Billy Qiu
University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration
“A whirlwind of wit, creativity, and curiosity, always ready for a fun and intriguing conversation!”
Fun fact about yourself: I took 10 years of Mandarin and still struggle with some characters, but at least I can read the names on my Pokémon cards!
Hometown: Huntingdon Valley, PA
High School: Lower Moreland High School
Major: Finance and Supply Chain Management
Minor: Economics
Favorite Business Course: International Finance
Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:
Business School Involvement:
- Business Manager, Badminton Club at Pitt
- Vice President, Supply Chain Management Club
- Business Manager, Real Estate Association
- BUS0010: Your Academic and Career Success Teaching Assistant
- London Global Business Institute (GBI) Program Participant
- Global Service Learning (GSL) in Bolivia Service Consulting Project
- JLL Real Estate Finance Academy Program Participant
- Scrum Project Management Academy Participant
- LEADS (Leaders Engaging and Developing Strengths) Program Participant
Pitt-Wide Involvement:
- Committee Member, Chinese American Student Association & Asian Student Alliance
- Assistant Arrival Coordinator, Pitt Arrival
- Member of Pitt OCC Honors Society
Honors & Awards:
- Recipient of the Wilma F. Tabisz Memorial Award
- Member of the Pitt Business Dean’s List
Where have you interned during your college career?
- Leasing Agent Intern, Sterling Land Company, Pittsburgh, PA
- Pittsburgh Land Bank and Real Estate Intern, Urban Redevelopment Authority, Pittsburgh, PA
Where will you be working after graduation? After graduating, I will be working at Newrez as a Mortgage Operations Specialist through their TRAIL (Tools Required to Advancement into Leadership) program!
Who is your favorite business professor? There are so many professors that helped me throughout college. However, my favorite CBA professor overall is Professor Jim Kimpel because his in-field expertise and teaching ability make his classes both insightful and engaging. With extensive real-world experience, he bridges the gap between theory and practice, offering valuable industry insights that improve my understanding of lecture concepts. Prof K’s teaching style is structured yet approachable, making it easy to grasp challenging topics. I’m proud that I took 3 of his classes (Operations Management, IT Systems in SCM, and Six Sigma) throughout my college career!
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The biggest lesson I gained is the importance of adaptability. Markets, trends, and technologies evolve quickly, and staying flexible is key to success for the long term.
What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? Be open-minded as you navigate through in a business-related field, network constantly with others, embrace challenges, and balance theory with real-world experience.
Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? One thing that I’d do differently in business school is to take on to more challenges, internships, or side projects because hands-on experience often teaches more than lectures.
What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? One way CBA integrate AI is through data analysis tools for market research and decision-making. From using AI, I learned how it can drastically speed up data processing and improve predictive accuracy, helping businesses make more informed decisions faster.
Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? My proudest achievement is receiving the Wilma F. Tabisz Memorial Award because it recognizes my commitment to helping others and fostering progress within my community. This prestigious honor demonstrates my dedication to making a meaningful impact, whether through academic, extracurricular, or personal endeavors, and it serves as a reminder for me of the importance of supporting others and contributing to positive change.
Which classmate do you most admire? I have so many classmates to thank, but there is one classmate that stood out to me and that’s Melina. Melina Bradley is one of my classmates that I admire the most because she has extensive experience with service and on-campus leadership and has been a constant source of inspiration through her dedication to helping others. Her commitment to making a difference has motivated me to seek out opportunities to give back and foster positive change in my community.
Who would you most want to thank for your success? If I were to choose one person, that would be difficult because my success was an accumulation of everyone’s support including my peers, classmates, professors, and family. However, I would most thank my academic advisor, Stacey Nath, for my success throughout my Pitt Business experience. Without her guidance and support, I would not have navigated my academic and professional journey as effectively. She always offers her invaluable advice that would help make me decide about my coursework, internships, and extracurricular involvement. She also consistently encouraged me to challenge myself, take on new opportunities, and stay confident in my abilities. Finally, her mentorship has played a crucial role in shaping my growth, and I am incredibly grateful that she is my academic advisor.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? The top two items on my professional bucket list are securing a leadership role in the real estate or financial services industry and making a meaningful impact by mentoring aspiring professionals in the future. I want to develop expertise in my field while helping others navigate their careers, just like fellow mentors have guided me throughout college.
What made Billy such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?
“I have had the great honor of working with Billy since he first entered the University of Pittsburgh College of Business Administration. Not only have I been able to work with Billy as his Academic Advisor, but also as his BUS 0010 instructor, and then as his Co-Facilitator for the course. Because of this, I have had the opportunity to watch Billy learn and grow as a person, a student, a professional, and a teaching assistant/peer mentor for our incoming first-year students. Every engagement with Billy is a positive experience. Not only does he come prepared to all meetings, but he also wants to take time to engage as people. He will ask how I am doing and shows genuine interest in my well-being (as I do his). In every interaction, Billy makes the individual with whom he is working feel seen and heard. He makes everyone with whom he engages feel important.
Billy has excelled as a student. Not only does he perform well in his courses, he prefers to challenge himself and take courses that will not only help him to gain more skills and knowledge but will also help him to be more successful in the professional setting. As an example, although we had set his schedule for his final term, he decided that what we discussed was not enough. So, to develop his knowledge base even more, he decided to add an extra course for his Supply Chain major! He not only saw the value in what the course would offer, but how it would be crucial in the next phase of his professional path. He is also willing to take that knowledge and help his fellow students when they need the extra support.
Billy has been an amazing influence and support as a first-year TA/peer mentor. Because of his dedication and passion for the role, we have not only asked him to stay on as a TA/peer mentor for the past few years, but we also asked him to be one of our leads! He has a deep understanding for what the role entails and why it is crucial to the success of our first years, especially in their first semester of college. He consistently receives positive feedback about his presence in the classroom and how he cares about the well-being of his students.
Billy is one of those students who I will always remember. With a caseload of approximately 220 students, it is easy for students to get lost in the mix. With Billy, he does what he can to make a positive impact just by being who he is, a caring, driven, and dedicated individual who wants to make the most of every opportunity and do it with determination and compassion. He is definitely one who has not only made his mark in Pitt Business, but within the Class of 2025.”
Stacey Nath
Academic Advisor, Instructor and Co-Facilitator of BUS 0010: Your Academic and Career Success
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