Student Spotlight: Justin Zhang

Topics of Interest: EY, Big Four, consulting, internships, finance, rotational programs

Junior Justin Zhang is making history – not only because he’s a double major in Business Honors and Finance with a minor in MIS, but because he was a part of the first-ever EY Business Consulting Launch Internship. EY is one of the big four accounting firms, but all of those firms are now expanding into the consulting world and Zhang was one of the first-ever selected to intern in this new position. Keep reading to learn more about his time as an intern, his biggest takeaways, and his advice for his CBHPeers that want to pursue consulting in their futures.

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Student Spotlight: Bethany Rolan

Bethany_Rolan

BHP senior Bethany Rolan was originally intimidated by the size of UT and envisioned herself at  small liberal arts college in the northeast. Her mother insisted that she apply to one Texas school, so she applied to UT Austin. She didn’t know much about BHP at the time. She had only heard about it through her college counselor. After being accepted into the program, she attended Discover BHP in the Spring of her senior year.  Bethany remembers it as an incredible experience, and appreciated that the professors really knew their students. The program was what led her to choose UT and BHP.

As an entering freshman, she aspired to be an event planner specializing in corporate events and high-end weddings. This led her to join the student organization Campus Events and Entertainment. She served on the Texas Traditions Committee planning such campus events as Texas Revue, the largest campus talent show, and 40 Acres Fest, the largest campus outdoor festival.

Bethany was honored to be accepted into Orange Jackets, the oldest women’s service organization on campus, her sophomore year. This year, she is serving as the president of the organization. She says that “it has been the biggest opportunity for development she has ever experienced” and says that trying to lead a group of driven, empowered women leaders has helped her to learn about herself, her competencies, and her leadership style. Bethany is also involved in the Best Buddies program, where she works with adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and she is a member of the Honors Business Association.

Bethany added a supply chain major her sophomore year and landed an internship with Fiat Chrysler in the area of Purchasing . She enjoyed the role, but found her career interests shifting again as she learned from her peers about the dynamic opportunities to engage new audiences, travel across the world, and work on unique projects as a management consultant. She recruited for a management consulting position her Junior year and was grateful to have the opportunity to intern with McKinsey. Bethany will return to the firm as a full-time employee after graduation.  She plans to join the women’s network at her new firm and is excited to work for a company that will let her work on projects that empower women.

In the future, she would like to consult in education and lead empathy and language campaigns for young students, teaching inclusivity. “How we are taught to talk people and how we hear people talk about others is very important,” she says. 

Having a strong support system of students who are all driven, yet passionate about diverse interests, has made a significant impact on Bethany’s BHP experience. “People are the whole point,” she says, explaining that engaging with others deeply and developing strong relationships have been the most rewarding part of college. “BHP and Orange Jackets have changed me as a person and are what I will remember most about college. Every project, initiative, and event I have helped complete on campus has been enabled by incredible people.” She wholeheartedly believes that informal mentoring from older students was instrumental in her gaining an understanding of the unique career paths she could take, which is why she is always happy to go to lunch or grab coffee with underclassmen!

Student Spotlight: Catherine King – HBA President

Catherine King - BHP student

BHP Senior, Catherine King, is the current president of the Honors Business Association. Catherine is majoring in BHP and MIS. This past summer, she interned for Shell Oil Company and is excited to announce she has three full-time offers from prominent oil and gas firms in the field of Management Information Systems.

Why did you choose UT and specifically the BHP program?
I was applying to colleges all over the nation hoping to leave Texas to try something new. I found out about BHP, applied, and was accepted. After touring the BHP program office and sitting in a couple of classes, I felt that it was more of a community than any of the other campuses I had visited. I could just tell that students were in a very collaborative and positive environment rather than an environment where students pit themselves against each other.

I am from Austin and I thought it would be too much of the same. I was happy to see that the campus is a completely different environment than Austin itself. All of my childhood friends went to different universities so it was not like a repeat of high school. It was a completely new experience, and I found a great community in BHP, which is also why I joined HBA.

What advice would you give to any students interested in MIS?
I think people fear MIS because they think it is all programming, but it is not. We connect the end user and the programmer to ensure that functionality and end user goals are met. It is all about communication and knowing how the technical people do what they do. If you can communicate well and are interested in technology, MIS is for you.

What enticed you to become a member of the Honors Business Association?
I joined Delta Gamma sorority right before freshman year began. I realized that organizations make the campus smaller and with Delta Gamma I had the social side, but I wanted an academic organization as well.

Honors Business Association was able to fulfill my need to be part of an extended academic community. I attended the first meeting for the free food and heard the president and executive members give an overview of HBA. They all were so funny and light-hearted. I didn’t expect that from an organization in the UT business school. It had the perfect balance of professionalism and fun.

I quickly realized that HBA makes you a very well rounded student. We are not just academic, but we are also philanthropic. We have academic events with professors. You can visit their homes, dine at restaurants, or play golf with them to get to know them on a more personal level. We also have networking events, socials, and formals to enhance your academic pursuits. HBA gives you an overall experience in Austin and BHP.

As President, what do you plan to do differently with HBA?
What we have been doing the last couple of years works well, but my executive members have had some new initiatives that we are committed to starting. We created a buddy program that pairs a new freshman with a sophomore buddy. We started recycling at meetings. And that is only the beginning. Small, yet strategic, enhancements to our current activities and initiatives will make a big difference and will make our organization more effective.

What keeps a member actively involved in HBA?
People who get involved in the beginning find those 30 members you become really good friends with. They go to all the meetings and events. If you want that close set of friends, you can find them in HBA and continue with them throughout your career at UT. If you are looking for that sense of community and haven’t found it outside of the business school, HBA is always a home to the BHP students and I think everyone that is active or inactive feels that,they are always welcome.

Summer Internship | Student Spotlight: Allison Kubis

Allison Kubis Exxon

Company: PricewaterhouseCoopers
Position: Advisory Intern, Management Consulting in the Technology, Information, Communication, and Entertainment Vertical and Finance Horizontal.

What did you expect to gain from your internship this past summer?

I hoped to gain some insight into the consulting world. How it is working for a client, the typical work/life balance, etc. I previously had an internship with a company in industry, so I wanted to see the similarities and differences to learn what I liked and disliked before interviewing for full-time positions.

Did the internship meet or supersede your expectations? How?

The internship totally exceeded my expectations. I was able to work not only on client work but also some internal initiatives. The client work was interesting and I really enjoyed being able to help PwC improve and gain more revenue.  On top of that, I met a lot of wonderful people, both interns and full-time employees on my team. Also, my career coach was great and even gave me the opportunity to sit on his project for a couple of days so I could see what other projects were like.

Tell me about an interesting encounter you had during your internship.

One of the most interesting days I had was actually the first one of my project. I sat in on an “Account Planning Workshop,” where managers, directors, and partners of the firm met to discuss a potential client. It was awesome getting to meet so many of the people who are the upper management of that area in PwC. I also liked seeing the detail that the firm goes into when pursuing a client, its people, and its problems.

What did you learn about yourself that you did not know before?

I learned that I am a quick learner and able to work without many details. I also learned that I need to focus on my reader when creating a document and organize it so that it’s easy for them to consume. I also learned where my mental capacity is.

Consulting is known for long hours, and I learned the point at which my brain stops working and I need a break, whether it’s eating, working out, or driving home.

What did you contribute to the company?2015-07-20 10.12.10

I contributed by working on a few things for my client, but I also worked for PwC internally. I did research and created slides for a partner as he was preparing to pitch some work to a potential client. On top of that, I also worked on some competitor and sector research for an event that PwC was interested in getting more involved in.

What advice do you have for other students who are recruiting for internships?

After this summer, I would definitely recommend that students try different areas with each of their internships. I know it can be easy to accept a return offer or stick with what you know, but you learn so much more when you try new things. I’m glad I went in the opposite direction for my second internship because I learned a lot about what I want out of my full-time job, so I know what companies to target.

Summer Internship | Student Spotlight: Benedikt Kroll

BenedicktCompany: Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Position: Sales & Trading Rotational Intern

What did you expect to gain from your internship with Goldman Sachs?

I expected to gain a better understanding of international markets, a broader exposure to global capital movements and a more quantitative approach to forming and expressing trade ideas.

Did the internship meet or supersede your expectations? How?

My three rotations were spent on macro-oriented desks in currencies, rates, and equities. I had exposure to the biggest financial macro markets via instruments ranging from simple linear spot to rate curves and vol surfaces. The culture at Goldman encourages collaboration above most competitors, which  made finding ideas and learning a very easy and natural process.

Tell me about an interesting encounter you had during your internship.

I met a lot of amazing, often very young people in senior roles at Goldman. The best isolated encounters I had were with senior people, because they cared more for who you are as a person than your straight ability. In one particular encounter I talked for around an hour with one of the partners about my childhood, upbringing, and extracurricular interests without ever touching on financial/work related topics. For me that was particularly memorable because it showed that Goldman cared not only for my technical and commercial development but was concerned with my development as a person and independent thinker as well.

What did you learn about yourself that you did not know before?

I learned a good deal about what I value in my work and employer from both a professional as well as a personal perspective.

I learned the importance of quickly arriving at a good estimate of the best course of action as well as how to approximate the best balance between sticking with it and re-evaluating as you get new information.

What did you contribute to the company?

Most of what you contribute as an S&T intern is bringing a different perspective to known problems/inefficiencies. Much of your internship is spent being mentored. Trading in particular is and for the foreseeable future will remain, an apprenticeship business. That being said I contributed on a few projects relating to problems ranging from more technical goal oriented projects to simple daily recaps and resultant trade ideas/daily positioning game plans.

What advice do you have for other students who are recruiting for internships?

If you’re thinking about what role you might fit in, I think the biggest questions you should ask are

1) what time frame you like your problems to be – do you want to spend minutes, days, weeks, years on projects. What’s your attention span?

2) how much risk you’re willing to take with your life. Are you ok with being in a role where there’s no structure to your advancement or do you need it laid out for you. Can you take being fired?

3) what you value in your life and how you want to spend your time thinking about the world. Do you want to think about people, organizations or economies? Do you like the role that your job plays in helping society move forward?

If your work is going to play a big role in how you spend your time and live your life – in finance the hours alone oftentimes force this – your job should reflect who you are.