BHP sophomore Stephanie Morgan, is taking advantage of as many opportunities as she can while she is in school. A Plan II Honors and BHP major, she feels she has the best of both worlds – receiving a strong liberal arts and business education. Stephanie has already participated in two study abroad programs, is an officer for the Honors Business Association, and will be interning with Amazon.com this summer. Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, she has already grown to love Austin and says she knows she made the right choice in choosing to come to UT and be in the BHP.
Being an out-of-state student, how did you hear about and decide to come to BHP?
I did my research and applied to a lot of universities. UT is one of the only universities where you can participate in a business and liberal arts honors program and still graduate in four years. I really liked the well-rounded approach to learning and MBA-style classes. I visited one weekend in the spring of my senior year and met the BHP staff and some current students, and just felt like it was where I was supposed to be.
You are the Financial VP for HBA. What do you enjoy about being involved with that group?
My favorite part is the opportunity to hang out with other BHP students outside of class in a non-academic setting and get to know BHP students in other grades. The BHP community is one of the strongest features of the major, and I think HBA is where you get the community feel the most.
You are interning with Amazon.com this summer. Tell me more about what you will be doing.
I will be working out of a fulfillment center in Phoenix which is the size of a football field. I will be managing a team of about 20 employees and will get to try all of the associate positions, so I will get to see the entire inbound to outbound route of a product.
What are you hoping to learn from the internship?
I am most excited about the leadership and management part of it. I think that is my strength and I am excited to learn more. I also think it will help me figure out if I want to go into supply chain for my career.
What was the interview process like?
I found out about the position because they were hosting a dinner and contacted HBA about meeting with student leaders. Because I am not a declared supply chain major, the position wasn’t open to me on OCR, but since I already had those contacts, I applied directly through the company. There was only one round of interviews. The interview had a behavior aspect and also a technical aspect, with a few supply-chain questions.
Tell me more about the summer study abroad programs you participated in this past summer.
I did two study abroad programs this past summer. I spent seven weeks in France and five weeks in Oxford. All of the classes that I took weren’t required for my majors, but were just classes that interested me. I took English courses taught by UT professors at Oxford.I took a French language course and a French culture course during my time in Lyon. Both programs were with other UT students. I didn’t know anyone else going and it was my first time going abroad, so it was a great growing experience. I became good friends with the other students and also got to stay with a host family in France, which was a great experience.
What are you involved in outside of class?
I am heavily involved with Texas THON. It is a non-profit organization on campus that raises funds for the Children’s Miracle Network at Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas. Our major event every year is called Texas THON. It is an event where people pledge to stand for 12 hours to raise money for the organization. The Miracle Kids are very inspiring and have been through more than most of us could imagine. I was the Catering and Sponsorship Chair this year, so I secured donations for food and prizes, and was heavily involved with organizing everything for the event. It is really important to me to be involved in community service and I have learned a lot from being involved in the organization. My management and business communications classes have been helpful to me in terms of leadership and it was neat to apply what I had learned. I also run a lot and ran the LiveSTRONG Half-Marathon recently. I enjoy staying active.
Do you have any words of advice for your fellow students?
Focus on things you enjoy. Don’t feel pressured to do what everyone else is doing. You will get the most out of your college experience by doing things that are important to you.