1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:01,720 My name is Trenton Thomas. 2 00:00:01,740 --> 00:00:03,890 I'm a senior here at Texas State University, 3 00:00:03,910 --> 00:00:07,230 a finance major, and I'm from Houston Texas. 4 00:00:07,250 --> 00:00:09,300 I chose finance because it was a 5 00:00:09,320 --> 00:00:11,310 competitive field with an edge. 6 00:00:11,330 --> 00:00:12,760 A couple of professors told me 7 00:00:12,780 --> 00:00:14,330 about a couple of finance courses that could 8 00:00:14,350 --> 00:00:16,260 benefit me, and after getting involved, 9 00:00:16,280 --> 00:00:18,020 I found out that I loved it because 10 00:00:18,040 --> 00:00:19,970 I got to work not only with numbers, 11 00:00:19,990 --> 00:00:21,220 which is something that I'm pretty 12 00:00:21,240 --> 00:00:22,520 good at, but I also got to work 13 00:00:22,540 --> 00:00:24,720 with theory and see how finance 14 00:00:24,740 --> 00:00:26,600 develops in the world, and that's something 15 00:00:26,620 --> 00:00:29,050 that's really been beneficial to me. 16 00:00:29,070 --> 00:00:30,500 If I could take one professor, 17 00:00:30,520 --> 00:00:33,090 I'd have to say Janet Hale, 18 00:00:33,110 --> 00:00:34,620 who's a business law professor 19 00:00:34,640 --> 00:00:36,190 here at Texas State University, 20 00:00:36,210 --> 00:00:38,060 was a major influence on me. 21 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,740 And she was the type of professor 22 00:00:39,760 --> 00:00:41,440 that would point you out if she saw 23 00:00:41,460 --> 00:00:43,540 potential in you and take you to her office 24 00:00:43,560 --> 00:00:45,270 and just sit down and get to 25 00:00:45,290 --> 00:00:46,920 know you as a person. 26 00:00:46,940 --> 00:00:48,610 And that kind of of personal relationship, 27 00:00:48,630 --> 00:00:51,010 you know, and inviting me to have lunch 28 00:00:51,030 --> 00:00:52,430 and, you know, wanting to talk about 29 00:00:52,450 --> 00:00:54,520 different things other than just academics, 30 00:00:54,540 --> 00:00:57,630 have given me the chance to grow as a person. 31 00:00:57,650 --> 00:00:59,100 The reason I chose Texas State 32 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:00,930 was because it was a big campus 33 00:01:00,950 --> 00:01:04,510 but it still had a small family campus atmosphere. 34 00:01:04,530 --> 00:01:07,400 I saw individuals constantly interacting with each other, 35 00:01:07,420 --> 00:01:09,750 you know, self-starters, self-motivators, 36 00:01:09,770 --> 00:01:11,950 and I wanted to be part of place that I can not only 37 00:01:11,970 --> 00:01:13,990 advance myself as a person, but help out 38 00:01:14,010 --> 00:01:16,230 the university and the school I attended. 39 00:01:16,250 --> 00:01:18,140 So being here at Texas State University 40 00:01:18,160 --> 00:01:20,370 really gave me that opportunity to go out 41 00:01:20,390 --> 00:01:22,630 and reach my goals as well as maintain the 42 00:01:22,650 --> 00:01:25,170 family atmosphere that I hold dear to myself. 43 00:01:25,190 --> 00:01:28,320 [ Music ] 44 00:01:28,340 --> 00:01:33,373