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Henry Meeds
Graduation year: (BBA ’22, B.S. '23)
UMKC degree program: Dual Degree, Business Administration and Accounting
Hometown: Fairway, KS
Fresh off the completion of his accounting program, Henry Meeds is starting a new adventure. The May 2023 graduate is headed to New York City to work at the Big Four accounting firm, PwC, a job he had lined up months before graduation.
“My experience at the Bloch school has definitely helped me get into this position with PwC,” Meeds said. “The reason I went into consulting is because I don't want to be stuck in the same industry, doing the same job every day.”
Meeds became connected with PwC after participating in the company’s diversity-based internship program in 2021. He learned about the company, the technology they use and developed an action plan for a nonprofit organization. He returned for a second internship in the summer of 2022, where he focused on technology consulting and implemented the rollout of Workday for a health care company. By the time the summer was up, he had an offer to come on full-time after graduation as a technology consultant.
“I think my experience at the Bloch school has definitely helped set me up,” Meeds said. “Being in a smaller class allowed me to ask questions and get mentorship from those professors. I have a lot of professors that I've been able to talk to you about certain aspects of business. For that reason, I think I bring something new to the table for the company.”
Despite having a full-time job lined up, Meeds didn’t rest on his laurels the last year of his accounting program. He was one of four Bloch Consulting Lab students to work with Vantage Airport Group, the vendor management company for the recently opened single-terminal KCI – the $1.5 billion terminal is considered Kansas City’s largest infrastructure project. Meeds and his peers helped support the company with hiring, developing an internship program and conducting an economic impact study. Meeds said after all the work he’s put in with the airport, taking off from there for New York will be a moment to remember, knowing that what he’s worked towards will have a big impact on his hometown, KC citizens and his career moving forward.
“It’s really symbolic,” Meeds said. “Working with the airport and helping implement this great amenity for Kansas City was great. When I leave this month, it will make me feel great just having a piece of KC, while leaving a little bit of myself behind.”
He said the mentorship from experienced professors and participating in the Bloch Consulting Lab helped sharpen his understanding of consulting services and information technology in a way that will benefit him as he begins his career.
“Working in this consulting position definitely helped me improve my consulting skills before heading out to New York City,” Meeds said. “We’re getting hands on with every part of the project, similar to what a partner might be doing at PwC. And we’re doing it all ourselves.”
While balancing his commitments as a staff sergeant in the Missouri Air National Guard, he didn’t fall short on his academic responsibilities. Last spring semester, Meeds received notice of being deployed to Germany and took the initiative to complete course work and exams ahead of schedule. Following his return, he headed straight to New York City to complete his internship with PwC. His advice to other active military students is to always be ready to be called to duty.
"Being a military student, and have having done this for the past four years, I am fully aware that things happen,” Meeds said. “I get a step ahead of all my classes to make sure that I'm ready to go.”