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The Vasey Academy provides talented under-resourced students from urban areas* with various opportunities to achieve academic success at Mizzou. Through a carefully designed set of mentoring experiences and exposure to corporate executives, students create the foundation for their professional development network while learning more about the business world.
*A metropolitan area with a population of a minimum of 50,000 people (per U.S. Census and State of Missouri definitions: MCDC, 2023, U.S. Bureau, 2023) and a high school class size of no fewer than 200 students.
The Vasey experience provides participants with:
- One-on-one mentoring by business executives from companies such as EY, Regions Bank, and Atria.
- Unique and rewarding networking opportunities with alumni in locations such as Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis
- Dedicated advisors and career coaches and supportive Trulaske faculty and staff committed to their success.
- Seminars focused on current business trends in partnership with Vasey Advisory Board executives
Vasey Academy participants receive a $1,000 non-renewable scholarship and have access to program-specific scholarships, as well as the opportunity to participate in corporate trips to locations such as Chicago, Kansas City, and St. Louis.
Before applying to the Vasey Academy, students must be accepted into Mizzou, designating a business as their major, and have a minimum 2.8 high school GPA for freshmen or transfer students. Applications are open each semester, with priority given to applicants who apply before April 1st. Applications received after the deadline will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
For More Information
For more information about the Vasey Academy, please contact our Programs of Distinction staff at 573-882-7787 or VaseyBusiness@missouri.edu, or visit us at 408 Cornell Hall.
Ambassadors
Larry Wilson Jr
Finance and Banking, Class of '24, Kansas City, Missouri.
Vasey has allowed me the ability to connect with extraordinary people. In my first year in the program, I was pushed by my mentor to not only become involved in campus but begin searching for my purpose both personally and for my career. The program has set me on a path that not very many get to walk down, and there’s nothing like it at the university.
Olivia Prudhomme
Marketing, Class of '25, Greater Chicago Area, Illinois.
Through Vasey I have learned to put myself in situations I have been intimidated to put myself in for as long as I could remember prior to college. From asking questions to business professionals to going to a career fair within months of being in college was a big step for me and helped me get out of my shell/comfort zone and start my business development earlier than my peers. Vasey has built a cohort of familiar faces throughout the business school that I have been able to create relationships with and build support throughout my collegiate journey.
Xavier Paredes
Accounting, Class of '24, Kansas City, Missouri.
The most valuable thing that I took away from Vasey was the connections I made during my freshman year seminar. One of my best friends at Mizzou sat next to me in our class and he became a friend and a roommate I could always count on. Despite going down our own paths at Mizzou, the other students in my freshman seminar have always been a text away or a smiling face whenever I come across them anywhere in Columbia. It is this sense of community that I hope we are able to grow over the next few years.
The most valuable thing I have received from Vasey is a mentor. My mentor has helped me in so many ways. He has connected me to different people and has given me amazing advice. He has helped me get to where I am today, and I am very grateful for him and for Vasey
Vasey helped me form relationships and connections within and outside of Trulaske while also giving me the confidence and resources to apply for various opportunities that I normally would never have applied for.
The most valuable takeaway that I have received from the Vasey Academy is the skill to ask thoughtful questions. Vasey taught me how to ask questions that are well-researched and meaningful in nature.