Posted 8 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 22, 2023
At UWL, Josie Hintz found a place she could thrive
It was little more than an afterthought, but it changed the course of Josie Hintz’s life.
“I actually toured UWL because I was in La Crosse to tour Viterbo (I was thinking nursing or physical therapy before I started college). My mom suggested that we look at UWL, too, and I thought, ‘Might as well,’” Hintz says. “As soon as I stepped on campus, I fell in love with it — with the people, the community, the location. It truly felt like home.”
Hintz never looked back, enrolling at UWL and declaring a double major in business analytics and finance.
Now a senior, she has flourished at UWL — evidenced by her selection for the Joe Laux Family College of Business Administration Top Scholar Award. The scholarship covers tuition for her senior year.
“I am honored and grateful beyond words for this distinction and this scholarship. It helps show me that all of my hard work and dedication is paying off,” she says. “This scholarship is an incredible blessing, especially financially. I am so grateful for this opportunity and all that it will enable me to do both with my education and with the freedom that having my senior year of tuition paid for brings.”
Hintz has been a model student at UWL, and not just due to her academic achievements.
She serves as a building manager and student coordinator of operations for UWL Rec Sports.
She has volunteered on several campus committees, including as co-chair of the University Centers Student Services and Buildings Committee, and chair of the Rec Employee Community Enhancement Team, among others.
And she is the president of both the UWL Hiking Club and the UWL Fitness Lifestyle Organization for Women.
These and other activities have allowed Hintz to gain invaluable leadership experience and communication skills — not to mention friendships she hopes will continue for years to come.
“My involvement with Rec Sports has undoubtedly had the greatest non-academic impact on me during my time at UWL,” she explains. “My fellow student staff members have become like a second family, and the support from them and mentors like Neil Ostlund and the Rec Sports professional staff have helped push me to grow not just as an employee in working hard and developing skills, but in my personal and academic growth.”
Academically, Hintz’s experience in the Kwik Trip Integrated Core Program (ICP) was nothing short of transformative.
In the program, students explore core business principles in finance, marketing and management by working on a few large, real-world group projects throughout the semester.
“The ICP was the most difficult academic challenge I’ve taken on in college, and it has also resulted in the most academic, personal and professional growth by far,” Hintz notes. “The knowledge and skills I developed from it helped me get an internship this summer, and I know that it will help me in anything I do in the future.”
Hintz, who expects to complete her bachelor’s degrees in May 2024, has accepted a full-time position as an associate ecommerce data analyst at Uline, a leading distributor of shipping, packaging and industrial supplies.
As she embarks on her career, she knows her UWL education will serve her well.
“UWL has had an immense impact on me as a student, a future professional and — arguably most importantly — as a person,” Hintz says. “I’ve loved my time at UWL and can’t imagine having gone to any other school.”