By Kyle Hudgins (McIntire ’24)
The pressure of getting into the B.S. in Commerce Program can be crippling throughout the first two years as a UVA student. It’s incredibly strenuous to decide where to allocate time when each decision in scheduling classes and extra-curriculars feels like it will majorly impact the rest of your life. The risk of charting your own path versus doing what your friends have done to gain admission can be frightening. However, I’ve found that forging a unique path to McIntire can not only lead to success in an application, but also in the perspectives brought to the classroom.
My name is Kyle Hudgins. I’m a third-year BSC student concentrating in Marketing and Management, and have a minor in Spanish. I’m also a member of the UVA marching band, where I play piccolo. Throughout my first and second years, the prospect of dedicating the majority of my time out of the classroom to band was a large source of stress. At first glance, it seems that musicians and business students have little to nothing in common. Good breath support and the ability to read music aren’t going to help in a business environment. However, I found my experience in the marching band to be a fantastic source of soft skill building that differentiated my application and prepared me for my coursework in a unique way.
Going into McIntire, I really undervalued how integral cooperative skills would be to my experience and performance. Seeing the same five-person group every day for an entire semester and spending endless hours working together outside of the classroom can be a recipe for conflict. The vast majority of Commerce students have never worked that closely with a small group so frequently. I, however, was able to leverage half a decade’s worth of experience working with the same small groups in band to work through the trials and tribulations of the Comm classroom.
Another invaluable skill I developed through marching band was problem-solving on a tight schedule. In a live performance, unexpected things can happen. Between music, drill, and visuals, forgetting things is inevitable. This is especially true in cases where we put the show together in one week. In these situations, it’s essential to quickly adapt and avoid panic. I realized just how valuable this was during the week before our fall ICE presentations. As it was, we would have difficulties preparing slides and practicing in time for the presentation. Any hiccup in our preparation could escalate rapidly. Suppressing my anxiety and maintaining focus during that week were essential, and I can’t imagine how I would have coped without my performing arts experience.
When I wrote about these skills in my McIntire application, I don’t think I really believed that they set me apart from the pack. How could playing the piccolo compare to someone in an investing or consulting club? However, with a semester and a half under my belt, I actually understand what I bring to the table. A skill relevant to Commerce isn’t always obvious, and it’s important that each prospective student understands the value that their experiences have in relation to McIntire, whether it was obtained through a Comm-related program or not. Businesses are built on individuals with unique backgrounds and grow with fresh perspectives. Creative and outside-the-box approaches will always be valued by professors and employers. Thus, drawing connections between experiences like marching band and McIntire coursework is invaluable to success as a McIntire student.
I hope that all pre-Comm students understand that you don’t have to fit into a specific mold to be successful in Commerce. Although my background is not very similar to many of my classmates, I have a set of skills that have served me well at McIntire and that I believe will improve my performance in the workforce. It is my hope that all pre-Comm students are unafraid to embrace their individual skills and hobbies, as they might just give you an edge in the competitive world of business.
