2003, 2009 – David Staley – My UAH Story
David Staley
BSBA, Finance, 2003
MBA, Management, 2009
Financial Advisor
Merrill Lynch & Co.
Huntsville, AL
This is my UAH story…
My Mom remarried and moved to Huntsville in 2000 so I moved shortly after for a much needed change. I came to UAH after going to school for a few years in Illinois where I had changed majors three times. I was working at a local restaurant while getting my registration at UAH in order and one of my co-workers happened to be a current UAH student. We became friends and she told me she knew a bunch of the guys in the ATO fraternity and I should meet them. I ended up going out with her after work one night and meeting the guys. I pledged ATO my first semester and it was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Some of my best memories are times I spent with my brothers are they are still good friends today. In addition to all the good times at the fraternity house, maintaining good grades was incredibly important. I took my introductory finance classes at UAH and enjoyed them so much I pursued it as a major. Along the way I had Dr. Burnett and Dr. Evans as professors. They pushed me to be a better student and genuinely cared about my performance. I have an immense amount of respect for both of them and still talk to them fairly regularly almost 10 years after graduating. As a student, I didn’t realize the impact my time at UAH would have on me as a professional. I wanted to stay involved with the university because of the immense respect I have for the faculty and the pride i feel in the education i received. The hard work required to complete my undergraduate degree was well worth it and I returned in 2007 to complete my MBA in the fall of 2009.