Keenan Jeppesen, Basketball star turned businessman

Victoria Coates | Hamilton, ON | Posted on October 26, 2011

Keenan Jeppesen

Basketball may have prompted Keenan Jeppesen to go back to school, but even now that his athletic eligibility has finished, he is set on achieving his MBA.

Jeppesen completed a bachelor of arts in economics at Brown University where he also played varsity basketball. After graduating from Brown he played for the University of Western Ontario while taking additional credits. The following summer he was selected to represent Canada at the International University Sports Federation (FISU) games in Belgrade, Serbia. His experience with the national team encouraged him to go back to school the following year to pursue his MBA and play basketball for McMaster University.

"I felt an MBA would give me the practical skill set to accompany the theoretical background I developed as an economics major," says Jeppesen. "I chose DeGroote for the Co-op program because I knew it would give me a chance to apply those practical skills as they were acquired."

Jeppesen played varsity basketball for McMaster where he was selected conference player of the year and named an All Canadian before suffering an MCL tear that ended his final season of eligibility early. Although he is unable to play basketball this year, Jeppesen will continue to embrace the MBA Co-op program.

"I think like most things in life, my experience at DeGroote would be best described as a roller-coaster. There have been many ups and downs as well as challenges and rewards. Juggling varsity basketball while managing a first-year MBA schedule is one of the more difficult things I have endured. Overall, it has been an extremely satisfying transformative process."

Jeppesen, who is majoring in finance and doing a minor in accounting and financial management services, completed his first Co-op position at the corporate headquarters for Black Entertainment Television (BET) in Washington D.C. Working as a business operations analyst on the media sales department, he was involved with finance and accounting, budgets, creating forecasts and manufacturing reports. This summer he had a position in the media sales department for BET in New York City. Jeppesen was responsible for building and managing a database for advertisement deals and working in the inventory and revenue management divisions.

"Each day provided its own unique set of challenges and learning opportunities and I am very grateful for the chance to have been a part of it all," says Jeppesen. "I've gained invaluable real-life work experience throughout the work terms of the Co-op program."

Jeppesen also stresses that an additional benefit of the Co-op program is the career support provided by the Centre for Business Career Development (CBCD). "As a young professional, the insight and guidance provided by the counsellors has been an advantage over my colleagues who have come from other programs."

Jeppesen is now finishing up his summer work term and preparing for school in the fall.

"It is a little bit of a tease adjusting from living the life of a young professional to that of a student. That being said, I am looking forward to returning to DeGroote in the fall. This will be my last full semester of school and I plan to enjoy it with the people who I have worked so hard alongside over the past two and a half years," he says.

As he nears graduation, Jeppesen is looking forward to finding a career that utilizes the skills and knowledge he has acquired in the program.

"I will look to join a company where I can continue to grow as a professional and decision maker. I am interested in roles with a strategic business development focus as I have found those positions are best suited to fulfill my intellectual curiosity while allowing me to apply the analytic skill set I have developed at DeGroote."