Category Archives: News

Shopping for careers with Brandi Joplin: What made her buy into Sam’s?

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Article written by Zoya Saxena

What really goes on in the Club? Brandi Joplin, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of Sam’s Club, visited the Canfield BHP class of 2022 during Business Lyceum to answer this burning question and share some experiences from her career path and time at Walmart. 

Joplin started out as an industrial engineering major at the University of Arkansas, but eventually made the switch to Accounting and completed her CPA. While in college, Joplin was extremely involved on campus, which remains a large reason why she feels compelled to return and talk to students. 

“I have a passion for connecting back to something that was such an instrumental part of my education,” Joplin said. 

Joplin remains a believer in keeping in touch with “the younger generation of leaders.” She said she stays involved because she sees students as the budding professionals which will one day be the driving force of companies today. Continue reading

Veronica Stidvent brings a law and policy perspective to Lyceum

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For students who strive to enter education, public policy, or non-profit spaces to make a positive impact, Veronica (Ronnye) Stidvent, former Chancellor of Western Governors University (WGU) and current President of Stidvent Partners, proves that it’s possible. 

After graduating from UT Austin and earning a law degree from Yale, Stidvent served at the White House under George W. Bush for five years. She then returned to UT as the Director for Politics and Governance for the LBJ School of Public Affairs where she spearheaded the development of the department of Business, Government, and Society and founded a Hispanic leadership initiative within McCombs, Subiendo. After her time at UT, Stidvent served as Chancellor of WGU Texas and now works as President of Stidvent Partners. 

Amidst all her work, Stidvent still finds time to come speak to Canfield Business Honors students in their Business Lyceum class on an annual basis. During her visit, Stidvent outlined her career path and answered questions from Canfield Business Honors students. She said her career played out quite differently than she imagined. While she had always seen herself practicing law, opportunities came her way and she took advantage of them. Continue reading

Destination Southwest – A Talk with Mike Van de Ven

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Written by Zoya Saxena

UT graduate and alum Mike Van de Ven returned to the classroom, this time sitting on the other side of the lecture hall. Van de Ven, Chief Operating Officer of Southwest Airlines, visited the sophomore Business Honors Lyceum to share advice with the students and talk to them about his time in college and career at Southwest. 

Ever since he watched UT play A&M during the Thanksgiving football game, Van de Ven  knew he wanted to come to UT. When applying to college, Van de Ven was also searching for the best school to complete his degree in Accounting.

 “UT has a great return on investment. I am proud of the quality of education which you can receive here in such a cost effective manner. That’s why I love this school,” said Van de Ven. 

Van de Ven said that he feels reenergized when he returns to campus and that his passion for education and development of young professionals is what keeps him coming back.  Continue reading

Discovering Retail: Martin Otto’s path to H-E-B

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Written by Zoya Saxena

A few weeks ago the Canfield BHP class of 2022 had the opportunity to meet the Chief Operating Officer of H-E-B, Martin Otto, during its Honors Business Lyceum. Students had the chance to ask questions and listen to Otto speak on a variety of topics such as his career path, time at H-E-B, and the company culture Otto is proud to be a part of. 

Otto began by detailing his career path, highlighting his time beginning in accounting and then moving to real estate. It was not until Otto was in the process of completing his MBA at Harvard when he took his first retail class. “I loved it,” he said.

Since then, Otto has been with H-E-B for a little over 28 years. When asked about what kept him at the company for so long, he expanded on H-E-B’s inclusive and people-centric company culture.  

“The company is truly focused on serving customers and the community,” Otto said. “H-E-B is a wonderful place to be.”

Over the course of the seminar, Otto also took the time to articulate why he wanted to come speak to Canfield BHP students. He said he wants to encourage students to really “figure out what (they) want to do” and help those students who may not want to “follow the traditional path.” Otto went on to say that if he was not thinking deeply about his career, he may not have ended up with a fulfilling job at such a great company.  Continue reading

Lyceum Recap: Flying Through Boeing with Paul Kinscherff

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Written by Christopher Hotchkiss

Paul Kinscherff, the former CFO of International Finance at Boeing and a current executive in residence at UT, took time out of his day recently to discuss his career and past with Canfield Business Honors students during Lyceum this week.  Students asked about international experiences, mentorship, and current events.

Kinscherff began by discussing the decisions that led him towards business and away from a role in government.  He discussed his undergraduate degree in public administration and how his arrival at UT prompted him to consider other a dual degree option with the LBJ School of Public Affairs and McCombs School of Business.  Kinscherff also explained how the advice of his father proved beneficial in helping him make career decisions.

Kinscherff said that he was, “Initially accepted by the LBJ school and (in the) first semester, someone walked up and asked, ’Why are you here?’”  Kinscherff said this was, “Absolutely a wake-up call.” He also said that his father told him, “If (he) really wanted to have an impact, (to) go spend some years in the private sector and then come back to government.” Now, Kinscherff said he thoroughly enjoys giving back to the University of Texas. Continue reading