Texas MBAs Talk

Hometown: Piedmont, CA
Undergrad Institution/Major: University of Wisconsin - Madison / International Studies, Political Science, Latin American Studies
Pre-MBA Job: Business Development Specialist, The Louis Berger Group (an international consulting firm in Washington, DC)
MBA Concentration: Real Estate Finance

Greetings!  I’m Leslie, a first-year student at McCombs. Thank you for your interest in the Texas MBA Student Blog!

While I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, I ventured to Madison, Wisconsin for my undergraduate degree. When I graduated from college I moved to Sao Paulo, Brazil, where I worked in marketing/development for a local NGO. For the last couple of years I’ve been living in Washington, DC, working for a multidisciplinary transportation engineering / economic development firm. I always planned on returning to school for a Master’s degree, but it wasn’t until I gained experience in the private sector that I appreciated how useful and versatile an MBA would be.

I was immediately drawn to McCombs because of its excellent marketing department and the program’s strong ties to Latin America. Having graduated from a large undergraduate university, I also wanted a smaller program in which I would have a chance to get to know all, or at least most, of my classmates. I remember the first night I started researching McCombs I was so excited about the program that I couldn’t fall asleep for hours - I knew that was a good sign.

While I originally planned on studying a mix of marketing and international business, I’ve decided to switch gears and pursue a career in real estate development / consulting. I’m particularly interested in urban planning and land use. Coursework in Real Estate Finance will be completely different and challenging for me, but at least provide some good blogging material! I also plan on returning to Brazil to study at some point throughout the next two years.

Outside of McCombs I enjoy practicing my Portuguese, watching baseball (the Oakland A’s if possible), running, and eating breakfast tacos from the various taco trucks around Austin.  Just a FYI - an adoration of Mexican food isn’t necessary to come to school here, but it certainly doesn’t hurt.

If you have any questions or would just like to get in contact, please don’t hesitate to e-mail me: leslie.phillips@mba11.mccombs.utexas.edu.