Grace Chi, a senior business student, will be using her finance skills in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas at BP America. She's accepted a commercial analyst job in the company's three-year Challenge Program.

She's enthused about an opportunity to use her financial skills in the energy industry. Her first job will be working with engineers to collect data and and analyze which combination of production sites offer BP more return on its investment.

"Numbers tell a story for me. They make an asset come alive," Chi said. "I want to be part of the team that solves the energy problem for future generations."

A native of Shanghai, China, Chi moved to Clearwater at age 13. She fell in love with FSU when she participated in Girls State in Tallahassee and stayed in Landis Hall. Aware of the educational choices not available in China, Chi decided to take full advantage of the College of Business' offerings. She's pursuing three majors – finance, real estate, and risk management and insurance – and a minor in French.

"Here we have the best resources to achieve all you choose to do," Chi said. "I hope I will never take it for granted."

Chi said her FSU finance classes have prepared her for the real world. Last summer she interned with Shell Oil Company in Houston. She performed investment and promotional analyses for lubricant deals up to $2 million for Shell's Pennzoil brand and its nationally recognized retailers, such as Pep Boys and AutoZone. She also helped streamline financial processes, such as financial statement formats, according to world standards.

At FSU, Chi is a member of Financial Management Association International and serves as vice president of the Insurance Society and social chairwoman of the Real Estate Society. She belongs to several honor societies, including Phi Kappa Phi, Beta Gamma Sigma, and Phi Eta Sigma. Chi has studied abroad in Japan and France on national scholarships. She speaks her native Mandarin and fluent French.

Chi has volunteered with Garnet and Gold Goes Green, the Humane Society, and the Boys and Girls Club. She was finance chair of the FSU Service Corps. She helped provide social events last summer for residents of the Center Serving Persons with Mental Retardation in Houston.

Other accomplishments include being selected to attend the 2007 Discover KPMG Summer Leadership Program in Orlando and receiving the Bob Hedges Undergraduate Student Award at the annual American Risk and Insurance Association conference in Quebec City, Canada.

Chi appreciates the faculty's genuine desire to help students succeed after college.

"The faculty members are so supportive," she said. "They genuinely care how you do and what you do."