BHP Junior, Robert Belanger, grew up in Syracuse, NY, but found his way to Texas and loves being an Austinite and BHP student. He is a peer advisor for the program and is very active in the UT Senate of College Councils. Belanger was just named as one of two junior recipients of the distinguished Texas Exes President’s Leadership Award, which recognizes students who have demonstrated outstanding leadership on campus.
What made you consider BHP?
I have family in Texas and had visited as a kid. When I was thinking about schools, I knew I wanted to go to a big state school that had great sports and pride that some of the smaller schools don’t have. I knew I was interested in business and Texas has a really good business program. When I visited, I absolutely loved it and knew it was the perfect fit for me.
Did you experience any culture shock when you moved here?
In general, people here are much friendlier and more laid back than where I grew up. There was a lot more pressure to do well in high school and students around me were so competitive. I appreciated the peer mentor groups and the Leadership Kickoff event because they helped me have a built-in group of friends right from the start of my freshman year. BHP professors encourage collaboration and we did a lot of team building in our peer mentor groups. That is part of why I think students in the program are so collaborative and willing to help each other succeed, which was a big change for me coming from a very competitive high school.
What are some of the more memorable experiences you have had in the BHP?
Dr. Prabhudev Konana, chairman of the Department of Information, Risk, and Operations Management, asked me to help him with a new research project. I had built a relationship with him during my MIS class and done well in his class. I worked with him and some of the best professors in the IROM department on the project. They were creating a new master’s program in business analytics and I helped with comparison research, looking at other programs like this across the country, as well the job market for grads from programs like this across the nation. Now they are taking applicants for their first class and it feels good to have been a part of making it happen.
What do you plan to do for your internship experience this summer?
Over the summer when I started thinking about internships, I narrowed it down to energy, real estate or investment banking, but ultimately settled on energy. I started going to information sessions for companies and talking to my peers and that helped me decide on energy. I have applied for several opportunities and have three interviews in January. Two are with energy-focused investment banks, and the last one is for the finance department for an energy exploration and production company. I hope that the internship experience will help me decide if energy is something I want to do full-time after graduation.
You have been pretty involved with the Senate of College Councils. Tell us more about that.
The Senate of College Councils allows me to do a lot related to curriculum and academic programs. My first year in Senate, I was involved with looking at integrity issues and how the honor code is viewed on campus. This past year I chaired the curriculum committee. That committee has been responsible for legislation on a variety of issues including academic advising, degree programs, earning minors, and core curriculum reform. Most of what we do is through the lens of how we can help increase four-year graduation rates and improve the academic experience for students
You recently traveled to compete in a case competition, how was that?
It was my first off-campus case competition and was in Tucson, Arizona. I went with my teammate, Michelle Moon. It was a little more competitive than the ones I had done on campus. It was really interesting because we were able to meet students from across the country and even from other countries. This case competition was ethics-focused and the topic was hydraulic fracturing, which we are both interested in. We did well, but didn’t win. It was a good learning experience though.
You are a peer advisor for the BHP. What do you like about that role?
One of my favorite reasons for being a peer advisor (PA) is that I get to have a lot of interaction with other BHP students and help them. They can’t always get in with an advisor right away, but the peer advisors are always there to help them and give them advice based on our experiences. We are a resource for other students. BHP is very student-focused. We have so many student workers including PAs , peer mentors, student recruiters, and others. Students are involved in all aspects of our programming. It is fun to work with the staff and be involved in benefiting the program and students. It is a great way to have an impact on the program.
Do you have any advice for underclassmen?
When you get here, you feel like you have to know what you want to do for the rest of your life, but that is not true. Take advantage of the opportunities that are presented to you. Keep an open mind and don’t worry about knowing exactly what you want to do. Some of the best experiences for me were opportunities that came up randomly and that I took advantage of, but wasn’t necessarily looking for. It helped me figure out what I liked doing and what is important to me.