Alumnus, Erik Sims graduated in December 2012 with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the School of Management. Erik received his MBA from Walsh in 2019. He recently began a new position at Ocuphire Pharma, Inc as their Director, Corporate Controller. As our featured Alumni of the month, Erik gives insight on why he went into finance/accounting, his interests in crypto, and more!

Q: Degree(s) and graduation year:
A: BBA – Finance in Dec 2012.

Q: Where are you currently working and your title? How long have you been in this position or at this organization? What is your normal day to day?
A: Ocuphire Pharma, Inc. – Director, Corporate Controller. Member of the management team, handle oversight of all accounting and finance activities for the company. 

Q: Why did you choose UM-Flint for your degree(s)?
A: It was close to home and has a great business school!

Q: What is one of your favorite experiences at UM-Flint?
A: I loved being able to meet and work with other students from the area, still have relationships with some of the people I met at UM-Flint.

Q: Why did you choose to go into the career path you are currently in?
A: I have always liked numbers and so that was the motivation behind pursuing a finance degree. I ended up more on the accounting side in my career, but finance and accounting go hand in hand.

Q: What is one of your proudest accomplishments so far?
A: Financial freedom, not having to live paycheck to paycheck and being able to really enjoy the career field that I chose.

Q: What advice would you give students that are thinking of pursuing a career in your field?
A: Look at job postings for positions you might be interested in post-college, work to gain experience or knowledge in the job skills that the position requires.

Q: Fun Facts!
A: I am really into cryptocurrency right now; I think it would be amazing to create my own crypto – super fun and interesting goal right?