Graduate Spotlight: Hochgesang, Joaquin named among top business students in the nation
Kim Chaudoin |
Lipscomb University seniors Audra Hochgesang and Kyle Joaquin have been named among the top business students in the nation as 100 Best & Brightest Undergraduate Business Majors Of 2024 by Poets&Quants.
Audra Hochgesang
Hochgesang, an accounting major, and Joaquin, a finance major, were selected by Lipscomb’s College of Business and submitted to Poets&Quants for consideration. The Best & Brightest honors seniors who set the bar for their business school classmates. To compile this year’s list, P&Q invited each of the Top 50 undergraduate business programs to nominate two seniors. Business schools choose representatives using their own selection process and criteria.
“I am incredibly honored to have received this recognition and humbled considering my many other deserving classmates. This recognition speaks to the education and opportunities I have received at Lipscomb,” says Hochgesang. “As I move forward in the business world, this gives me confidence knowing that I have been equipped with the necessary skills and am capable of accomplishing more than what I think.”
The Huntingburg, Indiana, native says university’s size, faith-based community and ideal location in Nashville led her to Lipscomb. “During my visits, I found myself drawn to the vibrant community,” she recalls. “The College of Business’s outstanding reputation and business as mission program furthered my decision to choose Lipscomb.”
Hochgesang has been very involved in campus life. She has served as president of the Student Center for the Public Trust, co-chair of the Dean’s Student Leadership Council, a member of and treasurer for Delta Omega social club, a member of Delta Mu Delta, a Business as Mission Fellow, a Young Life Leader through which she mentored high school students and a student alumni ambassador. This month, she also co-directed the Singarama 2024: ERAS show “1980s: That Championship Era.” She also participated in the College of Business’s study abroad trips to Indonesia and Ghana, Africa.
Audra Hochgesang, top center, with her Singarama 2024: ERAS show leadership team.
“I have loved my experience at Lipscomb and have gotten to experience things I never would have imagined,” says Hochgesang. “From traveling to two different continents, directing Singarama, and making lifelong friends, my time here has been incredibly memorable and fulfilling.”
Hockgesang says throughout her time at Lipscomb, numerous professors left an impact on her and helped her pursue her passions, especially the many accounting professors. Even so, she says one stands out — Joe Ivey, professor of management, is one of her favorite professors.
“He consistently engaged everyone in the classroom and incorporated interesting topics about the broader world in his lectures,” she shares. “Not only did we learn about how to effectively run and improve a business, but also how to use that business to create change for others. He continuously sought advice on how to improve his teaching and would implement those suggestions. I most valued his desire to know each student and how he could help them achieve their goals.”
Outside of accounting, Hochgesang says Rob Touchstone, director of the Center for Vocational Discovery inspired her with his passion for serving others through business. “He has demonstrated the numerous avenues business can be used for in connecting people, and I hope to use what I have learned from him in my career one day,” she explains.
While at Lipscomb, Hochgesang completed internships at Deloitte (audit and assurance), HCA Healthcare (internal audit) and CAPSTONE Business Advisors (financial analyst). Following graduation in May, she plans on pursuing a staff accountant position. Read more about Hochgesang’s perspective on business in her Poets&Quants profile.
Kyle Joaquin
Joaquin says his experience at Lipscomb has been life-changing. “I honestly believe the Lord called me to Lipscomb University,” he shares. The Nolensville native began his college journey at a local community college, which ended after his first semester when he fell one credit short of qualifying for a scholarship. After taking a semester off to evaluate his future, he decided he wanted to continue his education at a university close to home that had smaller class sizes conducive to cultivating intentional relationships with professors and peers.
“I also wanted to learn more about who God was, and what a Christian school looked like. I had grown up with the head knowledge that Jesus was God and I claimed to be a Christian. However, I did not live for him, attend church on more than just Easter and Christmas, and I had never read the Bible as I was coming into college,” Joaquin explains.
He says that is why he believes God placed him at Lipscomb and changed his original plans.
“He wanted me to know him and help me replace the void and brokenness I felt in my heart with his love and goodness,” Joaquin says. “I am happy to say that Lipscomb has been the perfect spot for how the Lord intends to use me. I came to Lipscomb during a hard point in my life where I was truly broken. I was seeking purpose, healing and clarity for my life.”
In the “Story of Jesus” class, he was introduced to the Gospel and began to read the Bible for the first time. “As I continued to ask questions of my professors and read more scripture, I started to see that what I was seeking was Jesus,” he continues. “I began to pray with faculty and get connected with campus ministry resources and eventually on August 8, 2021, I fully gave my life to Christ and was baptized. Because of Lipscomb’s intentional focus on sharing the Gospel and cultivating a Christ-centered education, my life has been eternally impacted.”
Kyle Joaquin's baptism in 2021.
Joaquin has embraced his time at Lipscomb, being involved in campus life. He has made the Provost’s List for four times and the Honor Roll three times, is a member of Beta Gamma Sigma International Business Honor Society, president of Alpha Kappa Psi Professional Business Fraternity, co-president of the Lipscomb University Finance Club and Investment Team, American Marketing Association vice president of finance, National Society of Leadership and Success member, Lipscomb University IDEAL peer mentor and Circle of Support leader, Forest Hills Baptist Church college leadership team and was a 2022 Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium 1st place poster competition winner.
Joaquin says Lipscomb has given him “tremendous opportunities to be equipped and prepared” for his future. He held internships at State Farm (sales and marketing), UBS (investment banking operations), Nashville Predators (finance), AllianceBernstein (sales relationship management) and Forest Hills Baptist Church (student ministry and finance). He has secured a job offer with the help of the College of Business Career Connection Center which he will begin following graduation in May. “I would not trade my time here for anything, and I am proud to be a Bison for life,” he says.
Being recognized as one of the top 100 business students in the country is particularly meaningful to Joaquin.
“This recognition means a great deal to me. It serves as a reminder to me that no matter where you start in life, there is hope,” he shares. “It reminds me that your present does not have to be your future. You can make a choice to change the narrative and trajectory of your life. A choice to fight for your goals and dreams. I made that choice when I decided to come to college and this award is evidence and encouragement to me of how the Lord is honoring my efforts.”
Read Joaquin’s Poets&Quants profile here.