Ashleigh Rosario knows the value of being a lifelong learner, so when she wanted to sharpen her skills in her career, she chose to pursue a master’s degree at Texas A&M University-Victoria.

Ashleigh Rosario

“I wanted to further develop my business acumen and strategic thinking to more effectively contribute to my company,” the Victoria graduate student said. “Through the excellent courses at A&M-Victoria, I was able to enhance my knowledge of how to evaluate risk, outcomes and the needs of a business at work. It’s already had a positive impact on my career.”

Rosario was named the Fall 2005 Outstanding Graduate Student for the College of Business at A&M-Victoria. She will graduate on Dec. 20 with a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in human resources management. The Outstanding Undergraduate Student is Sullivan Kinsey of Katy, who will graduate with a Bachelor of Business Administration in accounting.

Xavier Garza-Gomez

“Ashleigh and Sullivan are two students who perfectly showcase how a degree can make an impact on a student’s life,” said Xavier Garza-Gomez, interim dean of the College of Business. “Their focus and dedication have paid off, and I know they will achieve success thanks to their hard work and the excellent instruction they have received from the faculty. I wish them the best as they move forward in their careers.”

Each semester, faculty from A&M-Victoria’s four colleges select outstanding students to be honored during commencement. The university will host four fall commencement ceremonies on Dec. 19 and 20 at the Victoria Fine Arts Center, 1002 Sam Houston Drive. The Friday ceremonies will be at 2 p.m. to celebrate graduates from the College of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences and then at 6 p.m. for the College of Natural & Applied Science. The Saturday ceremonies will begin at 10 a.m. to celebrate the graduates from the College of Education & Health Professions, and the 3 p.m. ceremony for graduates of the College of Business. A live stream of the ceremonies will be available on the A&M-Victoria Commencement page.

Rosario earned her bachelor’s degree in human resources development from Texas A&M University in 2012 and has worked in the HR field ever since. In 2020, she decided to pursue a master’s degree, and A&M-Victoria’s program was exactly what she was looking for. However, not long after she initially started the MBA program, she started her new job in employee relations for Koch Industries, so she took a hiatus to focus on establishing herself in that new role before continuing her studies.

Two specific courses were especially impactful for Rosario: “Employment Law Seminar” and “Strategic Management.” They offered very strategic and practical knowledge and helped her improve how she approached challenges, Rosario said. In addition, the program helped her learn how to more quickly write structured work products, which is a major part of her role with Koch Industries.

All of the skills she has developed throughout her career and then sharpened through A&M-Victoria’s MBA program have been a boon to Rosario’s current position. As she applied the knowledge and skills she learned, she earned a promotion and leadership opportunities. Now, as she prepares to graduate, she plans to continue to focus on that growth mindset and pursue any innovative plans that would enable her to be a good support for her business and its customers.

“Now that I’ve reached the end of this journey, I’m so proud of this accomplishment,” she said. “But more than that, I’m grateful for all the support I’ve received from my family – especially my husband and parents – as well as the faculty and my classmates. I can’t wait to celebrate this moment with my family and friends.”

Sullivan Kinsey

Kinsey had a bit of a rough start to pursuing his bachelor’s degree, but now he has come back to what he was first interested in as a child.

“My dad was an accountant, and as a kid, I thought that was what I wanted to do as well,” he said. “But in high school, I started to enjoy science classes, so I thought I would try pursuing that in college. It turned out to be too difficult, so I took an introductory accounting course, and it just fit.”

Kinsey initially enrolled at Houston Community College, then transferred over to A&M-Victoria a few years ago, when the university was known as University of Houston-Victoria and had an instructional site in Katy. The close proximity to his home was convenient for his studies, as he could live at home.

Now that he’s gone through the program and nearly finished his degree, Kinsey knows he made the right decision. He’s discovered a love of working in Excel spreadsheets, and he enjoyed learning about how to handle taxes and financial statements.

“There’s just something about being able to look at something you’ve done and know you did it correctly,” he said. “What I learned in tax class will be very helpful in the future. It’s about all the little things people take for granted, and now I have perspective to help me understand how it all works and fits together.”

After graduation, Kinsey is considering joining the U.S. Air Force or starting his career as an accountant. Eventually, he hopes to move up into a high-ranking position managing a financial team. But for now, he is grateful to have reached this milestone.

“I want to thank my family for all their support,” he said. “I’m grateful to my parents for letting me continue to live at home while I was getting my degree and for their help with my studies. I’m also thankful to my brothers, who knew how to help me relieve stress by playing video games and board games and trying to learn how to play more strategic army games. I also want to thank the university faculty who were so good at teaching, communicating and sharing concepts with their students. It made a big difference.”