Students are always being told that their determination and hard work will eventually pay off.
In the case of one University of Memphis professor, his passion for teaching really did pay off to the tune of $12,500.
Phillip Kolbe, an associate professor of finance, insurance and real estate at The U of M, received the monetary prize, which is one of the perks that goes along with being awarded the Morgan Keegan Professorship.
Kolbe said the key to successful teaching can be boiled down to one statement.
"It's focusing on students first," he said.
Kolbe has been at The U of M for 16 years. Before teaching, Kolbe had experience in the corporate and military world.
He received his undergraduate degree in geography from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and then received his master's degree and doctorate in a combined degree of finance, geography and planning from The University of Arizona.
Kolbe was also a pilot and special operations officer, meaning he cross-trained with the Green Berets.
After retiring medically from the military, Kolbe spent some time in the corporate world as a CEO for a real estate research corporation in Arizona.
Kolbe brings his professional experiences into how he teaches his students.
"One of the things I do is try to bring my business background into the classroom using real-world experience," he said.
This "student first" philosophy Kolbe uses, and which he believes most of the other faculty at The U of M and in the business department apply as well, aims to help students even after they leave The University.
"We really train our students to hit the ground running," he said. "We are training them so they can do the jobs when they leave here."
One of the ways that Kolbe does this is by helping students with their resumes and teaching them "real-world skills they can use."
An example of students developing these skills is the Tennessee Valley Authority Investment Challenge, which Kolbe served as faculty advisor. The TVA gave students money to invest, and the team from The U of M won first prize in the Challenge several years ago.
Quentin Chu, professor of finance at The U of M, thinks that students have taken notice of Kolbe's passion for teaching.
"I think he has a very good skill for teaching," Chu said. "He always gets very good student evaluation results - almost always outstanding. Students like to take his course."
Despite the focus of many business professionals on profits and losses, Kolbe still insists on "keeping people in mind."
"I crunch a lot of numbers in all my classes, but you have to remember that it's people out there," he said.
Kolbe has also recently been named the faculty athletic representative for The U of M, where he acts as a liaison between The U of M and the NCAA and Conference USA. Kolbe has plans to incorporate teaching more of those "real-world skills" when it comes to student-athletes and other U of M students.
"I'd like to see us do much more this year in the way of life skills and also branch that out to include life skills for all students of The University," Kolbe said.
Kolbe also includes personal finance and communication skills in these life skills.
"The number one thing that the business community says is that we need better writing and oral communication," he said.
C.S. Pyun, professor of finance at The U of M, says that Kolbe is very deserving of such an award.
"He is an excellent real-estate professor," Pyun said. "He is very knowledgeable in every aspect of financial problems. He deserves the highest honor for the finance faculty."
