Creating connections alumni choose to call High Point home: connections created at High Point University shape the lives of students into thriving opportunities. For victor Trinklein and Annie Beuker, their time at HPU helped them land their dream careers while finding a new home away from home.

• Position: ALUMNI

Trinklein, a Long Island native, and Beuker, from Grand Rapids, Mich., graduated from HPU in May 2012. The couple, who met in an English class, landed multiple job offers after graduation thanks to internships, experience gained in and outside of the classroom, and industry connections fostered by faculty.

"I used to sit in my dad's office as a child and talk about investment ideas for hours," says Trinklein about what motivated him to study finance. "My dad was an integral part of my educational development, and when we kept hearing people talk about High Point University and its growth, we had to come check it out."

Trinklein toured campus and met the kind faces of Dr. Jim Wehrley, dean of the Phillips School of Business, and many other faculty. He saw construction in progress for the Wilson School of Commerce that would house the W. Allen & Nancy Tilley Trading Room with a live stock ticker, both of which are now open on campus. When he realized the facilities and learning technology would be available to students during his college career, his choice became clear.

"One of the reasons I came to HPU was to think outside of the box," says Trinklein. "Dr. Qubein helped me do that in so many ways along with many other professors."

Those faculty helped Trinklein land a highly sought-after local internship at Merrill Lynch as well as another competitive internship on Wall Street in New York. He saw both sides of the financial industry and received multiple job offers--in and out of the state--after graduation. But he chose to work with Scott A. Tilley, CFA, who originally hired him as an intern at Merrill Lynch in High Point, because of his respect for Scott and love for the greater High Point community.

"So many of my professors were amazing in helping me prepare for those job interviews," Trinklein says. "I can name 12 or 13 professors who I would visit weekly in their office to say hello or ask for advice. They were that invested."

For Beuker, she grew up rearranging furniture in her room over and over while imagining a career in design. She watched plenty of HGTV and became a creative person looking for a hands-on career. Considering design programs in High Point, deemed the furniture capital of the world, was only logical to her.

"I fell in love with everything I saw at HPU and was thrilled to learn they had a home furnishings and design program in the same place as a major furniture market," Beuker says.

During her first semester at HPU...