Will Slappey

Major: Economics- Philosophy & Political Economy

Hometown: Vestavia Hills, AL

High School: Shades Mountain Christian School

Plans Upon Graduation

Following Graduation I plan to continue working for Omega Property as a Property Manager and Special Project Director. I am currently waiting to find the perfect business opportunity that fits me long term. My primary objective in the short run is to continue to develop my leadership and critical thinking abilities. In the next year I may end up doing anything from working for large Fortune 500 company to starting my own company. During my time at UAB I have been involved in a ministry called Young Life and I plan to continue to be heavily involved for as long as I remain in Birmingham.

Highlights of My UAB Experience

A couple of my significant highlights at UAB: 1. Business Capstone Class: Dr. Holmes and Mr. Friend put together a phenomenal class that included meeting with 10 CEO of publicly traded companies throughout the semester. I learned a tremendous amount as we had to do in-depth research of each firm and I actually got to give a presentation before the CEO and Senior Executive Vice-Presidents of Regions Financial. 2. Honors Thesis: My Honors thesis was focused on the Homewood residential real estate market specifically examining a behavioral economic theory known as loss aversion. Through this experience I gained a significant amount of knowledge in regards to the process of true research. Having to construct my own idea from scratch, do my own primary data collection, and then attempt to derive conclusions from that was quite the challenge. This experience gave me a great level of respect for true academics and the value of good data. 3. Philosophy and Political Economy Concentration for Economics Majors: This program was one of the reasons I came to UAB and I can’t say how much I enjoyed the classes. The professors in the program truly are some of the best in the world. The program gave me a more complete a comprehensive view of how the world functions and I have a more clear understand of the underlying foundations for the conflicting ideas in economic and political thought. 4. Trip to China and Spain: I was able to take two study abroad experience with UAB; first to Spain and then later to China. These experience really expanded my view of the world and enabled me to study business form a different perspective. Going with UAB faculty and students made the experience much richer and enjoyable.