Student Spotlight: Phillip Suh
Q&A with Phillip Suh
Hometown: Moore, Oklahoma
Program: B.B.A., MIS and Energy Management
Expected graduation: 2025
Extracurricular: Pi Kappa Alpha, JCPenney Leadership Program
Making connections has rarely been an issue for Phillip Suh, especially since prioritizing them upon arriving to the University of Oklahoma.
The COVID-19 pandemic partially clouded Suh’s high school experience, so he was determined to maximize his time at OU by expanding his horizons and meeting new people.
OU’s Michael F. Price College of Business recently caught up with Suh to learn how he’s immersed himself into the OU community and utilized Price College’s array of resources to get closer to his professional goals:
Why did you pick OU?
“My parents both went to OU and now work for OU at the Oklahoma City campus. I also grew up playing baseball and tennis. So, I went to the OU camps. Going to the OU football games, too, was a huge thing for me. I was a season ticket holder with my parents. Also, just the campus is gorgeous. That was a big thing for me.”
Why did you major in business?
“I originally was going to come in as a STEM major, specifically engineering. I realized that it really wasn't for me. I grew up as an only child, and so, the biggest thing for me was being independent and making my own money. I really enjoyed that aspect of it. And coming to Price, it kind of felt natural to choose business. I'm majoring in MIS and Energy Management. A big thing for me was computers. When I was younger, I built my own computer. I kind of just liked fidgeting with different things, technology-wise.”
What has been the most impactful experience you’ve had at OU?
“I would definitely say the Study Abroad program. I went to Vichy, France, this past summer. I would say that so far has been the biggest thing for me. I got to take courses in legal studies, management and marketing, which 9 hours (of student credit hours) seemed like a lot, but it was definitely doable with the professors that we had. They definitely made it work.
“It was definitely interesting, because I've heard other study-abroad experiences and for me, I did it because I wanted to venture out. I wanted to have met other people outside of the Greek life and then obviously everything else. So, I went going without knowing anybody.”
How did you get involved in the JCPenney Leadership Program?
“I applied my freshman year for the fall semester of my sophomore year. JCPenney, for me at least, is getting to meet people that I typically wouldn't me in Greek life. Also, getting to network with other business professionals and learn different business skills, like being able to sell yourself or critiquing your resume and all that stuff.
“The biggest thing for me that I've taken away is our C-suite tour that we do. Our director, Breea (Clark), she is pretty well connected and so I got to go to OG&E. My C-suite tour was with an executive and I got to see a day in the life of what he did. And so, obviously, as an energy management and MIS major, OG&E was perfect. I kind of got to see his day-to-day and what he dealt with business problem-wise. It was definitely something that reaffirmed what I wanted to do in college.”
Has it been difficult managing two majors?
“For me, I kind of like the challenge of having a busy schedule. I like to stay busy. So for me, it's working and then campus involvement and then leading in my fraternity and then also trying to maintain that (work-life) balance. I just think it's fun and challenging for me.
“I don't like to sit around and just do nothing. So, that's kind of why I chose the double major, as I just was going to have too much free time. And yes, I enjoy free time, but I like to stay busy.”
