Category Archives: Event Recaps

Honors Business Association Holds Annual Company Dinner

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On Wednesday October 16, the Honors Business Association hosted its annual Company Dinner at the AT&T Conference Center. The recruiting event was designed for students to meet representatives from companies who have invested so much in their education through sponsorship of either HBA or the BHP. This dinner had appearances from Dell, PepsiCo, Sense Corp, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, JC Penney, Altria, and BP, allowing students a wide variety of exposure to several career interests, regardless of their major.

The event began with a networking session, allowing students the opportunity to mingle and get to know the company representatives. There were multiple representatives in attendance from each company and about 90 students participated in the event.

Following the networking session was a three-course meal, where attendees were able to chat over a delicious food in smaller groups of 10 at each table. Neal Makkar, HBA Corporate Relations VP, made a short speech before dinner began. Students attending the event ranged from freshmen to seniors, with some looking for internships, some looking for full-time offers, and some just trying to figure out what major they should pursue. Representatives answered questions about what their company culture is like, and how they decided on their current career path.

This event proved to be both a great time and wonderful opportunity as the attendees continued to network after the meal, exchanging business cards and moving around to other company tables they were interested in learning more about. The HBA Annual Company Dinner is one of the most popular events of the year, and this year did not disappoint!

Kim Holstein, Co-Founder of Crave Bars, Shares Stories with BHP Sophomores

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Written by Sayli Khadilkar, a sophomore in the BHP program.

Kim Holstein, co-founder and Chief Chocolate Officer (yes, that is her official title!) of Crave Bars, visited the BHP sophomore lyceum course last Wednesday. Holstein greeted the class with Crave Bar samples, and needless to say, the sophomores were won over instantly. Tasting the decadent frozen treat was a great surprise, but after hearing Holstein’s stories and lessons, the students were even more captivated by the guest speaker.

Holstein, a Houston native, was one of many who fell in love with Austin after her time at The University of Texas. As a McCombs marketing major, she was always very interested in the creative side of business. After graduating from The University of Texas in 1989, Holstein completed her Master’s in Advertising from Northwestern University. She worked as an account executive for Ogilvy & Mather, a job that was very business-oriented. Wishing for a higher degree of creativity, she eventually chose to start her own business. Holstein co-founded her first venture, Kim & Scott’s Gourmet Pretzels, with her now-husband. The duo sold the company when it matured because they enjoyed the early, start-up phase of creating a business. Kim and Scott created Crave Bars almost a year and a half ago.

Starting a new business undoubtedly led to several unforeseen roadblocks. When asked about these discouraging moments, the fervent entrepreneur replied, “when you are passionate, it’s not about quitting; it’s about finding another way.” Holstein proved to the class that her relentless drive paid off. She encouraged the students to take risks and to act as if quitting if not an option.

The lyceum course places an emphasis on ethics, something that has always been important to Holstein. In her previous pretzel company, Holstein had a program called “Pretzels with a Purpose,” an initiative to give back to the community. Social conscience is certainly very important to Holstein, and she has carried over the idea for the foundation of Crave Bars. In addition, Holstein believes a company’s stance on social responsibility plays a huge role in determining the company culture.

Kim Holstein’s advice for budding business leaders is to seek out a mentor. She assured students that most people are very open to mentoring and passing on what they have learned.  She says to “look for somebody who is currently doing what you hope to do in the future and to approach them.” Holstein encouraged the BHP sophomores to go after their passions. While she took a huge risk in creating her own path, Holstein also believes it was the greatest decision she ever made.

Fun and Games at Professor O’Hara’s HBA DWAP Event

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written by Rachel Solomon

On Thursday, April 11, 2013, Accounting Professor William O’Hara and his wife, Beverly, took a group of 80 BHP students to Dave & Busters for a night of food, games, and bonding. After feasting on a delicious (and unlimited!) buffet of salad, chicken, salmon, rice, and an enormous plate of desserts, we rushed over to the arcade and started competing against each other in games of trivia, Dance Dance Revolution, and much more. Professor O’Hara challenged a group of students to a game of trivia and ended the night with a round of Doodle Jump on a giant screen.

As a small thank you to Professor O’Hara, we decided to follow the trend started by last year’s DWAP (Dinner With A Professor) attendees and pool our tickets together to win a giant teddy bear, musical tie, camcorder, and several other prizes for O’Hara.

While leaving Dave & Buster’s, I overheard many of my friends talking about how much fun it was to just be a kid again. Running around in an arcade and racing cars, throwing basketballs, and beating each other in air hockey was just the escape we needed from the stress of midterms, recruiting, and securing our summer plans. On behalf of everyone who attended the DWAP, we want to thank the O’Hara’s for providing us with the opportunity to relive our childhoods, if only for a couple of hours.

BHP Students Fly to Atlanta for HBA’s Annual Company Field Trip

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written by Stephanie Morgan

While boarding the plane at the Austin airport, excitement exuded from the fourteen Business Honors Students about to embark on a four day trip to Atlanta.  Some studied, some slept, and some socialized, but all were looking forward to stepping onto Southeastern ground. Each year the Honors Business Association (HBA) organizes a company field trip to visit large companies in a major metro area, and this year we chose Atlanta.

After arriving, we traveled to Turner Broadcasting System headquarters in the heart of downtown Atlanta.  The people at TBS were incredibly warm as they gave us tours of their facilities.  Highlights included seeing screening rooms where both the east coast and west coast version of every station that TBS owns is airing simultaneously, meeting illustrators for Cartoon Network, and walking on the set of the NBA studios!  (We even got to sit in Charles Barkley’s and Shaquille O’Neal’s chairs, and we got to view a recording on the brand new full-court set!)  The panelists from Cartoon Network and Adult Swim showcased the many opportunities available at Turner while revealing their genuine passions for their jobs.

The next day, we arrived at the 26-story headquarters of Coca-Cola.  There, we received a tour of the facility which not only highlighted the company’s important history and recognizable brand but also revealed its culture of southern charm.  Some of our favorite parts of our visit included seeing the preserved office of Robert Woodruff (Coca-Cola’s CEO from 1923-1954), sitting in the executive board room on the top floor with fantastic views of the Atlanta skyline, and discussing what life is like at Coke with University of Texas alumni.

Afterward, we travelled to The Home Depot Support Center which, coincidentally, just felt like home.  Even though 6,000 people worked in the building, the company still had a small community feel.  Every employee we saw was wearing a Home Depot apron over their business casual—a physical reminder that customers and sales associates always come first.  We really enjoyed the panel discussion (which included a UT alum!) because it was clear how engaged the panelists were with their company and how much passion they had for The Home Depot value system.

After two long but enjoyable days, we were excited to use our free time on Saturday to explore Atlanta.  We visited the World of Coca-Cola where we tried every Coke product being sold around the world, we toured the Georgia Aquarium, the largest aquarium in the world which houses favorites like whale sharks, dolphins, otters, and beluga whales, we strolled through Centennial Olympic Park which was built for the 1996 Summer Olympics, and we watched the Atlanta Hawks battle the San Antonio Spurs at Philips Arena.

While we are all happy to be back in Austin, we all agree that CFT 2013 was an amazing experience. Tommy Pigeon, BHP and MIS junior proclaims, “My career skills were enhanced significantly by listening to the panelists and employees at all three of the companies we visited, and I also was able to develop my friendships with other BHP students whom I had never met before going on this trip.  In essence, CFT reflected the benefits of being active in HBA, reminding me why this organization truly is the most special one on campus.”

BHP Alumna and COO of Knoll, Inc. Shared Insight with Current Students

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Lynn Utter, COO of Knoll, Inc. and Director of Wesco International, Inc. came last Wednesday to speak at the sophomore lyceum course. Through her back-and-forth banter with Dr. Prentice, the former ERB BHP alum enthralled students with humorous anecdotes and words of wisdom learned from her prolific business career.

Utter graduated from the Business Honors Program, and went on to earn her MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. She then worked in management consulting for five years. Utter said consulting provided a great opportunity to explore different career opportunities; however, “I’m a doer,” she affirmed. That drive to act, landed her in a VP slot for the Frito-Lay warehouse located in Denver.  Afterwards, she worked for Coors Brewing Company and soon became the company’s Chief Strategy Officer. She now works as President and COO of Knoll, Inc., a modern furnishings and design company, and serves as a director on the board for Wesco International.

Across her diverse career journey, Utter has learned many lessons. One she learned while overseeing warehouse workers for Frito-Lay, was to listen before speaking and be open-minded and fair. She said it is important to establish credibility and make some tough decisions. While working for Coors, she improved the firm’s all-important bottling and canning plants by setting up joint ventures with the best firms in the world in those industries. By bringing in the partners, she helped Coors grow tremendously. Then she went on to work with architects and designers as President and COO of Knoll, Inc., stating that it was a great opportunity to lead such a large company that had a great brand and valued people.

During the Q&A session with the students, Utter took different questions concerning leadership and her career. She believes everyone is born with a “leadership muscle,” but like any muscle, you have to exercise and develop it. One student brought up the subject of the glass ceiling and how it had affected Utter. Utter stated how it was difficult at times, mentioning she has worked with 50+ white males who said they never worked with a woman before. She overcame this by “establishing credibility and promoting change from within.” In one of her anecdotes about a leadership program she partook in while in school, she said the program asked, “What do you want to do with your life?” “Honest answer,” she affirmed, “I wanted to run my own company.”

In her closing remarks, and throughout the presentation too, Utter stated how the students should seek out “people you can confide in, and confide in them.” “I’m all about people,” she said. “The companies that motivate their people are the ones that win.” Utter further stressed to each of the students that they should use their networks and develop the relationships with the people sitting next to them in the room. “Ya’ll are part of BHP. That’s something to be proud of. Don’t turn that off. You guys are going to graduate. Don’t lose track of each other. Find your friends and colleagues to take that journey with you.”

One student asked what legacy she would hope to leave behind. Utter replied that she hopes to leave a legacy where [she and her company] gave back to the community. She challenged the students, “What legacy do you want to leave?”

Written by BHP Sophomore Dennis Phelan