Connor Higgins
London. Paris. Portugal.
There was a time in Preston McGee’s life when Tuscaloosa would have felt like “the world.” But in the summer of 2023, the Plantersville native found himself across the pond, immersing himself in new cultures and navigating environments where English isn’t the native language.
The trip was Preston’s first to require a passport. The experience was “kind of scary” but “really cool.”
“That really opened my eyes to how big the world actually is,” Preston said. “We get so tied into our own bubble here in Tuscaloosa that we forget what all is out there to explore.”
Preston, a graduate student in the STEM Path to the MBA program at The University of Alabama, was in Europe as a member of the 2023 cohort for UA in Portugal: European Innovation Academy. The three-week study abroad program matches students from various academic programs across the world to ideate and collaborate on start-up projects and pitch their businesses to venture capitalists.
“My team had an engineer, me with a business background, a team member from California and people who spoke different languages,” Preston said. “That diversity led to us considering how we market our product to different people while still maintaining a core focus.
“We had three weeks to really dive into those relationships and learn how they do things and bring all our ideas together,” he added. “It was really cool to see all of our minds together on a single focus, and, in the end, present the idea to real investors.”
Preston’s educational and cultural experiences through UA in Portugal broadened his perspective on working internationally and living abroad, interests that might not have been realized without the campus connections to EIA.
“UA is a name at the Academy, and (UA STEM Path to the MBA instructor) Harold Wright has a presence there at so many different levels,” Preston said. “And the work we did in Portugal is what we do twice a month on campus, just on a different scale. So, everyone in the UA in Portugal program was well prepared, just with something to prove.”
Preston received three scholarships to study in Portugal: the Community Affairs Board of Advisors’ Study Away Scholarship; the Tidwell-Lovett Family Endowed Scholarship for the Study Abroad Program at the Culverhouse College of Business; and the UA Education Abroad Grant.
UA’s focus on funding experiential learning programs and the generosity of UA’s alumni and supporters to fund these experiences for students continue to impress Preston, though he’d witnessed the transformational power of philanthropy long before studying abroad.
Preston received an alumni scholarship from his local ‘Bama Club in Dallas County. And, during his time as a Capstone Man, he was afforded an inside look at the foundational relationships alumni have with the University, an aspect of UA that resonated deeply as a native of a small town.
“You have to have people who support each other, and I think that’s what leads to UA’s success – the people not only supporting the name of The University of Alabama, but the people here,” Preston said.
Preston will earn his MBA in May 2024 – his third degree from UA – before participating in the Capitol Scholars Program in Washington, D.C. and applying for law school.
Preston said he’s grateful for the never-ending opportunities at UA that allow students to “succeed in their own ways.”
“UA is located in the heart of Alabama, but you’re not confined to campus,” he said. “We prepare you to go anywhere in the world and make a statement wherever you are.”
The Rising Tide 2.0 Capital Campaign aims to support scholarship and experiential learning for our students and has added 1,000 new endowed scholarships and fellowships to our campus. This wave of giving will help create a stronger and more diverse alumni base, including students like Preston, and reinforce the strength of our community.
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