Category Archives: Student Profiles

Written by Anna Hiran

Earlier this summer, Texas Scholarships posted an interesting scholarship opportunity on their website. The entry requirement was to write an essay of 2,500 words about women embracing risks and innovating solutions in the business environment. After much researching and editing, I sent in my 11-page essay that addressed how we can encourage millennial women to reach for positions past middle management by “leaning in” rather than “leaning back” in high-risk situations. In September, I received a phone call from Womenetics, the B-corporation that provided the scholarship opportunity, informing me that my essay had made the top-five cut out of more than 200 entries. It all felt so surreal. The award included a trip to Chicago to speak on a panel at the Global Women’s Initiative Conference and a generous scholarship prize sponsored by Discover.

On November 11 and 12, I visited Chicago for the first time to attend the conference and had the chance to visit Northwestern University, speak with partners from Bain & Company and Goldman Sachs, and listen to the former President of IKEA North America and Roberta Phillips of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The conference was held on the 66th floor of the Willis Tower (formerly known as the Sears Tower) and showcased Chicago’s beauty through the ceiling-to-floor windows in the ballroom. The room was filled with bright, inspirational women who were anxious to share their stories about being a female in the workplace and how we can engage young women going into business to take up leadership roles and advance to C-suite levels.

My top takeaways from the conference were:

1. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. One of the panelists was a principal of eMentorConnect, a company dedicated to building corporate mentoring solutions within a workforce. She highlighted the benefits of asking for and gaining the support of other women and how people who work with and mentor each other are an organization’s greatest asset.

2. We need more women in government. Twenty female senators served in the U.S. Congress this past legislative session; there are 100 seats in the Senate. While 20 women in the U.S. Senate is a record-breaking number, the U.S. legislative body needs to be more reflective of our country’s population. Women bring diversity not only in gender, but also in thought and idea, and because of this, having females in leadership positions is becoming even more important.

3. Get back in the game. More and more companies are creating a work schedule and environment that is flexible and friendlier for women who return from maternity leave. Rather than slowing down, continue striving for high professional goals. One of the most memorable quotes said at the conference was, “don’t short-change yourself.” Have the confidence to keep aiming for the top because there are many companies out there that will be accommodating and support you as both a career woman and a mother.

I cannot thank Womenetics and Discover enough for the experience at the Global Women’s Initiative Conference, but the most appreciation goes to the knowledgeable female business leaders who are acting as mentors for young women in the workplace today. The insight and advice they gave sparked motivation and optimism in everyone sitting in the room. The chance to speak at the conference about my experience as a millennial was humbling, and I now feel a new energy and confidence to advance as a female in the workplace. I hope to attend more conferences like this because I learned an incredible amount over the course of just two days, and the issues discussed were all relevant to me as a BHP student. I look forward to seeing more innovative women become leaders in business and can say that the future of millennials looks brighter than ever.

BHP senior, Jace Barton, recently took on the role of president for the Honors Business Association (HBA). Since first becoming involved with the organization as a sophomore, Jace has found a new level of confidence in himself, which he hopes will have a positive impact on HBA during his presidency.

Why did you choose UT and specifically, BHP?

I chose UT and the BHP because of the community environment I sensed on my visit here. I came from a small high school, so I was worried that if I chose to come to a big school like UT, I would get “lost” so to speak. But the Business Honors Program extremely impressed me by showcasing its passionate, remarkable students and more importantly for me, the amazing relationships they were able to develop with one another during their time on the Forty Acres.

What do you think is HBA’s role in BHP?

The official explanation is that the Honors Business Association (HBA) is the official student organization of the Business Honors Program. But the way I like to describe HBA is as “home” to Business Honors students. I think this works on several levels. The word “home” has a connotation of comfort and belonging. For most people, no matter what happens in the world, you know you can always go home and be welcome. Some people like spending a lot of time at home, and others prefer to spend their free time elsewhere. All of this rings true for HBA. We have some students who get extremely involved, and others who come to an event or two a semester. But no matter what, every BHP student is always welcome at HBA events, be it a freshman who doesn’t quite know how they want to get involved on campus or a senior who is just now discovering all of the wonderful things HBA does for BHP students.

How did you become involved in HBA?

I attended some HBA events my freshman year, but I really started to get involved in HBA my sophomore year. In addition to attending more events, I was also a member of the Alumni Relations committee. My junior year, I was elected as the Financial Vice President. And now, as president of the organization, I’m responsible for overseeing all of the operations of HBA as well as representing the organization at official functions of both the BHP and McCombs in general.

What have you gained by being part of HBA?

Personally, I have gained a lot of confidence in my event planning and leadership skills. If you had told freshman Jace that he would one day be HBA President, I wouldn’t have believed you. It took a while for me to develop confidence in myself, especially since I was surrounded by such high caliber students in the program, but HBA helped in that development. That brings up another thing I’ve loved about getting involved in HBA – I’ve gained an even greater appreciation of the incredible people who constitute the Business Honors Program. That includes faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Everyone is so caring, nice, genuine, and talented. Being in such an outstanding environment motivates you to be the best person you can be.

What do you hope for HBA to do differently under your presidency?

I want HBA to be more flexible and responsive as an organization, which entails doing a better job of gathering and responding to feedback. If our members aren’t enjoying one type of event, I want to know about it as soon as possible so we can plan events that better match the preferences of our members. I’ve also made it an initiative to have more cross-functional events. For example, we’ve always had Alumni and Philanthropy events, but we’ve never had events which combine those two functions. We haven’t seen a lot of those yet this year, but I know we have some great events like this in the pipeline that I’m super excited about.