Background

I was born and raised in Raleigh, NC, but attended high school and college in Virginia. I earned my B.S. in Business Administration from Washington & Lee University in 2008. After graduation, I worked as an analyst for Fifth Street Finance, a specialty finance company in New York. At Fifth Street, I underwrote potential debt investments, made in connection with private equity sponsors, to provide growth capital to middle market businesses. I later joined Eastdil Secured / Wells Fargo Securities in Washington, DC as an investment banking analyst. While there, I worked with REIT clients to execute strategic and financing objectives. Coming back to UNC for business school was an easy choice, but capitalizing on all the opportunities at UNC Kenan-Flagler will be much more challenging.

Career Path

I am pursuing my MBA to align my personal and professional goals of partnering with management teams to help their companies grow. UNC Kenan-Flagler’s MBA program is one of the few programs that provides such a wide range of electives and extracurricular offerings focused on this objective. In the classroom, I hope to broaden my grasp of core business concepts while building on my background in finance. The Kenan Institute is an ideal complement to this academic experience. Through the Leadership Fellows program and the Startup Consulting initiative, I will sharpen my skillset by applying course concepts to real-world situations. Following graduation, I hope to continue working with entrepreneurs and business executives to drive firm growth and value.

Interests and Hobbies

Outside of the classroom, I spend my time participating in the Private Equity Club and the Graduate Honor Court, enjoying Eastern NC BBQ, losing golf balls, and rooting for the Heels. Thanks to Chapel Hill’s central location in the state, I hope to visit the mountains and beach whenever possible, but the best perk of its location is being close to my family for the next few years.