Student Excellence Series: Andrea Hardesty

The UNO CBA Student Excellence series highlights several of the outstanding students at the college who were recently recognized for their accomplishments at the 2019 Beta Gamma Sigma Honors and Awards Ceremony. UNO CBA students are diverse, multitalented, and hard-working, and they graduate as intelligent and ambitious business leaders with the knowledge they need to make an impact. Learn more about why we're proud of Andrea Hardesty, honored for Legal Studies, below.

Major

BSBA in Legal Studies

Honors and Involvement

Cum Laude Honors

Graduation Date

December 2018

Award

Honored at department ceremony for Legal Studies

Why did you choose to attend UNO?

"I originally wanted to go out of state for undergrad, but decided that I was going to tour UNO. I just fell in love with the school - how new and nice Mammel Hall was, the apartment-style dorms, and free student admission to athletic events were all things I liked. I felt like UNO really cared about each student individually."

Have you had a favorite class at UNO? Why was it your favorite?

"I would probably have to put it at a three-way tie. I enjoyed Accounting II, and anyone that takes accounting with Professor Nath knows how fun it is. I also enjoyed Legal and Ethical applications with Dr. Sewell because I learned so much about the law in that class, and she taught it like it was a law school class which was extremely helpful as a prospective law school student. I also enjoyed my Employment Law class because it was a type of law I thought I had no interest in, but I really enjoyed doing the homework cases and it opened my eyes to that specific area of law."

How has attending UNO CBA helped you to achieve your personal and professional goals?

"I think attending UNO and being a part of the CBA has just opened so many doors for me that I never expected coming into college. My professors have been so willing to write me amazing letters of recommendation and overall helped me build a great network. My advisor was also so helpful in finding classes that worked with my specific career plans."

What's your dream job? What pursuits or goals do you have for the future?

"Becoming a criminal attorney is my dream job. I’m still unsure of whether I’d like to do prosecution or defense. I’ll be starting law school this summer and for now my goals are to just survive law school, graduate with honors, and pass the bar exam."

What parts of your CBA journey are you most proud of?

"Neither of my parents went to college, so being a first-generation college student was difficult. In the beginning, I felt very lost and confused about a lot of things because my parents couldn’t offer much advice, but that got easier as time went on."

What has been the top highlight of your CBA experience?

"I think my highlight would be all the opportunities that were offered to me and all the relationships I’ve established through CBA. There were many required classes I thought I’d have no interest in but came out of having learned a lot."

If you could tell someone about UNO CBA, what would you say?

"It’s the best college on campus, and everyone should get a business degree."

And finally, if you could give a message to any prospective students interested in coming to UNO CBA, what would you tell them?

"I would say to take advantage of all the opportunity. CBA does a great job of always having employers in the building available to talk to students, and hosting career fairs. CBA just feels like a big family and everyone there wants to see you succeed, and they’re willing to help you get to wherever you want to go."