Gregory Hilldrup

University of Richmond, Robins School of Business

“A hard-working, Disney-loving, singer, baseball enthusiast, and future doctor with a passion for helping others.”

Fun fact about yourself: Many people know that I enjoy singing, but I also love percussion instruments and have played the conga and djembe drums for roughly 10 years.

Hometown: Spotsylvania, Virginia

High School: Riverbend High School (Commonwealth Governor’s School Program)

Major: Accounting and a Pre-Med Course of Study

Minor: N/A

Favorite Business Course: Fundamentals of Financial Accounting (ACCT 201)

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

Richmond College Chair of and Investigator for the University of Richmond Honor Councils
President of the Robins School of Business (RSB) Student Government Association
Peer Advisors and Mentors Program Mentor (and Mentor of the Year for 2022-2023)
RSB Endeavor Mentorship Program Mentor
Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Program Volunteer
Pathways to a College Experience (PACE) Program Volunteer
Academic Tutor for Various Departments and Subjects
Vice President of Accounting Society
Q-Camp Student Ambassador
Reunion Weekend Student Ambassador
A-List All Semesters of College
Metcalf Prize Recipient: Richmond College Sophomore-Class Award
Pinchbeck Prize Recipient: Richmond College Junior-Class Award
Richmond College Medal Finalist: Richmond College Senior-Class Award (Awaiting Final Determination)
Finalist for Herb Peterson Award for the Outstanding Graduating Accounting Student (Awaiting Final Determination)
Student Representative for the Search Committees for Director of the Qualitative Resource Center and the Vice President of Student Development
Phi Eta Sigma Honor Society Member
Omicron Delta Kappa Honor Society Member
Mortar Board Senior Honor Society Member
Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society Member
UR Class of 1964 Scholarship Two-Time Recipient for Academic Merit and Leadership
Osbourne O. Ashworth Scholarship Recipient for Academic Merit and Achievement in a Pre-Med Course of Study
Robert H. Parks III Scholarship Two-Time Recipient for Academic Merit and Achievement
Lewis D. Andrews Scholarship Two-Time Recipient for Academic Merit and Achievement
Steigleder Family Merit Scholarship Four-Time Recipient

Where have you interned during your college career? Guadalupe Free Clinic Volunteer and Healthcare Assistant – Colonial Beach, VA

Where will you be working after graduation? Medical Scribe at Bon Secours Hospital – Richmond, VA (Gap-Year Before Applying to Medical School)

Who is your favorite business professor? This is an extremely hard question because I have had so many amazing professors at UR who have taught me so much and truly contributed to the best education I could have hoped for. However, Dr. Ashley Austin stands out to me because of her overwhelming passion for student learning, her course material, and the accounting field in general. I have had the pleasure of taking two of her classes (and a special topics course where we traveled to Cape Town, South Africa), and she is easily one of the most upbeat and happy professors I have ever had. She could walk into class at 9:00 AM on a Monday to talk about general IT controls and her smile and passion for her work would easily shine through and energize the class. In addition to Dr. Bagranoff who taught my first accounting class and pushed me to explore the major, Dr. Austin was a major reason that I eventually made the official switch to accounting. She is just an all-around amazing professor who would do anything for her students and truly cares about our success and learning. I have been so lucky to have professors like Dr. Austin, who have pushed me to be a better student, person, and business leader throughout my time in the Robins School, and I will miss them dearly as I move on to the next chapter after graduation.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? I think my biggest lesson from my business education is that no matter what field or career you are planning to go into, it is a real asset to have at least a base-level understanding of business. This is true whether it involves understanding the relationships between inflows and outflows of cash or income, knowing how to calculate and understand the interest you’ll be paying on a mortgage or car loan, or even managing and interacting with others. “Business” is integrated within all of these and many more aspects of our daily lives. If you can take a business course and expand your skill set, readily take that opportunity because there are few classes that have as direct of an application to life after college as business courses generally do. It will help set you apart in any workplace in which you find yourself in the future.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field? I think my biggest piece of advice to someone heading into a business major, and presumably a business career, is to not underestimate the power of building and maintaining relationships while in college and after. Take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you like going a speaker series event, attending a networking session, or even stopping after class to chat with your professor. These can have so many unforeseen benefits in your life and make you top-of-mind for future opportunities. Having a network of individuals who want to help you and see you succeed is an invaluable asset in life, and college is the perfect environment to practice this. In college, this applies to fellow students, staff, and professors all the same, and being a genuine, caring, hard-working, and intentional person will go a long way in setting yourself up for future success.

Looking back over your experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently in business school and why? One unfortunate side effect of having a business major – and a pre-med course of study – is that I did not have a ton of extra space for other electives or other classes that I found interesting. I did take a few summer classes to ensure that I could get everything done. However, I do wish I had been able to add a couple more classes that would have enhanced my education like cybersecurity or forensic accounting/fraud, even if it would have meant my schedule would have been tighter. This also goes for anyone in college in that you should take classes that might be out of your comfort zone, but you think would be really interesting or useful. The University of Richmond provides such amazing opportunities to explore disciplines outside of our main major and minor; I am huge advocate of taking classes in other areas of study to grow as intellectuals and people and increase exposure to different perspectives. One of my favorite classes at UR as not in accounting or science and was Dr. Shields’s Education and Society course that explored education as an institution in America and its role in our society and culture.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What is one insight you gained from using AI? The main way my professors at the Robins School have integrated into the course I took was to allow us just to play around in these programs and see what they can produce. For my business classes in particular, there was much more of an acknowledgment that AI is going to be a tool moving forward and not a competitor or setback. Having a working knowledge of what these tools can do will be a real differentiating factor in the workplace, but they should only be used to enhance your education and work.

Which academic, extracurricular or personal achievement are you most proud of? Throughout my time in college, my guiding principle has been to leave our campus community a little better for being a part of it, and I have strived to uphold this mission through meaningful contributions across various areas of UR. One of the major avenues that I have taken to help accomplish this goal was by joining the Honor Councils. I was selected as a first-year student, motivated to contribute to a campus community of fairness and accountability, where everyone has a level playing field and the opportunity to succeed. Starting from a general member to being an investigator and now finishing my term as Richmond College Chair, I have been involved in many parts of the process, and it has been an extremely rewarding experience for me, as I feel that I have been able to affect positive change on our campus. While it is our duty to firmly lead as members of the Honor Councils, it is also our responsibility to operate with the empathy required by the situation and allow students the opportunity to learn from the experience. I see the Honor Councils as a rehabilitative body that holds students accountable, but also helps to provide a path for them that emphasizes integrity, character, and responsibility in their academics going forward.

Which classmate do you most admire? Again, this is not an easy question because I have met so many amazing friends and classmates throughout my four years here. If I had to choose one classmate, it would be Jessica Hay. Jessica is one of the first people I met upon arriving at the university, and we have been close friends ever since. I met her initially because we were part of the same business living-learning community. In taking those first classes with her, we got to know each other very well. Nothing builds bonds like late-night whiteboard sessions prepping for calculus and accounting! Unlike anyone I have ever met, Jessica’s energy and positivity light up and make her an incredible presence in any room. She is also one of the most extroverted and happy people I know and is always bringing enthusiasm and warmth to team projects and those around her. Jessica, however, is also deeply hard-working, caring, and intentional in everything she does; she is someone I can always count on whether it’s for support in academics or just someone to talk to. She has also pushed me to grow as a person and encouraged me to step outside my comfort zone, whether that is helping me become more outgoing or reminding me to take time to enjoy life. Jessica is not just fun to be around, but she makes those around her better, and I am so very grateful to have gotten to know her these past four years.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? One person that truly stands out for this question is Laura Thompson. Dean Thompson was actually the first person I met at University of Richmond because she was my incoming academic advisor and we had a Zoom call about a month or so before I even arrived to campus. I remember being so nervous going into that meeting and starting out my time at UR, but Dean Thompson made me feel welcome, valued, and right at home from our first conversation. She has been a valuable support system and trusted person I could come to with just about anything during my college career. Dean Thompson is also one of the most passionate people that I have ever met, especially when it comes to supporting students through advising, course planning, or just general issues that arise. I have truly enjoyed getting to work with her through the Endeavor program, student government, and even as a business communications professor, where she helped me gain confidence in public speaking and networking. Beyond the formal capacity of her job, I have deeply appreciated the little things like our check-ins, conversations that provided clarity and reassurance, and the ability to stop by her office in the business school just to say hello. Dean Thompson has been more than an advisor as she is a mentor, role model, and someone who genuinely cares about the success and well-being of every student she meets. I will greatly miss these moments, but I know that the impact she has made on me, and so many others, will last long beyond my time at UR. Given my initial trajectory coming into college, it is people like her and those in the Endeavor program who convinced me to continue with business, and it has been one of my best decisions over the last four years.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

Run my own medical practice one day with the combination of my business and medical knowledge.
Serve on the board of a hospital in an administrative or advisory role to ensure an emphasis on quality care and patients’ outcomes in addition to fiscal viability.

What made Gregory such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“I had the pleasure of teaching Gregory in his first accounting class, and he stood out from the very beginning. Gregory is one of the most intellectually gifted students I have taught in my 40-plus-year career. He is both mature and poised beyond his years, and he is someone who can always be relied upon to help any student who might be struggling.

Over the past four years, Gregory has been an incredible presence at the school by mentoring others, leading student organizations, serving the university and the broader community, and contributing his intellectual insights in the classroom – all while maintaining a 4.0 GPA for each semester.

As a liberal arts university with a highly ranked business school, we love to see students who cross disciplinary boundaries. Initially, Gregory was set on his pre-med path to becoming a doctor, but along the way, he discovered both an aptitude for and an interest in accounting. He excels in both arenas and has found ways to combine his skills and knowledge to benefit those in both the medical and accounting professions.”

Nancy A. Bagranoff
Professor of Accounting and University Professor
University of Richmond, Robins School of Business

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