danny li

danny_photo.JPG

Hometown: Houston, Texas
Major: Business Honors/Plan II Honors/Finance
Year: 3rd

1. Why did you join ABSA?

I remember freshman year when I actually committed to not joining ABSA, mostly because I wanted to branch out and do as much as possible beyond business. However, George (yes, the one on panel) kept relaying how great his freshman ABSA experience was on M-Team, so I decided to give it a whirl and attend an Interest Meeting. When I was there, I found so many people already introducing themselves to me, and from the initial pitch, I thought ABSA was a nice blend of a little of everything. So I came back for the next meeting. The rest is history.

2. What is your favorite ABSA memory?

I don’t know if this is fully correct, but I think on CFT app reading night, my branch got together and just began these subtle roasts toward one another. That was the turning point in Professional branch’s dynamic – we started out a bit awkward, but from then on, we found ourselves roasting each other ALL THE TIME. It was fun. For the entire. rest. of. the. year.

3. What’s your favorite thing about the University of Texas at Austin?

Its layout and location. The campus itself is of tremendous size and it’s near the heart of Austin, which allows you to explore so much (including companies!). Makes for a great time all the time.

4. If you could give one piece of advice to your freshman self, what would it be?

Be realistic. My biggest pet peeve now is people telling you “oh, don’t worry, you have plenty of time!” I believed in that for (in my opinion) far too long to the point where I had to make rushed decisions in some key points of my life that I really should’ve thought out. Yeah, harsh, but sometimes you need to face up to what’s coming with full preparation to succeed.

5. What is your dream job?

End goal is to become a professor, perhaps for a communications or business course. I find teaching to be one of the most fulfilling professions because of the ability to empower others. I’ve always had this philosophy that you don’t have to be smart to succeed – you just need to work hard. Seeing that play out through the students I help tutor only emboldens me to stay committed to that philosophy and make as much of an impact as I can (realistically).

6. What’s your favorite TV Show/Movie/etc?

Inside Out hands down (my phone wallpaper is still the picture I took after I saw the movie). I cried (and yes, I counted) five separate times so dramatically that my brother thought the sobbing was coming from the movie and not me. But honestly, I had moved three times in my life and knew how hard those transitions were for me, so seeing it all play out on film really hit home (or maybe I’m just too emotional).

7. What is one thing you love about yourself?

My evolving introspective nature. Easily. Sometimes it’s easy to get bogged down or caught up in everything that life throws at us, be it our career paths, grades, friends, and so on. Especially at this age where everything changes so rapidly, my introspective personality grounds me in humility and reminds me to appreciate just the small things I sometimes easily take for granted.

8. Name the top five things on your bucket list.

  1. Travel to the Maldives (have you seen the water???)

  2. Open a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing local educational resources

  3. Get a hedgehog

  4. Sharpen my video and audio editing skills (I really like making videos)

  5. Send thank-yous (cards or emails) to the personal influences in my life