The Goff Strategic Leadership Center at the David Eccles School of Business prides itself on giving students the tools and opportunities necessary to be successful by way of courses, case competitions, and events.
Ethan Black, a senior studying finance, started his Goff journey in the Trailblazers course during his junior year. He later co-created the Goff club, Take Lead, and is now preparing to be a TA for the fall Trailblazers course.
“While I’ve always been a finance major,” Black said, “my whole perspective and mindset on business as a whole has completely changed because of Goff. It broadens your perspective on what your degree means.”
Black’s Trailblazers course was a catalyst that brought about so many new opportunities and connections. In Goff Trailblazers, students complete a project for a real business, nonprofit, or other organization. Working with a real project client allows students to take the lead on solving their strategic challenge while receiving invaluable guidance in the classroom.
Black’s project client was Esusu, a New York fintech start-up that aims to remove the many barriers to housing for working families. For their project, Black and his teammates were asked to research financial literacy levels among University of Utah students; effects of credit on younger populations; and the financial value of establishing credit early in one’s life. Their project cumulated in a presentation to former University of Utah president, Ruth Watkins.
“In just one semester with Goff,” Black said, “I feel I’ve learned more than in two years of general business courses. It’s not theoretical, it’s practical.”