Frank Byers – August 2019
Texas A&M Department of Economics Amazing Student
August, 2019
Name: Frank Byers Jr.
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
High School: South Oak Cliff High School
Degree objective: B.A Economics, Financial Planning & Business Administration minors
Expected graduation: May 2020
University highlights, awards, scholarships: Gates Millennium Scholar • Texas A&M Regents Scholar • Texas A&M Century Scholar • 4-year Aggie Men’s Basketball • 3x Dean’s List • 2x Sweet 16 Appearances • 1x SEC Champion
Clubs/Organizations I am (was) a part of: Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. • Aggies Men’s Basketball • Texas A&M Financial Planning Student Association • Southwest Black Leadership Conference • The Aggie Black Man Connection • Distinguished Gentlemen’s Club • ExCEL
Current employment: CEO at Shift DFW(Current) • Financial analyst intern at Republic Capital Group (Current) • Amegy Bank ODP Summer Intern – 2018 • For Oak Cliff Summer Intern- 2017 • JP Morgan Chase MIFP Summer Intern- 2014
Family ties to Texas A&M: I am the first of many future Aggies.
I chose to attend Texas A&M because… It is a top-tier university that believed in my potential from the first day I met my advisor, Ms. Tierra Graves. Other factors included the opportunity to extend my scholar-athlete career to play SEC basketball and the Aggie network. When I stepped foot into Reed Arena on my first day of my visit to Texas A&M I knew I was home. Every day I feel blessed to be a part of a university that truly wants to see each and every student succeed.
My favorite things to do on campus are… Playing pickup basketball games at the recreation center, studying in the Department of Multicultural Services (DMS) with friends, and meeting new Aggies.
When I have free time, I like… To spend time with family/friends, read, play video games, sleep, and trade foreign exchange currencies.
The craziest thing I’ve done is… Go deep sea fishing with my teammate and good friend Mark French.
My favorite place to study is… Anywhere on campus with my friends and fraternity brothers.
My favorite ECON professor is… Dr. Jeff Edwardson
My favorite part of being an Economics student is… The overall culture, I really enjoy the friendly competitive environment. I’ve engaged with many fellow ECON Aggies and they always impress with their intellect. Economics is the perfect major because the need for technical quantitative skills are at a high demand making employers crave for well prepared scholars ready to make their mark in the high finance industry.
If I could share an afternoon with anyone, I would love to share it with… My grandmother Linda Kay Young. She passed away before I was old enough to remember. I would love the opportunity to spend some quality time with her. I also would love to spend time with my family. With my busy schedule it is very rare for my immediate family to be together. Each and every moment with my family is special to me.
If I knew I could not fail, I would… Stop worrying about the future so much and live free. With the transition from high school to college not being an easy one, often times us as young adults fear of one mistake being the result of us failing in life. The fear of failure is the greatest challenge of them all. With the lack of resources granted during my core years of public school education, it has definitely been a challenge of figuring it all out.
If money was not a consideration, I would love to… Establish a scholarship foundation for students pursuing secondary education. Additionally, I would love to start my own RIA firm managing billions of athletes and high net worth clients assets, help educate and lead millions to financial freedom using my platform, build my mom her dream house, and get full time courtside access to any LeBron James game.
What is your passion and how are you committed to pursuing it? I have a big passion for using the accumulation of skills and knowledge acquired from both school and sports over the years to create a vertically integrated platform that educates others in many PAGE 3 different areas. I am committed to pursuing this passion by further polishing my financial skills, pursuing graduate studies, diversifying my network, and starting a non-profit this fall
After graduation, I plan to… Attend graduate school to pursue my Master’s and Ph.D. at Howard University, launch an investment group aiming to lead others to financial freedom, pass the CFP exam, launch my nonprofit with other scholars from my community, and promote education through scholarship.
The one Texas A&M experience I will always remember is… Being a part of the comeback vs. Northern Iowa in 2016. That game is arguably one the greatest comebacks ever in the sport and also granted us the opportunity to advance to the Sweet 16, a time that is stapled in my memory forever.