A Singular Focus

“Start early. Stay hungry.” This common refrain for students in Valparaiso University’s College of Business guides them as they pursue meaningful opportunities to establish themselves in the business community.

Students like Gavin Twigg ’21 complete essential on-the-job learning to complement the College’s curriculum. Gavin, an accounting and finance double-major, is working as an audit-assurance intern with EY Consulting.

“My business classes at Valpo have helped prepare me for my internship,” Gavin says. “While my audit class had the most direct correlation, a lot of the time it helps to go back to the basics. In my lower-level accounting classes, I did so much work to understand the principles, which are helpful to reference in a real job environment.”

In his role, Gavin is assigned to audit various metrics for his clients including payroll, inventory, and accounts payable. He tests samples of data to ensure employees are paid correctly, products are listed and sold at the accurate price, and account statements match their respective reports.

“As a winter intern, a lot of my tasks are what a full-time employee would do,” Gavin says. “I’ve been able to experience more in my role than through a traditional summer internship.”

As a linebacker on the Valpo football team, Gavin has also brought business concepts he’s learned in the classroom onto the field.

“One of my classes had a guest speaker who talked about how you treat each day in the business world,” Gavin says. “He taught us that whatever you are currently doing, you should concentrate on that and not allow external factors to distract you. For me, I took it as when I’m in class, I can focus just on class, and when I’m on the football field, I can focus fully on football.”

Both in the classroom and on the football field, Gavin relies on the relationships he’s made with faculty members and coaches to contribute to his growth.

“I have found Gavin to be an excellent example of what we strive for at the College of Business at Valpo,” says Anton Lewis, Ph.D., associate professor of accounting. “He is conscientious, critically inclined, hardworking, and ethical. As a student he makes a conscious decision to be a values-based leader and hold himself accountable for his own actions, a hallmark of a true professional.”

Professor Lewis alludes to another motto that the College of Business champions, “Do well by doing good.” While Gavin continues to stay hungry for his future, he also gives back to other students through involvement in the College of Business Dean’s Leadership Council and the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity.

While balancing his education, internship, football, and extracurricular involvement, Gavin relies on his singular focus as he continues to excel in all aspects of his Valpo experience.