Earlier this month, Laura Kilcrease, Texas MBA ’92 and current entrepreneur-in-residence at the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship at McCombs, hosted the Powerful Austin Women Networking Reception for McCombs’ Graduate Women in Business.
To view the full gallery of photos from the event, visit the Texas MBA Facebook page.
All photos copyright © Virgil McCullough
On March 22, five women in the Texas Evening MBA class of 2012—Mae Sattam, Marisa Maricich, Anna Hernandez, Shreedevi Niyogi, and Kim Zipfel—teamed up with the Ann Richards School for Young Women Leaders to put their skills and experience to use for the benefit of the school’s promising young women. Kim, who has been involved with the Ann Richards School for several years, recently spoke to me about the project.
What inspired you to do this?
During a TEMBA 2012 women’s cocktail party we had at a cohort’s home, we got to discussing how some of the guys in our class volunteered at schools in Cambodia and Vietnam after our TEMBA Global Management trip to Ho Chi Minh City. We were so inspired we decided the ladies of our class also needed to “pay-it forward”; even though it would have to be on a much more local level!
What made you choose the Ann Richards School?
Since I moved to Austin in 2007, I have been affiliated with the Ann Richards School one way or another through various organizations and I knew just how much our skills and experience could be used to benefit the school’s promising young women. After attending a tour and appreciation breakfast at the school on behalf of the Texas Wall Street Women, I got to talking with the school’s Project Specialist who worked with us to come up with numerous ideas as to how the women of TEMBA 2012 could make the biggest impact.
How were you able to make the biggest impact?
The young women are in the process of interviewing for mandatory summer internships and college acceptance, so we coordinated a mock interview event with the students and collected and donated professional business attire for the young ladies. Two of our female cohorts even coordinated with their companies to make summer internships available for the students!
What kind of response did you get from the young ladies? How did they react to this opportunity?
We were forewarned that many of the young women who signed up for our event were on the more timid side, so they were very much looking forward to the interviewing practice to prepare them for their actual interviews later this spring. Before meeting the students, I was concerned that engaging in a conversation might be like pulling teeth, but I was immediately proven wrong. Beginning with our first introduction, the students were confident, polished, prepared, and professional. We were blown away with their thorough and insightful answers. So much so that we discussed how they answered our questions better than we could! It was obvious the students put a lot of work into their preparation for our event.
What was the most rewarding part of the project?
I think we all walked away feeling so privileged to be a part of something so much larger than ourselves. These young women are in the process of making a huge impact both within their families and within our community. To be a part of that process is such an honor.
On Saturday, March 24, the Texas MBA for Working Professional and Executive Programs held Women’s Forum events in Austin, Houston, and Dallas-Fort Worth, hosting more than 50 prospective women MBAs and showing them what makes the Texas MBA so special.
“From the students, faculty, and staff that contributed to the women that attended the Forum, the event brought the entire Texas MBA family together with the Longhorn Spirit. The alumni’s honesty and passion, Professor Meakin calling on the Forum attendees in his Business Law class, and the UT staff’s attention to detail while organizing the day all supported the legacy of the world renowned Texas MBA: high caliber, collaborative, and diverse.” – Nicole Wood, MBA Class of 2013 and a host of the Texas MBA at Houston Women’s Forum
Gina Whitfield, right, and Nicole Wood, second from right, meet with prospective MBA students at the Texas MBA at Houston Women's Forum on Saturday, March 24.
The Women’s Forum exhibited the well-rounded aspects of the Texas MBA and allowed attendees to discover how the Texas MBA Program can unlock their potential and help them develop as business leaders, advance their current career, or even make a career change. Women’s Forum attendees had the opportunity to hear an overview of the Texas MBA program, understand the value proposition of the Texas MBA, and connect with women in the program to learn about their Texas MBA experience.
“Choosing to pursue an MBA presents unique challenges for women, especially working professionals,” says Allison Kroll, a member of the MBA Class of 2013 and a host of the Texas MBA at Dallas-Fort Worth Women’s Forum. “What I believe the Women’s Forum provides is a realistic insight into the program and a candid discussion of the challenges working-professional students face, from the current and former students who have lived it.”
Don’t forget that on Saturday, March 24, we will be hosting Women’s Forums in Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, and Austin for our Texas MBA for Working Professionals and Executives programs.
Registration is still open for each event, and you can register on the Women’s Forum web pages listed below:
These events offer you the opportunity to discover how the Texas MBA Program can unlock your potential and help you develop as a business leader, whether you are looking to advance your current career or make a career change. Women’s Forum attendees will have the opportunity to hear an overview of the Texas MBA program, understand the value proposition of the Texas MBA, connect with current MBAs, alumni, faculty and staff, and experience what makes the Texas MBA special.
We hope you can join us at a Women’s Forum!
This is the third post in our Women of the EMBA series, celebrating the many strong and active women enrolled in the Texas Executive MBA program working to advance their education, build solid leadership skills and open themselves to new opportunities in the world of business. Each post will feature an interview with one of these women, focusing on what led her to the Texas Executive MBA program and highlighting her experience in the program thus far.
Name: Chantal Blaia de Pompei Gouvea
Graduating Year: 2012
Hometown: Sao Paulo, Brazil
Current City: McAllen, Texas
Undergraduate Institution: Universidade Estadual de Londrina
Undergraduate Major: Business
Current Job: M&A Advisor
How long has it been since you were last taking classes? How does it feel?
9 years. It feels very different. I would not classify the current experience as a “class” but rather as a study period with the great help of our teachers and colleagues.
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA at this time? Were you always planning on coming back to school?
I always knew I would be back at some point. I missed the way my mind behaves when I’m studying and I believe the key to be a successful person in business is to balance the theory and practice. Personal reasons made the decision easier for this period of my life.
This is the second of several posts in our Women of the EMBA series, celebrating the many strong and active women enrolled in the Texas Executive MBA program working to advance their education, build solid leadership skills and open themselves to new opportunities in the world of business. Each post will feature an interview with one of these women, focusing on what led her to the Texas Executive MBA program and highlighting her experience in the program thus far.
Name: Sabrina Duncan
Graduating Year: 2013
Hometown: Barranquilla, Colombia
Current City: Austin
Undergrad Institution: Northwestern University
Undergrad Major: Industrial Engineering
Current Job: Supply Chain for the Americas Region at Continental Corporation
How long has it been since you were last taking classes? How does it feel?
It has been 7 years since I last took classes in school. I need to admit that I was scared at the beginning because I could not imagine myself going back to studying, reading books and writing papers after not doing it for so long. But surprisingly, the classes are a good mix of discussions and assignments and it’s a much more interactive environment than I expected. A plus too, is the fact that the topics we discuss in class apply to issues we have in our current jobs or in life in general. Everything makes a lot more sense than when I was an undergrad!
Why did you decide to pursue an MBA at this time? Were you always planning on coming back to school?
Engineering school was hard for me, so no, when I completed my undergrad I thought I would never go back to school. But I’m glad I gave it some more thought. My dad has always emphasized that if you don’t keep learning you fall behind the curve. Trends keep changing the world we live in and work, and school is the right place to keep you current. It seems like this was the perfect time to pursue an MBA given where I am in my career in that I’ve been in my current job for 2 years and felt comfortable in taking on additional challenges.
