Senior Lauren Beaver Reflects on Her Time at DU

For Lauren Beaver, attending the University of Denver has been nothing but positive. A student in the Daniels College of Business, Beaver will earn her bachelor’s in finance with minors in math and physics this June.

“I was lucky to find a great group of friends who have each contributed to my positive experience at DU,” says Beaver, who originally is from Los Angeles. “There have also been a few professors who have stood out and really took the time to make their classes meaningful. This has made my academic experience worthwhile.”

Beaver will take some time for herself following graduation, but her time away from DU will be short-lived as she’ll be returning this fall to pursue a master’s in business information and analytics. Based on her experience so far, Beaver is confident her additional time on campus will be just as positive and exciting as it was during undergrad.

In addition to her busy schedule as an undergraduate, Beaver made sure to get involved in other opportunities in and out of the classroom. She served as co-editor of the Pioneer Business Review, volunteered as a peer-to-peer mentor and advisor, worked as an ethics boot camp leader, became involved with the Physics Club, and had corporate finance internships with Splendid and with Ella Moss, a clothing company based in L.A.

It was her time in the classroom, however, that provided the most memorable experiences. Beaver attributes that to two of her professors.

“My most memorable experience was being a teaching assistant for Professor Paul Harrison's accounting class. He is also one of my most memorable professors,” Beaver recalls. “[Working] as a teaching assistant — getting to interact with other students, helping them and seeing them succeed — is rewarding and brings me so much joy. Professor Harrison is the greatest professor, because he genuinely cares about each and every student. He continuously confirms that hard work pays off.”

Beaver says another professor who made her time at DU special is Kingshuk Ghosh, from the Department of Physics and Astronomy, whom she had for three different classes. Beaver credits Ghosh for pushing her to work as hard as she can.

“No professor has ever made me want to work harder and master a class. Although I won't be pursuing physics, it’s because of Dr. Ghosh's classes that I will always be passionate about physics,” she says.

"Professor Harrison and Dr. Ghosh are both tough, but they command respect in such a way that you learn to take responsibility for your actions. I feel extremely proud to have found success in both of their classes.”

While Beaver is not sure where her DU education will take her, she hopes she’ll be able to use it in a meaningful way. And to incoming DU students looking for some advice, she sums it up in two words: “get involved.”

“The lessons you learn and the experiences you gain outside the classroom are just as important as the material you learn from your textbooks,” she says.