The finance education he received at Illinois served Brandon Peele well during the first chapter of his life, post-Illinois.
But it’s all those electives that have been the story in chapter two of the Berkeley-based author’s career.
“I came from a finance family and declared finance as a major during my freshman year. However, my heart was elsewhere,” says Peele (BS ’98, finance), a leadership consultant and self-described “purpose guide.”
“I took the bare minimum number of business classes and did my best to have a broad liberal arts education. I signed up for really fun courses like Asian Mythology, Greek and Roman Civilization, United States and European History, Oceanography, Professional Speaking, Persuasion, Human Sexuality and the Fundamentals of Acting.
“While my business degree and Greek experience served me well early in my career in investment banking and startups, it is my liberal arts background that I find most useful today as an author, consultant and speaker.
“My third book especially, ‘Planet on Purpose,’ leverages the broad education that I received at U of I.”
