UNC Kenan-Flagler

 

Ben Connell

BSBA Class of 2007
Born in Columbia, S.C., came to Chapel Hill from Boston

Amanda Shintay

My BSBA concentration: None yet. Pursuing a double major in Business and Economics.

Background

  • As a UNC student, Ben started his own real estate business, called The Resource, with a friend in law school last August. The two partners renovate and move houses and then sell them. So far, they have sold two houses and are working on four others.
  • Ben was also a sales and inventory manager for Wentworth & Sloane, a jewelry store on Franklin Street. In addition, he does welding work.
  • Ben has served as the team captain and academic team captain for UNC wrestling and is currently serving as an assistant coach due to a knee injury.

Why I chose UNC

  • In Boston, I lived right in Cambridge and Belmont near MIT and Harvard. In speaking with Harvard or MIT professors about Carolina, they would say “UNC is Harvard out in the country.”
  • The school rankings and faculty credentials impressed me.
My experience of the BSBA program at UNC

"It's wide open. There are so many opportunities to get involved. The business school has so many clubs. You have every opportunity to find out what you're good at and apply what you learn. There's just the opportunity to grow."

The UNC Kenan-Flagler network

How personable some of the professors are. "My mother-in-law passed away in mid-January from cancer," he says. "The administration and every one of my business professors understood and were willing to work with my schedule. It made a tough situation a lot more bearable. They were flexible and empathetic."

Student life

"My life right now is just jam-packed. I'm always doing something. Business school has taught me a lot of things. The most important lesson I have learned is where I am valuable and where my time is least effective, what I want to hire people for, things like accounting and statistics. It's really taught me a lot about myself and how to be productive now and in the future."

Advice to Other Students

"Stick to your beliefs. Many professors and students are strong-minded. Be prepared to take advantage of the best atmosphere for connecting theory with application."

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