By TYLER ELLYSON
UNK Communications
KEARNEY – Olivia Lawless is an achiever.
When she took the Gallup CliftonStrengths assessment, that was her top theme.
The Aurora native is constantly looking for ways to get involved and positively impact the people around her. She proved that over and over again during her time as an undergraduate student at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
“I’m always wanting to be part of something greater than myself, and UNK provides the perfect opportunity to learn and to grow – not only to grow myself, but to watch my peers grow around me,” she said. “It’s been such a blessing to be here. The memories I’ve made and the experiences I’ve had will truly last a lifetime.”
Lawless knew she wanted to make a difference from the moment she arrived on campus. Her older brother John set a great example to follow.
He was involved in the UNK Honors Program, Student Government, Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, Chancellor’s Ambassadors and several other student and honors organizations before graduating summa cum laude in 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a finance emphasis and a political science minor. A College of Business and Technology Graduate of the Year, John earned a law degree at the University of Minnesota Law School and currently works as an attorney with the wealthtech company Orion.
“I’ve always had someone to look up to who had such a positive experience at UNK,” Lawless said. “And I wanted that same experience for myself.”
She left her own mark as a Loper by pursuing similar passions.
“You’re never going to be happy if you don’t find purpose in what you’re doing,” Lawless said. “So, I always strive to find those things to be involved in that do just that.”
Like her brother, Lawless has been involved in the UNK Honors Program and Student Government, holding the positions of senator, parliamentarian and secretary of the treasury. She was also part of Chancellor’s Ambassadors and the Order of Omega, Mortar Board and Beta Gamma Sigma honor societies.
Lawless served as vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion and vice president of finance and housing for Alpha Phi, the sorority she joined as a freshman, and she was president of the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) Collegiate chapter.
Tim Jares, dean of the UNK College of Business and Technology, describes her as someone who “raises the positive energy in any room that she enters.”
“I’m not sure if someone talked to Olivia as a new freshman and encouraged her to get the most out of her college experience by being involved – if so, she listened and vastly overdelivered,” he said.
Renae Zimmer agrees.
“Olivia is a student who has fully embraced the college experience,” the UNK director of student engagement said. “Her co-curricular involvement allowed her to become a more well-rounded student with the personal and professional skills that will serve her well in the future.”
Lawless displayed those skills during state and national FBLA competitions, where she received numerous accolades.
She also has plenty of real-world, on-the-job experience. Lawless landed a summer internship at Bruning Bank in Kearney, where she worked on a fraud analysis project while learning more about the industry, and she’s worked part time at The Buckle corporate headquarters in Kearney for more than a year.
“Those have been valuable experiences,” Lawless said. “I’ve been able to use the technical skills that I learned from the College of Business and Technology while growing my professional network and meeting new people. It’s a smaller world than we might think it is, so that networking can bring so many opportunities in the future.”
A homecoming royalty finalist this fall, Lawless received the Emerging Young Professional Award from the Kearney Young Professionals Network and Kearney Area Chamber of Commerce in recognition of her leadership and involvement on campus and in the community.
She was selected as a gonfalonier representing students graduating with Latin honors during last week’s winter commencement ceremony, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a finance emphasis and a minor in marketing/management.
Lawless recently transitioned to a position in the finance department at The Buckle, where she’ll continue working while pursuing a Master of Business Administration through UNK.
“I have greatly enjoyed my time at The Buckle, not only because of the experiences I’ve been able to build but also because of the people who are there. The people mean everything to me,” she said. “Wherever I go, I will always be looking for those relationships that are going to push me and help me find that community and purpose.”
