Alumni Profile: Susan Frazier
Hailing from Gardner, Kansas, Susan Frazier wanted to go to a small Christian school in an urban location with an established business school. She found that and much more at North Park University, where she earned a BS in business and economics with a concentration in finance in 2007. Now an asset management consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, she looks back on her undergraduate experience as one that prepared her for her career academically and and helped her build a strong network of relationships. “I thoroughly enjoyed every facet of my experience at North Park from day one,” she said. “From the friendships made, to the relationships established with professors and staff, I felt deeply connected to the North Park community.”
In addition to becoming involved in campus activities like University Ministries and the women’s club ultimate Frisbee team, she felt small class sizes and networking opportunities with faculty enhanced this community. Susan developed strong relationships with Professors Ann Hicks, Al Kamienski, and Michael Avramovich, who, inside the classroom, made their subject matter both interesting and entertaining, and outside the classroom, provided her with a strong mentoring relationship that still continues today. “It was almost as if my professors acted as my personal career advocates throughout the intern and job-search processes,” she said.
As an undergraduate, Susan was an intern for Covenant Retirement Communities, which taught her how to work in a professional environment, provided her with hands-on accounting software experience, and gave her the opportunity to see and participate in the monthly tasks and processes, applying classroom knowledge in a real-world setting.
Along with the internship experience and another post-graduate internship that she landed through connections with North Park alumni in the business world, she gained several skills at North Park that help her daily in her current job at PWC, where she consults on projects for asset managers, investment managers, and other clients within the industry. The development of public speaking, communication, leadership, critical thinking, time management, and prioritization skills at North Park are in use “day in and day out,” she said. “It was through my coursework required for my degree that I acquired the foundational knowledge on much of the subject matter and content that I employ on a daily basis.”