Joseph Couture: 2016 Best and Brightest

Joseph Couture Florida

Joseph Couture

University of Florida, Warrington College of Business

Hometown: Pembroke Pines, Florida

High School: St. Thomas Aquinas High School

Major: Finance

Minor: Actuarial Science and Spanish

Favorite Business Courses: Business Case Analysis, Business Ethics, Financial Management

Extracurricular Activities, Community Work and Leadership Roles During College:

LEADERSHIP & INVOLVEMENT                                                                                                                                             

UF International Case Competition Team

Financial and Strategic Analyst

  • Analyzed real-world company problems—such as Deutsche Bank, Henkel, Citgo, and Fonterra—to create viable solutions, and presented those solutions to company executives and consultants across the world
  • Justified proposed solutions through revenue projections, cost projections, and net present value analysis

Warrington College of Business Administration

Career and Academic Peer Mentor      

  • Attended weekly professional trainings centered on career development and interpersonal communication skills
  • Maintained personal relationships with students through one-on-one meetings throughout the school year, helping over 15 students acquire jobs and internships

Florida Leadership Academy

Alumni Relations Director

  • Engaged FLA’s 900+ alumni currently in the business world to create a dynamic network for current FLA members looking to develop professionally and obtain similar internships or full-time roles

Class XI Mentor

  • Chosen to coach the WCBA’s top 100 business sophomores on how to become successful business leaders

Student Finance Group

President        

  • Led SFG to 130 dues-paying members, its highest ever, by adding an alumni database and member committees, increasing promotions, and recruiting Fortune 500 companies to present at meetings
  • Facilitated communications between five different vice presidents and 8 directors to create an efficient team

Vice President of Finance         

  • Presented weekly to general body meetings of 50+ people about current events, financial trends, and how to invest, developing my public speaking skills and passion for the financial markets

AWARDS & HONORS

  • 1st Place, Champions Trophy Case Competition, Auckland, New Zealand
  • 2nd Place, SDS International Business Case Competition, Queenstown, New Zealand
  • 2nd Place, International Case Competition at Maastricht, Netherlands
  • Anderson Scholar
  • Center for Management Communication Prize Winner for Outstanding Business Writing
  • Dean’s List
  • Presidential Honor Roll
  • National Merit Scholar
  • National AP Scholar
  • High School Valedictorian (class of 510 students)
  • Bright Futures Scholar

Where have you interned during your college career? 

General Electric (GE) Oil & Gas, Houston, TX

Financial Management Program (FMP) Intern                                                                               

  • Reduced quarterly direct deflation report cycle time by over 75% for two GE sub-businesses (Drilling and Surface) with over $4 billion in combined revenue by developing a report in Tableau, an ERP consolidation platform
  • Audited and reported Drilling and Surface’s indirect deflation entries for 2Q close and

GE’s annual 10K report

  • Reallocated Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) expenses for GE Lufkin, a GE sub-business, by categorizing and locating transactions for the past two years, freeing up $1 million in cash flows

Patriot National Insurance Group, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Finance Intern              

  • Designed an original Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that calculated the Risk Based Capital Ratio for Patriot’s outstanding insurance policies that is still being used today
  • Audited the company’s Schedule E account in a team of three, freeing up $500k in cash flows by renewing securities
  • Aided in drafting a subsidiary company’s financial statements, contributing to its $9M sale

Describe your dream job: My dream job involves impacting the world in a positive way while working with a dynamic group of people. If I can’t find the right role to do that, then I would love to start my own company to try to change the world.

What did you enjoy most about majoring in a business-related field? I love the win-win nature of a high quality business, meaning that I love that a business, when run properly, benefits all parties involved, and allows people to come together to solve problems.

Where would you like to work after graduation? I have accepted a full-time offer with Deloitte as a Strategy and Operations Consulting Analyst.

What are your long-term professional goals? I would like to get an MBA to continue my business education. Long-term, I would like to be the CEO or CFO of a business whose mission I agree with.

What advice would you give to a student looking to major in a business-related field?

“I knew I wanted to major in business when…I took macroeconomics in high school and saw how much business influences the world we live in.”

“If I didn’t major in business, I would be…a statistician! I love working with probability to figure out the odds of something happening. For something completely unrelated to numbers, I would also love to be a professional video game team coach.”

What was the happiest moment of your life? Speaking during the ceremony of my sister’s wedding.

Which academic or personal achievement are you most proud of? It was winning the Champions Trophy Case Competition in Auckland, New Zealand, beating out 11 other international universities.

What animal would you choose to represent your professional brand? An owl. Introverted, dependable, patient, and most productive at night.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My sister. She taught me how to become intrinsically motivated to effect the change I want in the world.

Fun fact about yourself: I lived in Switzerland for two years starting when I was 9.

Favorite book: Ender’s Game

Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings: Return of the King

Favorite musical performer: Kendrick Lamar

Favorite vacation spot: Asheville, North Carolina

What are your hobbies? Video games, baseball, craft beers

What made Joseph such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2016?

“I have known Joey for three years now. He is quite simply one of the brightest, dedicated and motivated students I have ever encountered in my 11 years in higher education. Joey is a graduate of the Florida Leadership Academy (FLA), a yearlong leadership development program for the top 100 sophomores in our college. Joey then served as a mentor to 10 students in the FLA class after his during his junior year. Currently, as a senior, Joey serves as the Director of Alumni Relations on the FLA Advisory Board. Joey’s leadership skills are highly developed. He has served as the Vice President and President of the Student Finance Group, the largest student organization in the Heavener School of Business. Joey’s teamwork and problem-solving skills are outstanding. He has demonstrated this numerous times as a member of the Heavener Case Competition Team. Joey has competed all over the world in business case competitions representing Heavener against some of the best business schools in the world. He has earned first-place finishes once and second place finishes three times. It still amazes me that after all he has accomplished. He has maintained a near perfect GPA as a finance major, with minors in Spanish and actuarial science. Joey has a very bright future ahead of him after graduation.”

Horace S. Tucker, MA, HRD, GCDF
Director, Center for Career and Leadership Development
Associate Director, Heavener School of Business
Warrington College of Business Administration
University of Florida

Additional information about Joseph (Per Mr. Tucker):

  • Graduate of the Florida Leadership Academy (FLA), a year-long leadership development program for the top 100 sophomores in the college. He also served as a mentor for 10 students in the class that succeeded his. He currently serves as the Director of Alumni Relations, for the FLA Advisory Board and leads a team of three other board members.
  • Career and Academic Peer (CAP) Mentor – Joey is in his second year as a CAP Mentor where he assists Heavener juniors in their internship search. He also provides assistance in resume writing, mock interviews, and personal statements for all Heavener students.
  • Member of the Heavener Case Competition team – Joey has competed all over the world in business case competitions representing Heavener against some of the best business schools in the world. He has earned first- place finishes once and second=place finishes three times.
  • Finance major with a perfect 4.0 GPA; minors in actuarial science and Spanish

 

 

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