Recent graduate Adam Hasley ('15) always wanted to travel the world, and with encouragement at UNT, he turned globetrotting dreams into a budding career as an executive for NexGen Language and Business Center, a consulting startup in China.

Hasley met the company's CEO, Julie Zhang, at a Richardson conference promoting international investment between the U.S. and China. He joined NexGen a year ago as an investor but then began providing consulting services to Asian firms entering the U.S. marketplace. He also helped bring cultural performances and activities from China to the U.S. Zhang was impressed and hired Hasley in July as chief operating officer.

Hasley, who majored in integrative studies and personalized his degree toward goals in international business, says UNT gave him an edge.

"There isn't a cookie-cutter model for UNT students," he says. "When you take courses ranging from accounting to philosophy, you need to learn how to adapt your way of thinking. This was crucial in preparing me to work with different cultures, customs and expectations."

At UNT, he served on committees for the Distinguished Lecture Series and the Student Government Association, chairing the SGA committee that presented the initial proposal for the new University Union. Hasley says many faculty and staff became mentors who shared their own experiences abroad and invested in his personal development.

As a junior, Hasley was chosen as one of only four students in the nation to represent the U.S. internationally for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation's China CEO Forum in Beijing, and its CEO Summit in Bali, Indonesia. Later, he found consulting work through contacts in Beijing, and through the encouragement of Lou Pelton, associate professor of marketing, he earned course credit for undergraduate research to complete his degree while in China -- all of which gave him the skills to become a successful COO.

"At UNT, if you are willing to work hard, and put yourself out there," Hasley says, "you can achieve great things."