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Finance Major Isn't All Business

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Posted on September 28, 2020

Thomas Becnel

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#FreshmanFocus is a series focused on incoming freshmen at the University of South Alabama.

When Trey Hall was a high school senior in Pensacola, he visited South and the Mitchell College of Business.

Dr. Bob Wood, dean of the business school, mentioned that the University had a financial center with a dozen of the Bloomberg data terminals that keep a close watch on business news and the stock market. 

鈥淪o I just blurted out, 鈥榊ou have how many of those machines?鈥� Hall says, laughing. 鈥淎nd he had a chuckle at my reaction. In that interview, I thought, 鈥極h, I need to come here.鈥欌��

In Pensacola, Hall went to the West Florida High School of Advanced Technology. He applied himself and became a Mitchell Scholar at South.

When he isn鈥檛 studying, Hall enjoys bowling. For years, he鈥檚 worked and played at Cordova Lanes in Pensacola. As a competitive bowler, he鈥檚 serious about the sport, but has never managed to roll 300 for a perfect game. 鈥淭he closest I ever came was bowling 280 in back-to-back games,鈥� he said.

Hall still goes home to Cordova Lanes almost every weekend. He鈥檇 like to start a bowling team at South, too, and compete with cross-town rival Spring Hill College.

In Mobile, Hall rents a room from the uncle of his best friend from high school. It鈥檚 close to campus, which is convenient. At South, he works part-time as an IT assistant to a business professor.

His parents aren鈥檛 very interested in finance, but his grandfather follows the stock market. They had a talk when he started working part-time as a teenager.

鈥淗e said, 鈥楽on, you know what I did with my first paycheck? I bought stock in the Southern Company,鈥欌�� Hall said. 鈥淗e said, 鈥榊ou know what you鈥檙e going to do with your first paycheck? Buy stock in the Southern Company.鈥� And I did.鈥�

Eight questions for Trey Hall:

Do you have a favorite spot on campus?

鈥淵es, Shelby Hall. I love listening to the fountain and the birds outside there. I sit as far as I can under the trees and de-stress.鈥�

How much of the rest of campus have you seen?

鈥淏oy, have I gotten lost. My second day, I鈥檓 looking for payroll services, have no idea where I鈥檓 going, and I鈥檓 half an hour later than I said I would be. Finally, I stumble in, entirely by accident.鈥�

How are your classes?

鈥淚鈥檓 taking business analytics and financial accounting, introduction to business and professional experience. And I鈥檝e got introduction to drama. We鈥檙e reading a play called 鈥楾he Red Coat.鈥欌��

What are some of your academic goals?

Academically, I want to major in finance, possibly come back later for my MBA, and minor in history. I'm really enthusiastic about history, and I take passion in learning as much as possible. I also could completely foresee myself taking a creative writing class or something else fun like that.

And you write poetry?

鈥淚 picked it up about four years ago. It鈥檚 kind of an emotional outlet, describing where I am at that place and time.鈥�

What has going to school during a pandemic taught you?

It has been a lesson in both self-discipline and mental control. I have serious problems learning online, and I still do, but being forced into this hybrid environment has made me learn to adapt to a situation that under most circumstances I never would have to, and I've found myself managing my time better and trying to get assignments done in a more timely manner.

Where would you like to be five years after graduation?

鈥淚 could give you this grandiose plan of pipe dreams, but realistically, I鈥檇 expect to be a financial planner helping people manage their future. That鈥檚 what I鈥檇 like to do.鈥�

Fill in the blank. South is _______ .

Special. Out of every school I've toured or that close friends and family went to, South has stood out and cares about its students. I truly feel welcome and excited to be here.

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