Cougar Scholars is a monthly series highlighting Chicago State student-athletes through the lens of their studies and professional pursuits. This month features men's golf senior Josh Stig. Last month, we featured women's basketball senior Leilani Moncrease — read about Moncrease here.
Five years ago, Josh Stig's world appeared indistinguishable from his current setup in Chicago.
He was living a hemisphere away in his hometown of Newcastle, Australia, entrenched in a carpentry apprenticeship, with "no ambition" of going to college.
"It was just me and my dad," Stig said. "And we weren't that fortunate. So I actually left school early to do the carpentry apprenticeship.
"Then, when I got the opportunity to come to the States and play golf, as well as study, that's when I started thinking, 'I'm better off using my brain to make money than using my body for physical labor.' That's when I got the inspiration to study harder."
Flash forward to 2021, and Stig is a senior men's golfer and accounting major in Chicago State's School of Business.
"I took two accounting courses, and I enjoyed it," Stig said. "It was challenging, but it was clicking at the same time. I thought, 'This might be for me.'"
Since Stig has another year of eligibility, he's considering dipping his toes into the management side, as well.
"I could flip it completely and go into Production Management or Strategic Management," Stig said. "I'm trying to keep as many doors open as possible."
Production Management has been Stig's favorite course, and it spawned his interest in exploring that arena.
"For one of the projects, we researched a company," Stig said. "We studied how they work and how they gain an advantage. It was really interesting, learning their strategies."
Stig aims to intern at an accounting firm this summer and intends on completing a management internship, too, before he fully plunges in.
"I'd like to run my own business or be high up in a business, calling the shots," Stig said.
The South Wales native draws inspiration from Adolf and Rudolf Dassler, the German brothers who founded Adidas and Puma. And as he plots his next steps, Stig maintains that his tenure at Chicago State has molded that future journey.
"Chicago State to me is a second chance that's turned into an opportunity," Stig said. "It's challenged me to be the best I can be in class and on the course. I've met so many people here that I can call friends for life. The people, coaches and professors at Chicago State are great at what they do and are even better people."
Throughout the Cougar Scholars series, we'll ask each scholar to identify something about their field that outsiders might not know.
"Knowing all the laws is pretty big," Stig said. "You have to make sure you're doing nothing illegal. The numbers part of it actually isn't that bad, if you know how to work out percentages. What I find difficult is using the right accounts at the right time, all that jazz."
