Fresh out of high school and living away from home for the first time, University of New Orleans alumna Ellen Lee acknowledges that her studies took a backseat to partying while enrolled as a pre-med student at the University of Notre Dame. “Things didn’t work out,” Lee said. “I wasn’t as disciplined as I needed to be in studying.” Disappointed in herself, Lee returned home to New Orleans and contemplated her next step. After staying out of college for nearly two years, Lee enrolled at UNO where she would earn two degrees a bachelor's in finance and an MBA.