Robert Dubose, Jr. ‘21, Business Administration

From Robert’s introduction to NVU as a high school junior when he met an alum at an AAU basketball tournament, to the faculty and staff he worked with while applying to NVU and as a student — making connections was key to Robert’s college experience every step of the way.

“It was very important that I connected with who I did at NVU,” he said. “Every person you connect with you’ll get a different view from, and a new spark to your path that you might not get otherwise.”

That first spark came from the alum at the tournament who encouraged him to “check out NVU,” which led to Robert’s connection with basketball coach Miles Smith who drew his interest further. Then he found “the campus was really welcoming, and the older students really welcomed me with open arms,” he said, while admissions staff, coaching staff, and student life staff all helped him to get to NVU and make the most of his experience, he said.

Robert jumped all in, too. He became a Resident Assistant in the spring semester of his freshman year, in addition to taking 17 credits and playing basketball. “I did all the hard stuff freshman year!” he said. All the while he learned how to “be comfortable with being uncomfortable” as he expanded his connections with faculty and students and found his niche.

Robert started out as a pre-med student, inspired by the idea of helping his great-grandmother who was ill at the time. When she passed, he lost the drive needed to pursue that course, he said. Realizing business offered “a broad area to learn about for my life,” he shifted his major to business administration.

“I had a strong interest in accounting and received high test scores,” he said, so business was a good fit. He credits Professor Bill Morrison with playing an intricate part in his experience in the Business Department as he learned.

Self-described as liking “to get a lot of things done,” Robert shared that a key learning of his time at NVU was time management. “Time management in high school vs. college vs. personal life are all different,” he said. He found he had to learn how to create a schedule and stick with it and credits Les Kanat as one of his professors who “hounded us on time management — which helped so much!”

Looking back on his time at NVU, Robert says he “accomplished a lot in four years. “While it was hard work, it helps if you also appreciate your own effort,” he said. “I was able to achieve all I wanted to — including reaching 1,000 career points on the basketball court even with the lost playing time due to COVID-19.”

Robert is currently pursuing a career in real estate and learning all he can about financial literacy, with the goal of becoming financially independent. He plans to teach others what he’s learning from this experience, too — and will keep making connections and gaining new “sparks” all along the way.