Relationships mean a lot to Honors student Bryan Davis. His family tried to steer him to another school instead of UGA, but by then Mark Dawkins, an associate dean in the Terry College of Business, had already become a mentor. During a recruiting program, Dawkins gave Davis a personal tour of the Terry College, shared his personal experiences and offered personal and career advice. Pamela Kleiber, CURO coordinator and associate director of the Honors Program, introduced Davis to research opportunities with finance professor Jeffry Netter and FACS professor Lance Palmer. Bryan is now a senior enrolled in the J.M. Tull School of Accounting’s combined B.B.A. and M.Acc. program which will allow him to get both his B.B.A. in accounting as well as his Masters in Accounting in four years. Davis has since found numerous opportunities at UGA including working with the Arch Society and UGA Housing, providing business consulting services to the East Athens Development Corporation through the Leonard Leadership Scholars Program, and he is a scholar in the Corsair Society, Delta Epsilon Iota Honor Society and Abenefoo Kuo Honor Society. He is a Pamoja Dance Company dancer and choreographer and serves as president of the Black Male Leadership Society, president of the National Association of Black Accountants and VP of the Minority Business Students Association. He interned on Wall Street at UBS Investment Bank and will go to work for Ernst and Young LLP in Atlanta after graduation.
Hometown:
Augusta, Ga.
High School:
Davidson Fine Arts Magnet School
Degree objective:
B.B.A. and M.Acc. Accounting with a specialty in audits
Expected graduation:
Spring 2009
University highlights, achievements, awards and scholarships:
I am an Honors student and part of the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program under the direction of Pamela Kleiber. I conducted research with Professor Jeffry Netter in the Finance Department of the Terry College of Business on the salary differential between men and women. I also worked with Lance Palmer in the College of Family and Consumer Sciences on Student Alcohol Expenditures and Consumption. I also got the opportunity to participate in the Leonard Leadership Scholars Program in the Terry College of Business where I learned to develop and apply my leadership skills to the workplace. I was selected to participate in the Corsair Society, which helps UGA undergraduates break into investment banking, the Management Leadership for Tomorrow Career Preparation Program, which trained and enhanced my leadership skills and the Sponsors for Educational Opportunity Program through which I obtained an internship on Wall Street at UBS Investment Bank. Recently, I was selected to serve on the Arch Society as an official goodwill ambassador. I was also appointed as a student ambassador for the Terry College Strategic Council as well as an Honors Ambassador for the Honors Program. I just completed an internship with Ernst & Young in Atlanta, where I did a rotation in both tax consulting and financial auditing. Some of my clients included the Coca-Cola Company and Choicepoint Services, Inc. I was recently selected as a finalist for the Financial Accounting Standards Board Post Technical Assistantship in Connecticut. If chosen, I will work there for a year, gain some valuable accounting experience, and then return to Ernst & Young afterwards. Finally, I was awarded three scholarships from the National Association of Black Accountants at the Atlanta, Southern region, and national levels. I was also awarded the graduate scholarship from the Black Faculty and Staff Organization. I was awarded a scholarship from the Best Buy Corporation also. A few of my other UGA highlights include working for UGA Housing as a Village Community Assistant, playing violin in the UGA Symphony Orchestra, dancing and choreographing for the Pamoja Dance Company, singing with Reverence Ministries and serving as a mentor to various Terry College underclassmen as well as local high school students.
Family Ties to UGA:
I actually don’t have any family ties to UGA yet. In fact, my family had some anti-UGA sentiments as they wanted me to attend an out of state school! When I decided to come to UGA, my family thought I was making a bad decision, but after a couple of years of great opportunities and finding my own path, they realized that I had made the right decision for me.
I chose to attend UGA because…
…of the quality and reputation of the Terry College of Business and the J.M. Tull School of Accounting. Plus, Athens is one of the best college towns in America, UGA has an awesome football team and there seems to be endless opportunity here for a great price. UGA is close to home as well, which offered me freedom and security all in one place. In addition, I knew that my professors would do anything they could do for me to be successful and happy.
My favorite things to do on campus are…
…anything dealing with the arts. I like to think of myself as a Renaissance guy. Even though I’m driven and business-minded, I still love to dance and choreograph with the Pamoja Dance Company. I also love to sing with Reverence Ministries and play violin with the UGA Symphony Orchestra. In addition to that, I love serving as a coach, mentor, advisor or ambassador in any way. I serve on the Arch Society as a campus ambassador and I often help pre-business majors by giving career, internship and networking advice.
When I have free time, I like…
…to sleep! I also love music! If you see me, I’ll most likely be listening to my iPod either choreographing a piece in my head or singing some smooth R&B, jazz, or neo-soul. I may also be listening to Mozart, Dvorak or some other composer whose classical music I’ve played. I also like to read the Journal of Accountancy, Fortune magazine, the Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and other business periodicals to make sure I’m up to date on what’s going on.
The craziest thing I’ve done is…
…talk on my Blackberry in New York City while crossing the street. I was so engaged in the conversation that I nearly got hit by a few New York City taxis. I will never forget that experience! Sometimes, I still hear the honking in my dreams!
My favorite place to study is…
…in my apartment. If I’ve really got to bear down and make sure that I get a lot done, I will go find a corner of the Main Library. Those places are almost always pretty quiet, which I must have if I’ve got a lot of reading to do. For math or actual accounting problems, I can pretty much work anywhere.
My favorite professor is…
…Pamela Kleiber, associate dean of the Honors Program as well as the director of the CURO Apprenticeship Program. I was in her class for four consecutive semesters. She is so enthusiastic and positive, and she taught me a lot about integrity and leadership in life as well as research in business. She really takes a personal interest in her students and makes it her business to see that they succeed. I never felt like she was there solely for the paycheck. I always felt that if something mattered to me, then it also mattered to her. Even though I’m no longer active in the apprentice program, I still go to Dr. Kleiber’s house to have dinner, go downtown to have lunch and talk about politics, life, the arts or New York, and I still hang around in the Honors building to keep her company.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with…
…John Legend. He sings R&B, soul and jazz music that has a positive message. Not only is he my favorite artist, he is also a former business consultant and one of the founders of the Management Leadership for Tomorrow Career Preparation Program, a program of which I am an alumnus. I would love to find out how he balances his interests in music and business as well as pick his brain on how he wows the ladies while still maintaining his “good guy” image!
If I knew I could not fail, I would…
…incorporate arts education into every school curriculum. An education in the arts provides for a well-rounded education, and students engaged in the performing arts tend to perform better in school than other students.
After graduation, I plan to…
…pass all four parts of the CPA exam, travel in Eastern Europe and China and complete a year-long post technical assistantship with the Financial Accounting Standards Board before I begin full-time employment with Ernst & Young LLP in Atlanta in the assurance and advisory business services group.
The one UGA experience I will always remember will be…
…dancing on stage at the Morton Theatre during Pamoja Dance Company’s, “I Love the 90s” show. I still remember the adrenaline rushing through my body as I performed choreography to Missy Elliot’s “Beep Me 9-1-1” as my friends cheered my name.
