Meet our Inspire TAs: Ben Apostol!
Meet Inspire Teaching Assistant, Ben Apostol! As the Inspire program continues to grow, we seek support and guidance from student leaders in our community. Ben is a student in the McIntire School of Commerce at UVA, which makes him the perfect fit to assist with the Inspire McIntire Business Institute course! To learn more about Inspire and the MBI program, visit our website here to learn more. While registration has closed for this summer, we welcome all prospective students to ask questions and research what Inspire course is the perfect fit for them.
Q: What is your name, major, and year at UVA?
A: My name is Ben Apostol, and I’m a rising third year in the McIntire School of Commerce. I’m hoping to concentrate in both finance and accounting.
Q: What are you studying, and what drew you to that field?
A: I came to UVA initially uncertain of what I wanted to study in particular, and I discovered how popular applying to McIntire was among students throughout my first year. I enjoyed the prerequisite courses I took ahead of applying and realized how renowned our business school was for its educational style and career prospects. So, after being accepted, I was overjoyed to join the class. I’m pursuing accounting and finance concentrations because I find that the courses I’ve had in those subject areas offer valuable, career-relevant information I’d like to study before entering the workforce upon graduation.
Q: Which Inspire classes have you supported this summer as a teaching assistant, and what were some of your favorite moments or highlights?
A: I’ve supported two two-week McIntire Business Institute sessions as a TA, as well as a one-week session of Exploring the Built Environment and another of AI Literacy. While Built Environment and AI Literacy exposed me to some new fields, I found both MBI sessions to be my favorite courses. Given that much of the material was aligned with what I’ve been learning at UVA myself, I felt that I was well equipped to help out students. Moreover, MBI students were most interested in studying business or entering the industries I’m exploring, so I was well-positioned to be somewhat of a mentor figure alongside the professor, Eric Martin — who was also an absolute pleasure to work with. I found it heartening to see the progress of students’ startups over the course of two weeks, from hints of an idea on the first day to a fully-fledged presentation and product on the last. I believe Eric’s lectures pushed our class to believe in themselves enough to make every project work, and I was glad to be a part of that.
Q: What does a typical day look like in your role at UVA | Northern Virginia?
A: Every faculty member structured courses in unique ways, so a “typical day” varied depending on which course I was supporting or which phase of the class session we may have been in. I found that variance to be engaging over the summer, as I’d have to adapt my approach to every classroom and cohort of students. To be general, though, every day more or less had a similar structure from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM — unless it was a Friday excursion. At 9:00 when class began, I’d ensure students were present and prepared. Until lunch at noon, I’d engage with students and lecture to make certain that everybody both understood and enjoyed the material we were learning about, while also looking out for any administrative or technical tasks. During lunch until 1:00 PM, I’d eat with coworkers and walk around socializing with students. The latter half of class was often groupwork based, so I’d spend the time until 4:00 PM providing feedback on group projects and tending to any student needs before everybody signed out at the end of the day.
Q: What is the biggest takeaway you’ll carry with you from this experience?
A: My most significant takeaway is the importance of a space leading young students to explore their interests unboundedly. When asking students about what their favorite parts of the program were, their answers often centered around how Inspire had been structured unlike their typical academic settings, which allowed them to think outside of the box and then both process and apply new information in creative ways. Throughout that process, I did my best to continuously ask questions and provide feedback to students in a manner that pushed them to think deeper about class material. I’m not one to claim that average high school curriculums are broken and ineffective at all, but I could tell that the open-ended environment cultivated in Inspire was deeply appreciated amongst students. Under that sort of structure, I could see how everybody enrolled was empowered to form their own academic and personal takeaways in such a short timeframe.
Q: What was the most rewarding part of helping high school students this summer?
A: I found the moments in my MBI sessions where I was able to serve students as an early coach regarding college applications, UVA, McIntire and early career advice immensely rewarding. This was secondary to actual course material, but the stress of the prospect of college life was palpable among each of my class groups. Now that I’m halfway through college and have gone through professional internship recruiting, I feel as though I’ve just recently reached the point where I can give thorough, meaningful advice to younger students. In that sense, these high schoolers have been helping me throughout an important developmental phase of my life as well. On my college and early professional journey, I’d often lamented that I didn’t have a strong network for advice and I’d occasionally feel as though I had to figure things out on my own. It’s certainly a relief that things have seemingly worked out now and that I’m in a spot some high school students interested in business may hope to be in someday. In the Inspire program, I’ve deliberately tried to fill in the gap of mentorship that I know, from my experience, can make all the difference.