Editor’s Note: The following profile appeared on Poets and Quants and is reprinted with permission from author Jeff Schmidt.
"Now in its seventh year, the 100 Best & Brightest Business Majors from Poets & Quants 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. Like previous years, business schools chose representatives using their own selection process and criteria – though P&Q encouraged schools to factor qualities like academic prowess and extracurricular leadership. Overall, women outnumber men by a 63-to-37 margin on this list, with 15 students hailing from outside the United States. Like previous years, the Best & Brightest collected scholarships and excellence awards at their schools. They led winning case teams and ran orientations. Often, they served as treasurers, campaign managers, scrum masters and RAs – as in resident advisors and research assistants. Many times, they were juggling these roles simultaneously."
We spoke with Beta Sigma/Lehigh's Tobey Bill (2023) who was selected for the 2023 listing. His comments and the original profile are below.
“I was drawn to Theta Chi because of how kind the brothers I met were and how meaningful the experience was for them. When I started at Lehigh as a freshman, I had no intention of joining a fraternity because I honestly thought I wasn't the right person for it. It was only after I met some of the Theta Chi brothers that I realized just how wrong that was. These were people who shared my interests, shared bits of my personality, and shared my aspirations. I became great friends with them and we had long conversations about their experiences. Time and time again I was told that there was no better way to make the quality of friendships with the quantity of people that were Theta Chi brothers. I had friends in other organizations and none shared this same message. That is what attracted me to this organization above all others.”
He continued, “Being a Theta Chi brother allowed me to speak with people older than me that were doing what I hoped to one day do. Whether it was an alumnus at an event or upperclassmen that hadn't yet graduated, I was constantly talking to people who were doing things that I was really interested in. Through this, I was able to hear about what made Lehigh great for them, and these conversations are what inspired me to make the most of my own college experience. They taught me the options that were out there and identified which ones could best help me pursue my passions.”
He also added, “If I could give a piece of advice to a younger Theta Chi, it would be to take full advantage of everything the collegiate experience has to offer. There is no other time in one's life that involves access to the same resources, the same people, the same possibility of learning. There was a lot of what Lehigh had to offer that I didn't take advantage of until the last year of my time there and I really regret that. Being at university gives students the tremendous ability to use cutting edge technology, to speak to professors who are at the forefront of their respective fields, or to take courses in unique subjects that are really interesting. Absolutely take advantage.”
Tobey Bill
Lehigh University College of Business
“Finance and engineering double-major with an entrepreneurial mindset and a want to do good.”
Fun fact about yourself: I am a US/Great Britain dual citizen.
Hometown: Weston, Connecticut
Majors: Integrated Business and Engineering (IBE) Finance and Industrial & Systems Engineering (ISE)
Minor: Computer Science
Extracurricular Activities / Leadership roles:
- Founder/CEO of Unify Studios
- President of the Lehigh Consulting Group
- President of Beta Gamma Sigma
- Member of Tau Beta Pi
- Member of the College of Business Student Council
- Member of the Industrial & Systems Engineering Student Council
- Fraternity Brother of the Theta Chi Fraternity
Where will you be working after graduation? I will be at Bain & Company as an Associate Consultant in their New York City office.
What is the biggest lesson you gained from studying business? The biggest lesson has been how important relationships are in a business environment. Even thinking back to a business communications course that I took in my freshman year, it was instilled in us that how one speaks with someone else is of utmost importance in the business world. It can be easy to think about capability in terms of technical knowledge, but it is the soft skills that are even more essential. I learned that, even if I could talk through a financial model front-to-back, I would find success in business extremely difficult without the ability to effectively communicate.
What has surprised you most about majoring in business? I have been most surprised about the variety of applications that business knowledge can be relevant in. Before coming to Lehigh, I had barely considered consulting as a career. Now, it is mentioned in most of my classes and has become my chosen field. This is one of a plethora of opportunities that are available to business students. Before becoming one, I knew there were many, but I had no idea how vast the possibilities were.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
- Start my own business in the environmental space.
- Work abroad for enough time to learn another language.
What made Tobey such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2023?
“… Tobey’s ability to investigate the market and then create a product to meet the needs of the targeted customers is a testament to his critical thinking skills. Tobey demonstrated that he knows how to work in a team environment and his efforts were instrumental in bringing his project to a positive conclusion…Tobey exhibits the kind of work ethic and personal integrity that makes everyone associated with him a better student and better teacher because he is part of our community.”
Pat Costa
Professor of Practice
Integrated Business and Engineering Program
You can read Tobey’s full profile here.