Bryce Cason
Cason is a double major in energy management and finance with double minors in economics and geology. Cason has had 3 summer internships since coming to TU as a freshman. He was named the American Association of Professional Landmen’s (AAPL) 2015 Outstanding Graduate.
Cason tutors weekly at Will Rogers High School in Tulsa. “I like working with younger students and encouraging them to continue their education,” he said. He has also served as the President of University Ambassadors, where he actively worked to help recruit the next incoming freshman class at TU.
Cason accepted a full time job in the oil industry as an in-house landman for Concho Resources in Midland, Texas, which he will start after graduation.
“In 10 years I see myself still working in the energy industry. I hope to gain more responsibility as I gain experience and hopefully attain some sort of leadership position. Eventually, I would like to run an oil company. As far as location, I really have no idea where I may be in 10 years because of the breadth of the energy industry,” Cason shared.
Cason’s advice for underclassmen is “to get involved on campus. It is incredibly easy to get involved at TU and there are tons of unique organizations—you don’t really have an excuse for not joining some sort of club or group. Also, I would say to make your 4 years count because they fly by.”
Cason’s legacy would be that as “a contributing member of TU’s campus, I sought to enhance myself, others, and the university as a whole throughout my 4 years here.”
Ashley Griffin
Griffin will be graduating with a degree in accounting. She has interned in four different capacities within the accounting field. She has experience in tax, assurance, and state and local tax departments at a public accounting firm. She has also interned in the oil industry.
Griffin held officer roles in Beta Alpha Psi, the honors organization for Accounting, Management Information Systems, and Finance students.
Outside of Accounting, she is a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority where she has held officer positions such as Secretary and Vice President of Administration. Griffin has also been a University Ambassador since freshman year and an orientation leader for the past two years.
While interning, Griffin volunteered at several organizations in the community including the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless and Stone Soup. She has helped tutor students at the University in Accounting and Management Information Systems and has partnered with companies to serve organizations such as Habitat for Humanity.
After graduation, Griffin will stay at the University of Tulsa for another year to complete her Masters of Accountancy degree and will be a graduate assistant for the Department of Accounting and Management Information Systems. This summer, she will be interning at a public accounting firm in the audit department.
In 10 years, Griffin says, “I would like to pursue a career in public accounting and serve clients in the Tulsa community. Someday, I would like to be a partner in a prestigious accounting firm.”
Griffin’s advice for underclassmen is “to give your best at whatever you do. Work hard in the classroom and stay focused. Be sure to get involved early in order to form your network with peers, professors and professionals. Intern in several different roles to figure out what you might be interested in. Also, have fun along the way and make memories with your friends!”
“When I graduate, I want to be remembered as a positive-spirited person who never settled for anything less than her best and was respectful, professional and personable.”
Parker Malone
Malone is an energy management and finance major. His greatest accomplishments in energy management have included his leadership positions in the Tulsa Energy Management Student Association (TEMSA) and four internships. In finance, Malone said, “I particularly enjoyed my time in the Student Investment Fund and the application of my coursework in my own investments.”
“Perhaps the best experience was the Chicago Mercantile Exchange Trading Challenge, where I combined my knowledge of the energy industry with finance to help lead the TU team to finish in the top 10 percent of participants,” Malone said.
Malone helped plan the United for Life blood drive with eighteen organizational co-sponsors, using the connections he developed at TU. The blood drive was able to secure 75 donations that would go on to save over 200 lives.
After graduation Malone will be a landman with Statoil in Houston, Texas. In 10 years, Malone hopes to have moved into management with Statoil. Since Statoil is an international company, his hope is to eventually move into the international side of oil and gas.
“I would highly recommend trying to find ways to practically apply classroom lessons. This could be through jobs, internships, projects, entrepreneurship, research, etc. Applying lessons will not only help solidify your understanding of them in the classroom, but it could lead to future opportunities for after you graduate,” Malone advised underclassmen.
“I’d like to leave a legacy of altruism,” Malone said. “There are so many wonderful organizations and people around campus that have their own goals and aspirations.”
“Everyone contributes and adds value to society in their own ways, and should be respected for it. We shouldn’t attack people for being different, and instead should help and encourage them without expecting anything in return,” Malone continued.
Hannah Hutchison
Hutchison will be graduating with a degree in marketing. She has already worked in both the profit and nonprofit sectors and in a large corporate headquarters setting as well as in a small boutique firm. She has done work involving Google analytics and worked as a brand ambassador.
Her largest contribution to the TU community has been co-organizing the TEDx events on campus that highlight the array of innovative people who study and work at TU.
Hutchison is currently working as an intern for a boutique marketing firm in Tulsa called Speakeasy, while looking for career opportunities at major firms on both coasts and in other major digital marketing hubs such as Denver and Chicago.
“I feel confident that the skills and experiences I have acquired at TU’s Collins College of Business will help me land just the right position,” she said.
“In 10 years I see myself as the head of my own firm after stints with major corporations and perhaps posts with major non-profits or governmental entities or campaigns that need my expertise in digital marketing,” she shared.
“My advice for underclassmen is to have fun and persevere,” Hutchison said. “You have to find goals that energize you. There will be challenges but hang in there. Everyone at TU is talented academically or they wouldn’t be here. Hard work, resiliency and energy are often those characteristics that helped me pull through tough situations.”
Hutchison hopes that her legacy is still unwritten but knows that someday she would like to give back to the institution that has given her so much.
MacKenzie Ward
Ward is a business management major with a focus on technology entrepreneurship. She is the co-founder of Owlpal, a digital health company that diagnoses, stages and monitors asthma in children at night.
Her business has competed in and won regional competitions which she said, “highlighted the resources and human capital that is very much alive at The University of Tulsa.”
After graduation, Ward will be working at Silicon Valley Bank Analytics in San Francisco. She will be working as a Tech Valuation Associate alongside founders of early stage, privately held technology companies in order to establish a fair market valuation. “I am excited for the opportunity for high level financial training and professional mentorship, as well as exposure directly into the startup tech scene,” she said.
In 10 years, Ward hopes to be operating a company that uses technology to make healthcare more affordable and accessible across all socioeconomic levels. She said that she would like to work towards a change in the model of capitalism because she believes that significant innovation will occur in her lifetime following a push for social good from top business leaders in the world.
Ward’s advice for underclassmen is, “what you do in anything is what you’ll do in everything.” The legacy that she hopes to leave behind at TU is, “a coffee addiction coupled with a reminder that Anything is Possible! Go Hurricane.”
