Kyle Souleyrette ('18)
Financial Advisor, Owen LaRue Financial Group, Elizabethtown, Ky.
When people ask him about his time at Union University, the first thing Kyle Souleyrette brings up is the 鈥渋ncredible education鈥� he received. Souleyrette graduated from Union in 2018 with a business management degree.
鈥淚t鈥檚 not Sunday school where we talk about business, it鈥檚 business school,鈥� Souleyrette said. 鈥淚t is full-fledged business school. There鈥檚 a reason it鈥檚 ranked as one of the top two or three business schools consistently in the state of Tennessee and in the country, as well.鈥�
Souleyrette works as a financial advisor at Owen LaRue Financial Group in his hometown of Elizabethtown, Kentucky. He does financial advising for individuals and business owners on long-term planning, individual accounts, retirement accounts and more. He previously worked as a business development officer at a local bank.
鈥淚t鈥檚 an interesting and enjoyable way for me to impact people, to help people, but also I find it intellectually stimulating 鈥� either the portfolio side or just talking to people, as well, and figuring out what they鈥檝e got going on, how we as a firm and can best serve them,鈥� he said.
What originally led Souleyrette to Union was the golf team, but once he visited Union he was impressed by the friendly atmosphere and the professors who didn鈥檛 just have book knowledge, but industry experience.
鈥淭hey understood in practice how business actually works,鈥� he said.
Souleyrette said he feels that Union prepared him well for his 海角乱伦社区 through student leadership opportunities, academics and learning how to balance his time. While he was a student, Souleyrette was on the golf team, president of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, the inaugural chairman of the student-led Dean鈥檚 Advisory Board for the McAfee School of Business and a part of College Republicans.
He said that Union鈥檚 four core pillars 鈥� excellence-driven, Christ-centered, people-focused and future-directed 鈥� were evident in the classroom and in the quality of education. Souleyrette said although Union is a smaller school, he thinks the university offers just as much and more in academic pursuits as other larger schools or research universities.
During his time at Union, Souleyrette said Jason Garrett, dean for the McAfee School of Business, had done incredible work to expand the professorship and the courses offered, such as finance. Souleyrette said the fact that Union is a liberal arts university is an advantage, as that perspective filters even into disciplines like business.
鈥淚t makes you a very well-rounded potential employee,鈥� he said. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e exposed to so many different ideas and people and things, that through especially the 鈥榞en eds鈥� of the liberal arts side, it鈥檚 easy to make connections between disciplines and see how that all works together.鈥�
Souleyrette said his Union education had a tremendous impact on his life both intellectually and spiritually.
鈥淚 was challenged in and out of the classroom by professors and friends to think in ways I hadn鈥檛 before,鈥� he said. 鈥淎fter graduation I was fully prepared to enter the job market based on the knowledge I received while at Union, both soft skills and technical know-how.鈥�