   Through all of this, we use a methodology called “profit from the core”. Companies should define and understand what their core is, and look for opportunities that are as close to the core as possible. We have a very tried and true core strategy approach that is very effective at creating value for our clients.  .

How can students prepare themselves to do something similar to what you are doing?

We look for people who are passionate about what we do and have a track record of being challenged and doing well academically. We also want people who have been involved on campus and have taken on leadership roles on campus. Strong analytical skills are important in this job.  We utilize a case interview method which is a very effective way for testing fit for the associate consultant job.

How have things changed at Bain over the 16 years you have been there?

I will tell you what has and hasn’t changed. What has changed is that we have grown at a very high rate. We are substantially larger now vs when I started in 1997. We have probably grown about 10 percent a year since I started working here. We have also moved towards more of a practice area focus. We have developed and advanced IP, while still enabling people to have a variety of work experience. The biggest thing that has not changed is our core mission and our core values of how we work with and deliver for our clients. We take the time to periodically reevaluate our mission and priorities, but we always come back to the same core set of values.  Our business is all about our ability to deliver for our clients and help them to achieve results.  Our entire DNA as a firm revolves around that.

The one constant at Bain no matter what level you are at is that you will always feel challenged.  The type of work you do and roles and responsibilities will change overtime. I am less involved in the analytics and spend more time with the actual clients now. Someone coming into Bain could expect that their responsibilities will continue to grow over time, as they have for me.

How do you think your BHP education prepared you for what you are doing now?

I think it prepared me really well. The emphasis on case studies really helped to lay the ground work for the variety and the types of cases I see. The curriculum was challenging and it prepared me well. BHP has so much respect within Bain. We know that people in BHP are being prepared well and coming from a respected program. The program has benefited me in such a tremendous way.  We are truly excited to come back to campus each year and meet the BHP students.

Do you have any regrets from your time on the 40 Acres? Anything you wish you would have done differently?

I wish it didn’t go as fast as it did! I feel so fortunate to have been in the BHP. I was really involved in the business council and was president of that my senior year. I was in HBA and the Cabinet of College Councils as well. These experiences were incredibly valuable to me and gave me real practical experience in working with teams to accomplish something. It was also just a lot of fun. I made friendships that have really stayed with me.

I have had a lot of good networking opportunities with my BHP classmates since graduation. When I started by MBA at Harvard, there were a couple BHP grads there who I connected with. I have also kept in touch with BHP grads in the Dallas area who are in prominent positions that I can call upon when I need advice or help.

Do you have any advice for current students?

Your time in the BHP is one of the best times you will have to learn. Take advantage of the variety of great learning experiences you get to have. Get involved in various activities on campus and have fun.

Alumni Spotlight – Robin Boesch, Class of 2000

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Robin Boesch, BBA ’00, transitioned from trading NASDAQ stocks in New York City to owning her own successful retail business,  y&i clothing boutique, with locations in Austin, San Francisco and Dallas. Robin never imagined that she would leave Wall Street to venture into retail, but loves owning her own business and growing the y&i brand. During her senior year, Robin started the BHP Make-a-Mark campaign and has remained active with the BHP since graduation, serving on the BHP Advisory Board for many years.

 

 

BHP: Tell me about your career path leading up to what you are doing now.

RB: I graduated with a Finance and BHP degree in 2000. I interned for two summers with Goldman Sachs. The first internship was with the real estate private equity group in Dallas after my sophomore year. After my junior year, I interned at the international trading desk in New York City. Goldman offered me a full-time position, and after graduation I moved to New York and worked on the NASDAQ trading desk.  I spent six years there as a trader, trading all versions of NASDAQ tech stocks including semiconductors, software, and hardware. After three years I was promoted to Associate and after five years I was promoted to Vice president. I also helped run the UT recruiting team during that time.

My last year there I was thinking about trying something else. I think there are pockets of opportunity in life and I felt like I was in one since I had made enough money to have financial freedom and I didn’t have anything tying me down. The timing was right to try something different. One of my  roommates in college, Robyn Sribhen White, and I had always talked about owning our own boutique. She went out to the West Coast after graduation and worked in retail and was doing well in that realm. We spent about 6 months coming up with a business plan for our own retail store and modeling out how our business would work. Once we decided to do it, I left Goldman and spent some time in New York and Europe, just enjoying life. Then I moved out to the West Coast, and our first location opened in October of 2006 in San Francisco. After a year we opened two more locations, one in Palo Alto and one in Austin. We ended up closing the Palo Alto store because it wasn’t the right market for us. I moved back to Austin in 2009. In 2010 we launched our online business and in 2012 we opened a Dallas store. We are now re-launching our website and are looking at additional locations in Texas.

BHP: How did you first get connected to Goldman Sachs?

RB: I had an officer position for HBA and it was my job to contact companies to speak to our members. I reached out to Goldman and built a relationship with a BHP grad there named Michael MacDougall. He told me about the internship in their Dallas office and I ended up landing the position.

BHP:What was the best and worst thing about working on Wall Street?

RB: The best thing about it was that it was so exciting. It was crazy every day. I also loved the amount of responsibility I was given right away. The NASDAQ market was going crazy in 2000, so it was sink or swim. They needed people to jump right in. If I had to pick a worst thing, it would probably be the “Type A Wall Street” personalities that you encounter. I really loved it though and only left because I wanted to do something else.  Goldman was an amazing place to work and if I had to do my life over again, I would do it exactly the same way.

BHP: How did you decide to get into the retail business?

RB: I never thought I would own my own clothing boutique. I thought I would  make partner at Goldman and stay there forever. But one day, along the way, I realized there were other things out there I wanted to do.  Being an entrepreneur is extremely interesting, it doesn’t matter what you sell, it is more about running your own business. I have known my business partner since I was 15, and I love working with her. We both just wanted something that offered more flexibility than our current jobs and we were ready to try something different.

BHP: What are your plans for y&i in the future?

RB: We would like to expand our current stores in Texas and are thinking about doing a concept store in California for shoes & jewelry. We also want to grow our web business, since e-commerce has been growing at such a fast pace.

BHP: Do you have plans to delve into any other retail markets with another store or brand?

RB: I have learned a lot about jewelry designers and clothing designers and there are always opportunities to invest in other businesses or partner with people on the design and production side. We are thinking of partnering with one of our current jewelry suppliers to help her grow her business. We bring our expertise of how to grow and run a business to designers and they supply the creative expertise. It is a bit like being a private equity partner because you are investing in others who have potential and helping them grow their business.

BHP: What do you sell the most of at your stores?

RB: Our current number one brand is actually a jewelry designer from New York. We also, of course, sell a lot of clothing including brands like Billabong, Joe’s Jeans, Yumi Kim, and many more. We pride ourselves on the fact that you can find an entire outfit for under $300 at our stores. Fashion is about expressing yourself, having fun, and building outfits, so we want to help our clients do that. We sell expensive and inexpensive merchandise together so that you can create a unique look without breaking the bank. Our aesthetic is based on a California casual girl, which is a combination my style and that of my business partner.

BHP: Have you enjoyed being an entrepreneur?

RB: Being an entrepreneur is incredibly rewarding but it also has its ups and downs.The best thing about being an entrepreneur is that your time is your own and you get to do what you want, when you want. The downside is that there is no one above you to learn from because you are your own boss. My advice to entrepreneurs would be to find a business partner and look for mentors. I can’t imagine doing it without Robyn because working together makes the workload so much more manageable.

BHP: You started the BHP Make-a-Mark campaign in 2000. What prompted you to do that and why is it so important to you?

RB: The MBA’s were doing their Legacy campaign and I didn’t understand why we didn’t have one for BHP, so I thought it would be great to do something similar for the undergrads. The first year was successful, we had 98% participation and it brought the class together. I thought it was great that the funds would go towards merit-based scholarships, which have always been a big need for the program. Most of the scholarships offered at UT when I was there were only need-based and not merit-based, which made it less competitive for us to get the best students. Since then, I have stayed involved to try to help keep it going. At my 10-year graduation anniversary, I came up with the idea to add the alumni component and ask alumni to match the amount being raised by students. I am always trying to think of new ways to get alumni involved in giving so we can get the top students and make our program as prestigious as it can be.

BHP: Do you have any advice for current students?

RB: What you pick to do when you graduate doesn’t have to be what you do the rest of your life. That is hard for graduating students to understand, since their focus is often so narrow. They need to realize that there will be plenty of opportunities to do new and interesting things along the way. Also take as many elective courses as you can and study abroad. You will never get another opportunity to be in college again and have time to take classes that interest you. Explore  everything and use the university while you can.

Student Spotlight: Stephanie Morgan

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BHP sophomore Stephanie Morgan, is taking advantage of as many opportunities as she can while she is in school. A Plan II Honors and BHP major, she feels she has the best of both worlds – receiving a strong liberal arts and business education. Stephanie has already participated in two study abroad programs, is an officer for the Honors Business Association, and will be interning with Amazon.com this summer. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she has already grown to love Austin and says she knows she made the right choice in choosing to come to UT and be in the BHP.

Being an out-of-state student, how did you hear about and decide to come to BHP?

I did my research and applied to a lot of universities. UT is one of the only universities where you can participate in a business and liberal arts honors program and still graduate in four years. I really liked the well-rounded approach to learning and MBA-style classes. I visited one weekend in the spring of my senior year and met the BHP staff and some current students, and just felt like it was where I was supposed to be.

You are the Financial VP for HBA. What do you enjoy about being involved with that group?

My favorite part is the opportunity to hang out with other BHP students outside of class in a non-academic setting and get to know BHP students in other grades. The BHP community is one of the strongest features of the major, and I think HBA is where you get the community feel the most.

You are interning with Amazon.com this summer. Tell me more about what you will be doing.

I will be working out of a fulfillment center in Phoenix which is the size of a football field. I will be managing a team of about 20 employees and will get to try all of the associate positions, so I will get to see the entire inbound to outbound route of a product.

What are you hoping to learn from the internship?

I am most excited about the leadership and management part of it. I think that is my strength and I am excited to learn more. I also think it will help me figure out if I want to go into supply chain for my career.

What was the interview process like?

I found out about the position because they were hosting a dinner and contacted HBA about meeting with student leaders. Because I am not a declared supply chain major, the position wasn’t open to me on OCR, but since I already had those contacts, I applied directly through the company. There was only one round of interviews. The interview had a behavior aspect and also a technical aspect, with a few supply-chain questions.

Tell me more about the summer study abroad programs you participated in this past summer.

I did two study abroad programs this past summer. I spent seven weeks in France and five weeks in Oxford. All of the classes that I took weren’t required for my majors, but were just classes that interested me. I took English courses taught by UT professors at Oxford.I took a French language course and a French culture course during my time in Lyon. Both programs were with other UT students. I didn’t know anyone else going and it was my first time going abroad, so it was a great growing experience. I became good friends with the other students and also got to stay with a host family in France, which was a great experience.

What are you involved in outside of class?

I am heavily involved with Texas THON. It is a non-profit organization on campus that raises funds for the Children’s Miracle Network at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. Our major event every year is called Texas THON. It is an event where people pledge to stand for 12 hours to raise money for the organization. The Miracle Kids are very inspiring and have been through more than most of us could imagine. I was the Catering and Sponsorship Chair this year, so I secured donations for food and prizes, and was heavily involved with organizing everything for the event. It is really important to me to be involved in community service and I have learned a lot from being involved in the organization. My management and business communications classes have been helpful to me in terms of leadership and it was neat to apply what I had learned. I also run a lot and ran the LiveSTRONG Half-Marathon recently. I enjoy staying active.

Do you have any words of advice for your fellow students?

Focus on things you enjoy. Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing. You will get the most out of your college experience by doing things that are important to you.