Haslam College of Business - UT Haslam Graduating Senior Balances Past, Future

When a farm in Manchester, Tennessee, becomes crowded with festival goers each June, it’s clear that Bonnaroo has come to town. This is where Connor Fox, a senior at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business, had his first professional experience. Starting in elementary school, the Manchester native helped his parents sell lemonade to attendees each summer.

“My first foray into working on teams and serving people was at this lemonade stand,” says the accounting and finance major.

From earning his business stripes on the festival grounds, Fox has blazed a trail of involvement and experience that sets him apart as a true leader at the university, balancing a perspective of the past with a vision for the future.

Opposites Attract

Fox knew what he wanted out of his career as soon as he enrolled at UT: a position of strategic leadership and influence to help organizations make data-backed decisions. As an accounting and finance double major, he grasps that he can achieve this end through technical skills and knowledge; still, he emphasizes the people side of business.

“At its core, business is very relationship-based,” he says. “Building connections, offering strategic leadership, being present and having good communication skills is critical.”

Fox enjoys accounting’s past-focused perspective.

“I’m fascinated by how professionals can glean the health of an organization and its potential for long-term sustainability through calculations and summarizing operations in one perfectly tied bow,” he says.

He views finance as the opposite.

“It looks at those historical numbers to create future projections for performance,” says Fox.

He chose to pursue the disciplines together because he felt understanding how they come together would make him a better business leader.

“This summer, I’ll be completing an internship with PWC in capital markets accounting, which advises clients on merger and acquisition transactions and is very calculation heavy,” he explains. “Finance professionals are doing very complicated math to create the value of a company that’s undergoing a transaction. My service line will complete the accounting and advise the finance side on how to make the transactions official, so they pair very well together.”

A Full Resume

Working with PWC will be Fox’s third internship. He completed a tax accounting internship with Nissan, where he learned firsthand the importance of understanding emerging technologies and finding creative solutions to improve processes, reduce human error and improve efficiency.

Fox has also interned with the UT Foundation for three years, which he deems an incredible experience, especially leadership’s willingness to let him further explore areas he’s learning about in the classroom. While there, he automated routine tasks using AI and Python, especially the Excel-heavy work behind the university’s Big Orange Give campaign.

“During the campaign, donations made within a certain timeframe are eligible to be matched, and every transaction has to be reviewed and properly allocated,” he says. “The logic is straightforward, but the volume and variability make it time-consuming and complex. I built a Python script that automates the entire process. What used to take three months can now be completed in about 30 seconds.”

According to Lauren Herbstritt, Fox’s internship supervisor and UT Foundation’s senior director of annual giving and digital strategy, Fox has proven to be an invaluable contributor and an exceptional emerging professional.

“Connor consistently demonstrates a rare combination of technical aptitude, analytical thinking and initiative,” she explains. “He took ownership of a cumbersome audit process that historically required many weeks to complete and streamlined the entire workflow, significantly increasing efficiency and reliability.”

Beyond her appreciation of his technical capabilities, Herbstritt considers Fox a remarkable individual.

“His positive attitude and friendly nature make him a delight to work with,” she says. “He leaves a lasting impression and has truly left his internship better than he found it.”

Always Growing

Throughout his time as a student and intern, Fox has truly enjoyed growing and shifting his perspective, as he believes this helps him understand how people’s backgrounds shape the way they make decisions.

“That awareness has changed how I work in teams and approach group decisions, and it’s made me a more thoughtful and effective leader,” he says.

Fox’s university involvement includes more than academics and internships. From studying abroad for a semester in Antibes, France, to serving as UT and Haslam ambassadors, he has made a decided effort to find and build community.

“Coming to UT from such a small town, I knew I wanted to meet a lot of different people from different backgrounds, but it was bit daunting at first,” explains Fox. “I became involved to build a community of people with different interests. It makes life more exciting. I also love having spaces where I feel comfortable and trust the people around me; that helps me be a better student.”

Future-Ready

After graduating in May and completing his summer internship with PWC in Atlanta, Fox will return to Haslam to complete the Master of Accountancy (MAcc) program.

“Haslam’s MAcc program is incredible,” he says. “I’m excited to connect with my cohort, hit the ground running and grow even more.”

Amelia Hart, teaching associate professor in accounting, expresses confidence that Fox has a bright future ahead of him.

“Connor has been an inspiration and a remarkable gift to this academic body,” she says. “I have observed him distinguish himself across academic, professional and leadership settings in roles requiring maturity, visibility and trust. His trajectory signals high‑value contributions with long‑term impact. I cannot wait to see how Connor continues to elevate.”

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Contact:

Leah McAmis, senior editor, leah@utk.edu