Derick Miller - University of Houston
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Derick Miller

Your anticipated graduation date
December 2022

Your major
Finance and Marketing

Your Hometown
Freeport, Bahamas

What is your current UH job and where do you work?
Financial Assistant - Business Services office

How did you find your UH job?
Cougar Pathway

How long have you been at your current UH job?
11 months

What is the most rewarding part of your UH job? Have you learned anything from your job that you'll take with you after graduation?
The most rewarding thing is being able to grasp and understand the complex inner workings of the university and how it handles its finances and daily business processes. Being surrounded in this type of environment allows me to see business scaling on a larger level, which will set me up for success as an aspiring entrepreneur.

How do you think your UH job has or is helping you prepare for full-time employment? What skills are you developing?
My job is helping me prepare for full-time employment by allowing me to sharpen my quantitative and Excel skills every day. I'm also heavily involved with the accounting procedures here in our office which gives me a more holistic perspective of finance.

What is a typical day for you at your UH job?
I usually reply to any emails I have first. Next, I check my calendar for any tasks, meetings or events. I prioritize my work for the day and tackle the most important thing first. This is usually performing department verifications to make sure each department in DSAES shows accurate financial information. I take a lunch and then come back and coordinate with my supervisor. I'll usually let her know about anything strange I saw when performing verifications or simply just let her know the status of where I'm at. I then complete the remaining verifications which would usually run me until it's time to leave for the day.

How do you balance school and work responsibilities?
I do this by judging time-commitments for each task, prioritize them, and then put EVERYTHING in my calendar. This three-step procedure is what allows me to stay on track with work and my 18 credit hour classes.

Why did you choose the University of Houston?
Mainly because I wanted experiences and connections as much as I wanted an education. I knew that the opportunity to connect and build relationships on campus were abundant because of all the resources and opportunities the University of Houston provides. I also knew that the Bauer College of Business was on track to be a leading business college in Texas so the decision to join UH was a no-brainer for me.

What are your career plans post graduation?
I'm looking to get into the financial services industry in either consulting or financial planning and advisory.