McCombs Alumni Network News

Bardejov, Slovakia by Brian Chung, Peace Corps Volunteer and BBA '99.

Did you know that the University of Texas at Austin ranked eighth among large universities in producing Peace Corps volunteers in 2008?

Last year there were at total of 84 alumni serving in the Peace Corps from the University of Texas at Austin. Over 1,562 Texas alumni have joined the organization since its creation almost 48 years ago.

In a letter to President William Powers Jr., Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter attributed the knowledge and training volunteers received from The University of Texas at Austin to the positive contribution they are making to lives in 76 countries.

McCombs Alumni News caught up with two McCombs graduates to share their experiences with the Peace Corps.

Siddhartha Banthiya, MBA ‘07

Siddhartha graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in ’99 and found his way into the investment banking sector upon graduation. After a two and a half year stint, the economy began to sour and it was then that he decided it was an opportune time to travel across the world. While on his travels, he met a Peace Corps volunteer in Madagascar who shared information with him about the organization.

Feeling inspired, Siddhartha returned home and decided to apply. He hoped to find himself in Latin America. He had always had an affinity for the country, which stemmed back to trips he would take with his family.

He received three invitations, one of which was to Kazakhstan, but none were remotely close to Latin America. He again expressed his interest in Latin America and eventually received an invitation to Paraguay, which he quickly accepted.

Siddhartha underwent three months of training and became a municipal services volunteer in San Patricio. The town itself was only a couple thousand, but over the next two years he worked to improve basic services by implementing a property tax system, government budget hearings and a recycling program.

For Siddhartha the experience was helpful and left him with a great perspective on the world, “I took much more out of my time there than I even think those living in San Patricio got.” He soon applied to the McCombs School of Business and was accepted into the MBA class of 2007.

Siddhartha’s Peace Corps experience and his education from McCombs led him back to investment banking for Swiss-based UBS. Siddhartha lives in New York, but travels down to Latin America on business regularly. He has tailored his career to emerging markets because he finds the added cultural, social and political complexities one of the more exciting parts of his job.

Siddhartha just completed Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s biggest acquisition in Latin America this month with its purchase of a controlling interest in Distribucion y Servicio D&S SA, Chile’s largest grocer. More about the acquisition from Bloomberg.com.

Brian Chung, BBA ‘99

Brian Chung grew up in Sugar Land, Texas knowing exactly which business school he wanted to attend for college. Not only was McCombs’ marketing program ranked among the best in the country, the location was far enough away, yet close enough to home.

Throughout his time at McCombs Brian found ways to get involved. He was a student leader in the Undergraduate Business Council (UBC) as well as the Habitat for Humanity UT Campus Chapter. It was during these experiences that he was inspired by his classmates to not only seek ways to develop himself as a business-minded individual, but also as one who was public service oriented.

The Peace Corps was a natural fit with Brian’s desire to couple business acumen and service; he admits that the excitement of living abroad for a few years also played a part. He accepted his invitation to Slovakia following college and began language and cultural training with his cohort.

Brian specialized in small business development and was assigned to the municipality of Bardejov in north-east Slovakia. It was here that he solidified what he now calls his “public service career,” realizing that the business skills he learned at McCombs could become a tool for serving others.

Over his stay, Brian worked with people of Bardejov to further expand the tourism industry in the 14th-century medieval walled-town. He helped develop a tourism plan that encompassed the city’s vision for where it wanted to go over the next few years. They mapped out how to serve tourists from markets such as Poland and Hungary. He drew heavily on his marketing degree to educate the people on the marketing mix and customer service focused business practices to help local business owners.

Two masters degrees and seven years later, Brian has since continued on his career of service. He now works in Seattle, Washington as a policy analyst for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, providing consultation for Congress in helping them to oversee federal programs and operations to ensure accountability to the American people.

There are many more McCombs alumni Peace Corps stories out there. Share yours in our comments section below.Interested in learning more about the Peace Corps? Visit www.peacecorps.gov.
Read the article from the University of Texas at Austin Public Affairs.

Story by Annette Dalla