Scholar Stories: McKee Using General Studies Degree to Mold Future
3/7/2018 10:00:00 AM | Men's Lacrosse, Features
Continuing the popular series that began in 2016-17, each Wednesday MGoBlue.com will highlight a Michigan student-athlete and their academic pursuits. These are our Scholar-Athlete Stories, presented by Prairie Farms.
University of Michigan men's lacrosse player Parker McKee is out to prove that all general studies majors are not created equal.
Two items of note: He did not select that major as a fallback option and he did not choose it to coast through school.
McKee chose it for a reason.
"I saw it as a way to take a course load that was specific to my goals and interests," he explained. "I wanted to study computer science and business, but I didn't see a realistic way that I could double-major while playing lacrosse. It wasn't the path I saw for success.
"So I used it to craft a portfolio of classes that supported my goals from a work perspective and from a growth and learning perspective. I'd be willing to put my general studies transcript up against anyone else in another major and argue that the courses I've taken are equal, if not harder, than theirs.
"It's exactly what you make of it. I was a lot less concerned about what people thought of it and more interested in what I could learn."
With less than two months until graduation, McKee has no regrets on how it has turned out. The versatility that general studies provides allowed McKee to pursue opportunities in the workplace; he has a full-time job with Pillar VC, a venture capital firm, waiting for him in June.
After his freshman year, McKee went back home to Boston and did an unpaid internship with .406 Ventures. That experience opened his eyes to the what he needed to do (and learn) in order to add value to another firm in the future.
As if studies, lacrosse and work weren't enough, McKee also assisted in creating Gigadoo, a mobile app built to connect students on campus to members of the community who needed help completing odd jobs. To pair individuals, McKee created an algorithm centered on trust, using social networking platforms as a base. Factors included how many degrees of connection you had (think LinkedIn), mutual friends, common interest groups and location.
For example, if someone needed help moving furniture or wanted to have someone mow their lawn. The app allows the job to be posted with a rate of pay, then sends a list of the people who applied for the job and their trust ratings. From there, select anyone on that list and they can accept, reject or return a counteroffer.
McKee pitched the app to the partners at .406 in hopes of securing funding for an update, but was denied. The presentation must have made an impression, though. One of the partners started his own firm and gave McKee an offer to join as an intern. A little over three months from now, he will be a full-time employee.
Though the app project eventually died, McKee says those experiences opened his eyes to the benefits of general studies.
"Something had to give," he said. "That project, I learned a lot about starting a company, but I wasn't willing to give up lacrosse or school to keep pursuing it. But I got lucky in the sense that the internship let me find something I really like. Now I can attack this without barriers or requirements. I could take what I want to take to learn what I need to learn."
McKee started playing lacrosse in second grade. Like young basketball players putting up shots in the driveway, he would run circles around the cage in his back yard and spend hours trying to perfect his shot. The physicality and intensity of the game were deeply attractive, but more than that, McKee just wanted to play for as long as he could, and that meant playing in college.
He was not immune to setbacks, though. After he was cut from his club team to a lower-level team, McKee became more resolute than ever.
"That fueled a fire under me," he said. "I felt I was better than some of the kids on that team and wanted to prove it. It pushed me to keep working out, to keep shooting in the back yard. I was determined to do the things the guys on those teams weren't willing to do."
He eventually got invited to attend a one-day showcase in front of the coaching staff at Michigan, then under the direction of John Paul. McKee admits he did not know a ton about Michigan at the beginning beyond what he could see online.
That one day was all it took. McKee played two games, got an offer from Paul (without seeing campus yet) and accepted before going back to the airport.
"I don't even know if my dad knew I was going to say 'yes' on the spot," McKee said. "But when I got the offer, I couldn't turn it down. It checked all the boxes and was something I was working toward for a long time. It felt like the right place."
An offensive player in high school, McKee found his way on the field early when he transitioned to defensive midfielder. It is a position that demands grit. Instead of scoring goals -- he has three in 45 career games with the Wolverines -- worth is measured in ground balls and whether you are keeping the opponents away from the net.
The requirements -- footwork, for instance -- took some getting used to, but McKee said adjusting the mental side was equally challenging. Simply put, he had to learn how to have fun with it.
Got a defensive stop? That is a win. Cause a turnover and clear the ball up the field? Win. Organize the defensive shape? Also a win.
If they are doing their job well, they'll never hear their name called on broadcasts.Â
"I'm a guy who doesn't hate doing the dirty work," he said. "I'll be just as happy doing something if it helps the collective good. I don't need my name in the stat sheet. It's fun when it ends up there, don't get me wrong, but if I can help the team by doing something that others don't want to do, I'm happy to do it."
It is that kind of attitude that will make McKee a fast riser in the workplace. Come June, McKee will make the transition to a desk job, performing deal diligence, forming relationships with potential investors and creating financial models for companies. It involves a lot of leg work, but just like on the lacrosse field, expect McKee to do whatever is needed.
"You may not get a ton of recognition for doing it," McKee says, "but in order for the team to be successful, someone has to do it."
