University of Missouri

Story by Erik Potter
Photo courtesy Ty Kapitzky
Published April 2017

Graduating senior accounting major Ty Kapitzky, a member of Mizzou '39, plans to return to Columbia in the fall to start a master's program.

Ty Kapitzky was interning for KPMG on the 70th floor of a downtown-Chicago skyscraper when he read the email saying he’d been selected for Mizzou ’39, the prestigious honor the Mizzou Alumni Association gives 39 outstanding MU seniors each year.

One downside of a gig with a global audit, tax and advisory firm is that, when such an email comes through, you can’t jump out of your chair, raise your arms and shout for joy.

“I had to keep a calm demeanor,” Kapitzky says, “but I was really excited.”

The senior accounting major from Lake Zurich, Illinois, has been burning a trail through Mizzou since he arrived. He has served on the Greek Week steering committee, was president of the Trulaske College of Business Alumni Mentor Program and has volunteered with Mizzou Alternative Breaks. It was a January 2016 MAB trip to Nicaragua that left a deep mark on Kapitzky. The students spent a week teaching English to local children and discussing career options education can help provide. The son of a Korean immigrant, Kapitsky knew the value of English literacy. He understood the power of a dream. But it was then he was able to experience the role he could play in helping transform the lives of others.

And he liked it.

This summer Kapitzky will intern at Goldman Sachs, and this fall he will start a one-year master’s degree program in accounting, then pursue a job with a big audit or investing firm. But he has no plans to stop volunteering. Eventually, he’d like to make it his career and manage his own nonprofit organization.

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