Interests: MPA, Accounting, Graduate School, Diversity
Originally from El Paso, TX, Andrea Ocanas came to UT, following in her parents’ footsteps. Her mom was born and raised in El Paso, and her dad grew up in Edinburg in the Rio Grande Valley area. Growing up on the border and having parents who were raised in a similar environment gave her a unique perspective on community, education, culture, and relationships. Though she recognized she was technically part of a minority group, being Hispanic made her part of the majority in her hometown. It wasn’t until she came to UT that she experienced much broader diversity.
Her time in the Canfield Business Honors Program defined her college experience. She made her best friends in the program. She was able to push herself out of her comfort zone many times, whether through studying abroad in Argentina, backpacking on the NOLS expedition, or co-chairing Leadership Kickoff to welcome in the next class of CBHP.
Ocanas graduated with her MPA in May this year and started a position with PwC this month. She accepted her full-time role after doing an internship with the firm in the Spring of 2021. Ocanas will be working as part of the Private Company Services tax team. Her primary responsibilities will include tax compliance and preparation for clients and tax research. Since she will serve private clients, many of these clients will likely be smaller corporations or partnerships. Based on her internship experience, Ocanas said the accounting program at UT did a great job of exposing her to different business structures and teaching her how those structures result in various tax consequences.
What did you study while at UT?
Alongside my CBHP degree, I pursued the iMPA program at UT. After taking the introductory accounting classes sophomore year, I knew that accounting was a subject I could excel in. I had great professors who made those classes enjoyable for me. I decided to apply to the iMPA program to pursue a subject that interested me and to take advantage of the great program and department that UT offers. Through the program, I had access to top professors, endless career management resources, and an incredible group of peers.
What impactful moments in your career do you think led you to this role?
I was fortunate to study abroad during the summer after my freshman year and try out three different internships during my remaining four years at UT. These experiences taught me a few key lessons about what I wanted my early career to look like and allowed me to identify some of my non-negotiables. My study abroad experiences taught me that I wanted to work for a company that allowed me to do an international rotation. Culture was such an important part of my upbringing, and going to college allowed me to meet people from different backgrounds and learn more about their cultures. I see a lot of value in having a professional opportunity to learn from other cultures and expand my professional knowledge on a global scale.
Through my internships, I was able to discover the sides of accounting that I liked and disliked and was able to explore more nontraditional business opportunities. My government affairs internship with Dell allowed me to see how government and business intersect daily. This relationship fascinated me, and it was no surprise that one of my favorite classes later in college was Business Law. My interest in this intersection led me to choose the tax side of accounting, which relies heavily on a baseline understanding of the law.
Do you have any advice for current CBHP students?
Being a part of the CBHP community was the most rewarding part of my college experience. I encourage all current students to take an active role in this community and to use the opportunities it can provide to expand their horizons. While career exploration is something you will hear about constantly as a business student, college is also an excellent time for personal exploration and growth.
During my fifth year at UT, I was a TA for BA 101H. This role was a very rewarding experience, and I was grateful to have had a chance to meet the freshman class at the time. In my TA position, I heard from many students about the pressure they felt they were facing to figure out their entire career path by the end of their first semester. My advice for students, especially in their first few years at UT, is to take things one step at a time. While your first semester is a wealth of information that is hard to sort through, know that you don’t have to have it all figured out. Talk to upperclassmen and recent alumni who have been in your shoes in the past few years. They can tell you about their experiences and help you figure out what you might be interested in and how to move forward.