“What makes UW-Madison thrive is Badger alumni helping current Badgers. If we all keep doing that, everybody’s going to succeed because we are all helping each other.”
Keaton Nankivil (BS ’17 and MBA ’20) grew up with Badger spirit in his blood. Originally from the west side of Madison, Keaton was always drawn to the “U-rah-rah” spirit that UW-Madison had to offer. Keaton officially joined the Badger family for his undergraduate degree and was awarded a basketball scholarship. In 2011, he left Wisconsin to play basketball professionally and traveled all around Europe for five years before returning to Wisconsin to finish his degree.
Coming back to campus after his hiatus, Keaton was faced with the challenge of learning new technology and using electronic textbooks. However, coming back to school in his late twenties, he was able to have a different mindset when it came to his academics. “When I came back as an adult, I could contextualize it a little better… I put my pride aside and just like, go talk to the instructor and learn this thing.” While finishing his undergraduate degree, he developed a passion for venture capital. After graduating in 2017, he decided to join the MBA program with a focus on corporate finance and investment banking, with an emphasis on entrepreneurship through the Fellowship in Enterprise Development program.
Read his full story here: https://business.wisc.edu/centers/weinert/blog/alumni-spotlight-keaton-nankivil/