Max Johnson, BBA ’23, has logged quite a few miles since he arrived at Temple University’s Fox School of Business in the fall of 2019.
He traveled about 1,500 miles—about half the width of the U.S. — from his hometown of Waxahachie, Texas, to Main Campus. Then in January of this year, he added another 4,300 miles to his travel log to study abroad at Temple Rome for his final semester before graduating with a degree in Management Information Systems.
“When I researched colleges, I looked at going to other places in the country, especially big cities, with schools that also had good study abroad programs,” he says. “It’s been great. I’ve really enjoyed my time at Temple and Fox.”
Johnson also says he’s also enjoyed the moments that took him outside the classroom and campus life.
“I really fell in love with Philly when I came here,” he says. “Not having to drive everywhere and being able to take public transportation into the city.”
He admits that he wasn’t a big sports fan before coming to Philadelphia, but that changed quickly.
“Especially last year with the Phillies and their World Series run,” he says. “That was fun, so everything kind of worked out for me with that.”
Since arriving at Temple, he’s been part of several organizations and activities including the Business Honors Student Association and the Temple Robotics team.
“There are so many things to do, especially with all the resources that are available to you,” he says. “When I first got to Temple, I got involved with the business honors group and that’s how I made a lot of friends and got a mentor. Then I branched out from the business school to the robotics team and became the treasurer.
“A lot of people do that, find other opportunities on campus. I tried to diversify the things I did.”
Johnson won’t be in Philadelphia for this year’s university graduation festivities. Instead, he chose to take part in graduation ceremonies in Rome that also featured a student art exhibition.
“I had photos that were in the exhibition,” he says. “It was nice to do that.”
But he will be back in Philadelphia soon when he begins working at KPMG as an audit digital enablement associate later this summer.
“I’m very excited to start working, to have a schedule and get involved in new things and opportunities,” he says.
There’s one other thing Johnson says he’s looking forward to when he returns from Rome.
“I’ve missed the food in America a lot,” he says. “Especially the food in Texas and in Philly.”
Advice to the Fox School’s incoming Class of 2027:
When I first came to Fox, I had a hard time learning how to not compare myself to other students who were involved in all these activities. I had to figure out what I wanted to be involved with for myself. So, find your niche, figure out how you want to be involved and know that it doesn’t have to be the typical thing you see other students doing.