Young Alumnus of the Year
Bennie Harris gives of his own first fruits and encourages others to do the same.
Posted 1-2-25
Whether it is working in the health care field, playing on the soccer field or supporting other young professionals in their chosen field, Bennie Harris II (BBA ’20, MBA ’21) gives his best and wants to get the best out of the people he works with.
In the office, he works with health care facilities to make sure they are operating to the best of their ability in regards to government regulations. As a soccer player growing up and from 2016 to 2021 as a Bison, Harris learned the value of personal hard work and dedication to overcoming challenges.
And with his entrepreneurial venture, Olive Pressing, a networking initiative for young professionals, he is encouraging young businesspeople to nurture their connections, fan their entrepreneurial spirit and offer up their first pressing of oil to any endeavor they take on.
Harris has been active on the College of Business Alumni Advisory Board and attending College of Business events.
It is that spirit of dedication and motivation of others to achieve their best that earned him the 2024 Young Alumnus of the Year Award this past November.
Harris was well-familiar with Lipscomb growing up as his father Bennie Harris was vice president of development at Lipscomb from 2007 to 2014 and is now a Lipscomb trustee. Harris graduated from Greater Atlanta Christian School and chose to return to Lipscomb for college in 2016.
Lipscomb had a profound impact on him, he said. He knew he wanted to go into finance, but it was the faculty and staff of the College of Business who opened his eyes to how many industries he could enter with a finance degree, he said.
“Critical thinking is one of the biggest things I learned at Lipscomb,” said Harris. “In my MBA courses I learned how to present numbers in a way to clients to make it understandable for them.”
Harris chairs the College of Business Alumni Advisory Board advancement committee which has raised more than $20,000 to establish the Psalm 78:72 scholarship. The 2024 student winners are pictured here with Harris.
That is a big help in his position today, as senior associate at Coker, a health care consulting firm where he works with health care facilities to make sure their compensation for providers meets government regulations.
“Doctors have more pressing matters to take care of like their patients, so we assist in the business aspects of health care,” said Harris. “At Lipscomb I learned how to analyze large sets of data, looking at both quantitative and qualifying results. Those are the skills that help me most.”
Harris started playing soccer at the age of two, he said. As a member of the Bison soccer team, Harris played a pivotal role in helping the team secure two ASUN Championship titles and reaching the 2018 NCAA Sweet Sixteen. During his final season, Harris served as team captain, further developing his leadership skills.
Harris with Associate Professor Han-Sheng Chen as a finance student in College of Business.
“I traveled all over the country and the world,” he said of his involvement with the sport. “It showed me how diverse a sport can be. It taught me how to interact with people who don’t look and sound the same. It taught me about personal hard work, dedication and overcoming challenges. Teamwork showed me how to put differences aside and work toward common goals.”
More recently, Harris has started to exercise his entrepreneurial skills, through a residential real estate venture called PrimeWave Connections LLC and the establishment of Olive Pressing, an idea born out of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
In the years after Covid, “there was a need to rebuild connection,” said Harris. The networking group is designed to help young professionals implement the ideas and dreams they may have beyond their 9 to 5 job.
“A lot of people my age have callings beyond their careers,” said Harris. “We started this group to nurture that entrepreneurial spirit. Let’s press the oil out of each other.”
As a member of the Bison soccer team, Harris played a pivotal role in helping the team secure two ASUN Championship titles and reaching the 2018 NCAA Sweet Sixteen.
Since its start this past April, the group has already produced a handful of entrepreneurial ventures, said Harris.
Harris has turned his gung ho spirit towards Lipscomb in the last few years, chairing the College of Business Alumni Advisory Board advancement committee which has raised more than $20,000 to establish the Psalm 78:72 scholarship, awarded to students who demonstrate high character both in and out of the classroom, celebrating the impact students are making and the light they are to others.
The Psalm 78:72 scholarships have had a unique impact on students and has made Harris feel more connected to today’s Bisons in the College of Business, he said.
So whether it is in the stands of a Lipscomb soccer game or the conference room in the College of Business, Harris is continually giving of his first fruits to Lipscomb and to our world.
Photos by Kristi Jones and Lipscomb Athletics.