Student Spotlight: Monica Villarreal

 

Monica Villarreal

Monica Villarreal is a Class of 2024 student majoring in Canfield Business Honors and Management Information Systems with a minor in Accounting. Growing up in Harlingen, Texas in the Rio Grande Valley, Monica developed her commitment to giving back. Throughout her time at UT, Monica has combined her impact-oriented perspective with her passion for traveling to take advantage of various international opportunities. As she embarks on journeys worldwide, Monica also journals daily on her trips – a four-year-old habit that immortalizes her vibrant memories.

Her college international experiences began the summer after her sophomore year when she interned in Querétaro, Mexico as a User Experience Designer. Even though she visits Mexico for family frequently, this was a drastically different experience, as it was Monica’s first time working in a foreign country and experiencing the workplace culture. Beyond building tangible skills such as constructing websites with Figma, this internship helped Monica realize her passion for learning Spanish and connecting with her heritage.

Eager to further explore, Monica studied abroad in Bilbao, Spain at the University of Deusto during the spring semester of her junior year. In Spain, Monica took International Business and Cross-Cultural Communication courses, all while practicing her Spanish skills. This five-month period was highly formative for Monica, as the independence of living alone gave her immense courage. Despite the initial stress and fear, she learned to trust and rely on herself.

The pinnacle of her global adventures came during her junior summer in Oaxaca, Mexico, as part of the UT Global Career Launch program. In Oaxaca, Monica consulted for DAVA Artisanal Footwear Co., a group of indigenous Zapotec artisans making contemporary footwear inspired by ancient designs. Working alongside UT students from diverse majors, Monica helped the business develop various solutions regarding scaling production and quality control. Learning to become more empathetic and flexible by adapting her knowledge of business practices with the local perspective, Monica believed her junior summer experience was the “most impactful thing [she has] ever done.” Additionally, Monica also had the opportunity to live closely with an indigenous family and absorbed the vibrant Oaxacan culture. This experience was also instrumental in helping Monica realize that she does not want to work in a traditional corporate job – instead, she much preferred the impact-oriented environment.

Post graduation, Monica will be on the road again through two other Global Career Launch programs. First, she will work in Mindo, Ecuador for six weeks with an association of artisan panela (a type of sugar) producers seeking support to expand their distribution channels. Next, Monica will travel to Hiroshima, Japan, to support an AI image sensory technology startup with marketing for a few months.

Reflecting upon her college experience, Monica believes that the Canfield Business Honors Program has been extremely beneficial in supporting her academic and professional ambitions. Monica says she has found a family in Canfield BHP filled with great friends and helpful academic advisers.

Monica emphasizes the value of studying and working abroad. Additionally, she wants students to do their best to enjoy their time in college, saying that “it is easy to get lost in trying to do well for your career and academics, but it is the journey that matters.”

Alumni Spotlight: Brittany Johnson

Brittany Johnson

Brittany Johnson grew up in Austin and went to Westlake High School where she played competitive soccer. Brittany comes from a family of Longhorns, so choosing UT was an easy choice for her. While at UT, she was President of her sorority, Chi Omega, and served on the executive board of the Undergraduate Business Council. After interning for ESPN in New York the summer between her Junior and Senior years, she decided to move to New York after graduating to work in advertising. She went on to produce digital content at two world-renowned ad agencies, Publicis and Grey New York. After four years in the agency world, she joined the NFL as their Digital and Social Advertising Manager where she spent three years producing a variety of content campaigns. In her fourth year with the NFL, she was given the opportunity to serve as the Executive Content Producer of the NFL 100’s Experiences of a Lifetime campaign where she led the promotion of ten social media contests that offered fans the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences commemorating the NFL’s 100th season. After 7 years in New York, she moved to Dallas and worked for AT&T where she oversaw development of outdoor, digital, and social content for AT&T’s Discovery District — a downtown Dallas destination where tech, culture, and entertainment combine. Hungry to get back into sports, she joined LEARFIELD as their Director of Social Content where she managed a team of content creators who produced sponsored social content for corporate partners across some of the nation’s top collegiate properties. She most recently joined the Dallas Cowboys as their Director of Social Media in December of 2022. In her free time, you can find her practicing yoga, trying new restaurants and hanging with her golden retriever, Maverick.

While at UT, she double majored in Canfield Business Honors and Marketing with a minor in Art History. She didn’t get into Canfield BHP as a freshman, so she had to work hard freshman year to earn her spot to be admitted as a sophomore. She thinks getting in as a sophomore made her appreciate the opportunities presented by the program even more. From Canfield BHP, she learned to work hard and be humble. She was surrounded by people who she had the privilege to learn from and build relationships with.

She currently works at the Dallas Cowboys where she serves as the Director of Social Media. She’s responsible for leading all social media efforts for the Dallas Cowboys. Her team manages all of the social media channels across the Dallas Cowboys organization inclusive of Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, AT&T Stadium (the home stadium), the Star in Frisco (where the company is headquartered) and Cowboys in the Community (the community impact channel). Her team supports key stakeholders across the organization including Football, PR, Marketing, Sponsorship/Sales and Community Relations by highlighting and promoting their initiatives via custom content on their social channels.

When she was working at Grey New York in 2015, she volunteered for an NFL project on top of her existing client work. 6 months after the NFL project concluded, she received an email from the NFL client sharing a job opportunity at the League because of the work she had done on that previous project. Had she not pursued her passion and asked for the extra work, she would not have gotten the NFL opportunity. Fast forward to 2022, when she saw the Dallas Cowboys Social Media Director job opening, she realized she had been connected to the hiring manager (her current boss) three years prior via email when she moved to Dallas. She responded to that email expressing her interest in the role. That email intro (thank you Emmanuel Acho if you’re reading this) opened the door to the first of many interviews that led her to ultimately land the job. Lean on your relationships to open doors.

“Canfield BHP taught me to work hard individually but to also contribute as a part of a larger team and cohort. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts. Teamwork and relationships are key to success in my current role and without the soft skills that I learned in Canfield BHP, I would not be where I am today.” Brittany said while talking about her experience in the program.

When asked what advice she would have for current Canfield BHP students, she said, “Give yourself grace. Clearly you are a hard worker, smart and talented if you were accepted into Canfield BHP. Make sure you take care of your relationships, mental health and overall happiness. Happiness will not be found in a GPA or in a job title. Make sure you’re staying true to yourself and seeking things that give you joy and fulfillment. Additionally, absorb skills and continue to learn in whatever job you are in. I would not be able to do my current job without all of the experiences of my previous jobs combined. Whether you are loving the job or not, always learn whatever skills you can from it as they can all prepare you for your dream job down the road.”

Discover Canfield BHP 2023

On Saturday, March 25, the students and faculty of the Canfield Business Honors Program came together for Discover Canfield BHP – an annual on-campus event to welcome newly admitted students to the Canfield BHP community. Throughout the day, admitted students heard from current Canfield BHP students about academics, career development opportunities, and college life. Admitted students also participated in mock lectures with Texas McCombs professors and enjoyed a group lunch while listening to Texas McCombs Dean Lillian Mills and Mr. Phil Canfield ’89.

After lunch, admitted students took part in icebreaker activities in small groups. Mila Nenadic, a Canfield BHP freshman, was one student volunteer who led icebreaker activities. Mila said, “My favorite memory was definitely playing the icebreaker ‘Guess the song’ because it got really intense, but my team still came out on top!”

During these small groups, Mila also offered some advice to admitted students about where to live on campus their freshman year and how to maximize their college experience. “The opportunities Canfield BHP offers are unmatched,” Mila explained, “and being in the program has allowed me to learn so much and discover what I’m passionate about.”

Soumil Voma, a Texas CSB freshman, was another icebreaker leader who enjoyed volunteering at Discover Canfield BHP: “My favorite part was the opportunity to give back to the Canfield BHP community by being a part of the process of recruiting the next leaders of the future. Last year, I was on the side of receiving advice. Now, I feel like I have had the chance to give back and provide advice to incoming freshman.”

While talking about his time as a student, Soumil explained that UT Austin is a great place for finding the perfect balance between focusing on academics and spending free time with friends.

After a successful day at Discover Canfield BHP, the students and faculty of Canfield BHP are looking forward to welcoming the Class of 2027 to campus this fall! Canfield BHP Peer Mentors will have another opportunity to volunteer and meet the Canfield BHP Class of 2027 at Leadership Kickoff, a weekend outing involving outdoor activities, team-building events, and an ice cream social for the freshman class.

Student Spotlight: Zoya Farooqui and Sumedha Gonur

Zoya Farooqui and Sumedha Gonur

Business or computer science? When deciding what to study in college, Zoya Farooqui and Sumedha Gonur were interested in both fields. That’s why they picked a program that allows them to explore their dual interests: the Texas Honors Computer Science and Business program (Texas CSB). Once they committed to Texas CSB last spring, Zoya and Sumedha met on Instagram and decided to be roommates. Now, as they are nearing the end of their first year of college, we asked them to reflect on their experience in Texas CSB.

Read on to learn more about their courses, extracurricular activities, and career aspirations!

1. What first drew you to Texas CSB?

We were intrigued by the opportunity to receive two honors degrees simultaneously in a dual-degree program. In a world where business and technology are increasingly interconnected, we were excited by the opportunities that this combined program would give us. Additionally, we looked forward to the small community within Texas CSB that would provide a unique experience within a large university like UT.

2.) What has your Texas CSB experience been like so far?

It is a tough program, but it has been extremely rewarding so far. We have made great friends and learned a lot of different things that are applicable to the real world. Living in the honors quad, taking classes with the same small group of people, and joining student organizations with a lot of the same people have strengthened the community and made it feel like a small college. 

3.) What classes have been your favorite?

Our favorite classes are MAN 101H: Leadership Challenges & Innovation and CS 429H: Computer Organization & Architecture. MAN 101H was a great class to meet our Canfield BHP classmates and engage in fun interactive activities. On the other hand, CS 429H is a challenging class with difficult concepts to grasp. However, both of us have enjoyed digging deeper into how computers work and the intricacies of coding languages rather than just typing up programs.

4.) Do your business and computer science classes complement each other?

Our business classes emphasize how technical skills are favorable in today’s job market and briefly cover the same concepts that we dive a lot deeper into in our computer science classes. For example, MIS 301H: Intro to Information Technology Management covers several technical concepts that we also learn about in our computer science classes. Additionally, in BA 101H: Professional Development & Career Planning, we were advised to learn coding languages and practice for technical interviews, which we were already doing in our computer science classes.

5.) How would you describe the Texas CSB community?

Our classes are tough, and it’s easy to want to give up sometimes. However, the community around us is so helpful and encouraging that we always make it through struggles together. Staying in the honors quad has enhanced this community since most of our classmates live near us, making it convenient to form study groups or ask questions throughout the day.

6.) What unique networking, professional development, and social opportunities are available to Texas CSB students?

Texas CSB students are mostly involved in the CSB community through CSBA, an organization that offers CSB students with social events, networking opportunities, and a big-little system. Personally, the big-little system has been great because we can talk to a Texas CSB upperclassman about opportunities and their experiences. We also have MAGICS brunches for Marginalized Genders in Computer Science. These brunches are a great way to network with other students and find out about more opportunities in computer science, especially for women in the field. Aside from the social aspect, Texas CSB offers special networking events with companies such as Goldman Sachs. The best part is also having the opportunity to attend the Canfield BHP social and networking events, too!

7.) How do you balance work, school, and sleep?

We try to finish our computer science labs during office hours with help from our TAs, which speeds up the process. We try to spread out our MIS 301H readings throughout the week so that they don’t pile up on us right before the due date. We also try to focus in class so that we have to spend less time outside of class catching up on concepts. 

8.) How do you plan to use your Texas CSB education for your career?

Having a degree in both computer science and business gives us more flexibility and job opportunities. We both plan to start off our careers in software engineering and then transition into more business-oriented roles in the future. Hopefully, our Texas CSB degrees allow us to make this transition more efficiently.

Student Spotlight: Ashley Omehe

Canfield BHP senior Ashley Omehe lives by the belief that people should leave a place better than they found it. During her time on the 40 Acres, she has applied this belief to her work as the lead of the BlackHP affinity group.

“I would say that BlackHP’s mission is to cultivate a unified, safe space for black CBHP students to be their authentic selves and to establish camaraderie through mentorship and social events,” Ashley explained. 

When she was a freshman, Ashley wished there was a community of black Canfield BHP students to help ease her transition to college. She, therefore, jumped at the opportunity to lead BlackHP during her junior year, and she worked to build connections between black Canfield BHP students across all graduating classes. 

“By really making an effort to create the space we wanted for ourselves,” Ashley recalled, “my co-lead Michael and I transformed BlackHP from just a group on GroupMe that shares the occasional message to a group that can call each other friends and can seek solace in each other.” 

Ashley’s favorite memory in BlackHP was the Friendsgiving celebration in the fall of 2021. Ashley and her co-lead, Michael, hoped to use the social event to spark some new interest in their affinity group. “We were both really nervous about the turnout and how the event would go, but it ended up being really fun!” Ashley remembered. In fact, Ashley said that this Friendsgiving event “rejuvenated BlackHP and paved the way for where we are today.”

As Ashley prepares to graduate this spring, she has some advice for younger Canfield BHP students: “Get involved! I would say attend Honors Business Association meetings, go to networking events, volunteer within the program, go on company trips, and get to know the administration! It will only enhance your college experience and leave you with incredible memories.”

With her own college experience coming to a close, Ashley is looking forward to staying in Austin to work at DISCO in its Emerging Leaders Rotational Program.

In celebration of Black History Month, the Canfield Business Honors Program will be showcasing some of our Black/African American students and alumni for the month of February.