• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Sidebar
IU

Indiana University Indiana University IU

IU Kelley School of Business at IUPUIGo from Moment to Momentum

Graduating accounting major also a state table tennis champion

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Teresa Mackin

It was a letter jacket that may have sparked his interest—his father’s, actually.

Kelley School of Business accounting and international studies major Stephen Clyde says his dad grew up in Canada and played table tennis on the high school’s varsity team. He’d never seen his dad play, until their church in central Indiana started a league. It was that league that piqued Clyde’s interest.

“As a beginner, it didn’t go very well,” Clyde laughed. “I decided it was something I wanted to get good at, so I kept practicing, and eventually, I started playing in tournaments.”

At age 12, Clyde says he played in his first tournament, and he didn’t stop from there.

He won the Indiana State Championship for Table Tennis in 2010, 2011 and 2015. He was the ACUI National Collegiate Table Tennis Champion in 2013, and he competed in the U.S. Olympic Table Tennis Trials in 2012. Clyde recently took second in the Indiana State Championship for Table Tennis and first in the men’s doubles event this year.

“I think people don’t realize how exciting and intense table tennis can be. A few of my friends from Kelley came to the tournament [recently], and afterwards, one guy in my group said it was the most excited he’d been at a sporting event in a long time,” said Clyde.

“In competitive-level table tennis, the ball can be traveling up to 100 miles an hour, spinning at 10,000 rpm. There’s a lot of spin, and I think that’s something that people don’t realize. When you play in the basement with friends, you don’t see that,” Clyde added.

After high school, Clyde was accepted as a direct admit to Kelley Indianapolis. He says he was able to defer enrollment for a year, so he could play one season of table tennis in a league in Germany. He also was in a German language school while there, which helped him with one of his minors: German.

When he got back to the states, Clyde started his fall semester at Kelley, and it was then he visited Ernst & Young with a class.

“Kelley really gives you a lot of real world experience, as well as academic knowledge,” said Clyde.

Clyde got an audit internship with Ernst & Young by interviewing through Kelley Indianapolis Career Services, and at the end, he says EY gave him a full-time offer.
“I just loved it there; I loved the whole experience of visiting them. That’s who I ended up getting the job offer from. Going clear back to that first semester, I always knew who I wanted to work with,” he said.

Are there any similarities between table tennis and the business world?

Perhaps, Clyde says, knowing how to work with people.

“They’re not as popular, but occasionally you’ll have team events in table tennis. You’ll have to learn to work with your teammates, and figure out the best strategies. At Kelley, you have to figure out the best strategy for your business,” he explained.

Stephen Clyde graduates in May from the Kelley School of Business, with majors in accounting and international studies and minors in German, criminal justice accounting, and Honors leadership.


Filed under: Accounting, Kelley Indianapolis Undergraduate Program, News, StudentsTagged student athlete

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Additional Content

About the Kelley School at IUPUI

The Kelley School of Business at IUPUI is home to a full-time undergraduate program and five graduate programs, including a graduate certificate for professionals in healthcare; master’s and graduate certificate programs in accounting, internal audit and taxation; the Physician MBA and the Evening MBA, which is ranked eleventh in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Categories

Search Posts

Receive Updates

Get the latest news from the Kelley School's Indianapolis programs, faculty, students and alumni delivered directly to your Inbox

Please, insert a valid email.

Thank you, your email will be added to the mailing list once you click on the link in the confirmation email.

Spam protection has stopped this request. Please contact site owner for help.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Recent Posts

  • Physician MBA authors book about physician burnout and coaches other MDs on their careers March 9, 2023
  • International student from Spain finds home and future at Kelley Indianapolis March 7, 2023
  • Global HR leader credits his Kelley network for paving the way for his professional success February 23, 2023
  • Former public and tribal attorney uses Evening MBA in move into business law February 15, 2023
  • Kelley School of Business to lead global physician trip to London, Paris February 13, 2023

See Archived Posts

Kelley School Faculty at IUPUI

Full list of faculty based in Indianapolis.

Indiana University

Copyright © 2022 The Trustees of Indiana University | Privacy Notice | Accessibility Help

Subscribe

Subscribe By Email

Get every new post delivered right to your inbox.

This form is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.