For BSM student, Freeman delivers tangible learning experiences

Alex Hill headshot

Upon my arrival at Tulane, I held a strong belief that I would pursue a career path in sports media. Growing up an avid Boston sports fan, I became quickly enamored with TV, broadcast and other forms of entertainment. However, my enrollment in Tulane’s A. B. Freeman School of Business tapped into a then-undiscovered passion of mine: business. Enrollment in Freeman never dissuaded me from my prior interests but rather augmented the copious opportunities and passions that business could foster. When I try to identify Freeman’s “secret sauce” in helping students like me generate these newfound passions, I can easily point to the school’s tangible learning experiences.

During my years at Freeman, I have had the privilege to work alongside earnest and impressive students and learn from knowledgeable professors who bring the classroom alive to generate a “business-world” feel. Working in teams, engaging in public speaking and crafting research reports have helped me form both personal and technical skills imperative to my career and personal development.

When I reflect on a particular class that shaped my Freeman experience, I can easily highlight Burkenroad Reports. Burkenroad Reports is a nationally known equity research course pioneered by professor Peter Ricchiuti that allows students to work as analysts covering a publicly traded company. Students don’t observe from afar, rather they actively engage with a company and its management to identify the company’s most accurate market rating. My team and I worked together for a semester covering RPC Inc., an oilfield services company. We assessed its operations and financial results and projected a company outlook. Moreover, we were fortunate to meet with the company’s management and fly to Midland, Texas, to observe the Permian Basin, all to better understand the company and the oil services industry. At the course’s conclusion, our team produced a 36-page comprehensive research report on RPC, providing a forward-looking price target for the company.

Tangible learning experiences like Burkenroad Reports helped further develop my business passions and hone my technical and interpersonal skills. In working with a team on a real-world financial project, I cultivated effective communication and financial modeling skills. Though these skills may appear disparate from one another, they speak to how the class helped develop and integrate numerous qualities that not only contributed to my becoming a versatile, well-rounded student, but a more well-rounded person.

As I look beyond graduation this coming May, I am excited to follow my business passions further and enter investment banking. I am grateful to Freeman for helping turn passions into a profession and equipping me with the skills necessary to be successful.

Alex Hill (BSM ’23)

Read more about the Burkenroad Reports and the annual conference, which will be held on April 28, 2023.