Texas MBAs Talk

I’ll be the first to admit that idea of moving to Texas was a little intimidating for me.  I am not a native Texan.  I am a west coast girl, and for many years of my life Texas was synonymous with machismo and cowboy culture.  While I always had the utmost respect for the University of Texas and enjoyed visiting Austin, I was not sure how a girl like me would get along with a state like Texas.  It turns out all of my worries were completely unfounded.  While I cannot speak for the rest of this state (except to say that the Texas State Fair is awesome), I can speak for Austin, UT, and the McCombs School of Business when I say that the culture here is active, inclusive, collaborative, and innovative.

The best way to get a feel for McCombs culture is to come to campus and experience it for yourself.  That is exactly what 44 young women from eight different states did last weekend.  Women traveled from as far as New Hampshire and California to learn about McCombs and explore Austin.  Two female MBA students worked with the admissions office to plan an action packed itinerary that included class visits, faculty panels, lunches with current students, dinner with faculty, and much more. Although I was not able to spend as much time with these women as I initially wanted to due to a conflict with the Deloitte Consulting Challenge, I did get to meet a number of them over appetizers and drinks Friday night.

Despite having been up for 40 straight hours when I went to the happy hour (overnight challenges are intense) any exhaustion melted away when I walked into 219 West. It was energizing to talk to women from all across the country who only had one thing in common: they want to move to Texas.  I was so impressed by the breadth of experiences each of them have to contribute, and how much they had learned about McCombs in less than two days.  Their excitement was contagious, which was excellent for me and the other sleep deprived first years in attendance.  Nothing  makes me happier than seeing so many intelligent and engaging women excited about packing their bags and moving to Austin.

The women who come to McCombs are a vibrant bunch.  Although we only compose 26% of the 2011 class, I believe our personalities and capabilities more than compensate for our numbers - and we’re excited about raising that percentage for the Class of 2012.  I am honored to be a part of this group of female leaders and excited to see what the class of 2012 brings to the table.