Student Blog- My ENHANCE Experience

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As I mentioned in my blog post about the summer semester, I chose to participate in the ENHANCE program. I worked with Bob and Carlie (two of my teammates mentioned previously) on a project with the FBI in the San Antonio Field Office. The ENHANCE project was well worth the time and effort we put into it. Our project was working on the recruiting strategy for Special Agents in the San Antonio field office area (San Antonio, Austin, Brownsville, Del Rio, Laredo, McAllen, and Waco). We got the opportunity to work closely with a Special Agent responsible for recruiting as well as some of his support staff (so non-Special Agent employees). We were lucky enough to get to visit the FBI offices in both Austin and San Antonio, requiring special precautions in terms of security of the belongings we could and couldn’t bring on site.

Aside from getting an insider’s view into the FBI and its recruiting processes, what did this experience afford me? Well, for one, it exposed me to an area that I haven’t previously had work experience in – a government agency (a great resume builder!). Additionally, it gave me a real life, practical place to apply my skills and knowledge acquired so far through the TEMBA program. ENHANCE also enables you to further develop your ability to work in a team – as a smaller group, the three of us had to wear many hats throughout the summer in order to effectively meet the goals of the project. And, it was a project that we were able to shape through the course of our research and in-person interviews – we took a strategic, high level approach and were able to deliver something that we were proud of (and the FBI was impressed with!). Finally, I had the opportunity to further practice my presentation skills as we had a midpoint and final presentation to “sell” our ideas to the FBI (including the very senior levels of the San Antonio Field Office). Having the opportunity to complete a mini consulting “internship” as a part of the TEMBA program is a benefit I wasn’t positive I’d take advantage of, but am glad that I put the extra time into it – the ENHANCE experience was well worth it!

Those minor life changes

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McCombs draws students from not just all over the United States, but from all over the world. And while 30% of our class is made up of Texas residents, the majority of these Texans have moved from Dallas or Houston. Overall it’s safe to say that we’ve made some pretty major life changes to be at McCombs: not only have we relocated, we’ve left our jobs (and consistent paychecks), sometimes our families, and, in my case, all of my furniture.  At least a third of our MBA class is married, and in most cases the wives and husbands of the Texas MBAs have made some major sacrifices to accompany their spouse to Austin.

While most of these major life changes are obvious, I’ve started to notice some amusing, minor life-style changes within the MBA circle. So, I did a quick survey of my McCombs friends: what do you do differently, or what happens now that never would have happened in your pre-MBA life? Hopefully the results give you, the reader, a glimpse into the exciting lives of us Texas MBAs:

How to spot an MBA student

How to spot an MBA student

- Eating microwave rice for dinner (unfortunately cooking is a thing of the past) and the return of the frozen meal

- Bringing my Texas MBA backpack — loaded with books and binders — to a bar (no time to go home between class/meetings)

- Wearing cowboy boots to a football game

- Loading a lunch box with everything and anything available in the kitchen to sustain myself for hours on campus

- Digging through my closet for anything in Texas burnt orange and realizing I can’t get enough of it

- Working myself into a panic at the beginning of class as I search through my backpack for either my name tag or financial calculator

- Avoiding household chores and cleaning for quarters at a time

- Spending hours online shopping for text books, trying to find a balance between price, new or used condition and shipping arrival dates

- Riding my bike 35 miles in the summer heat to eat in barbecue in Lockhart, the barbecue capitol of Texas (and then riding back to Austin on a full stomach)

- Buying a reusable coffee mug to mitigate the paper waste created by non-stop coffee drinking

- Giving someone from the University of Oklahoma a hard time, regardless of if I’m a football fan

- Waiting for “all ya’ll” to appear in Webster’s Dictionary

Wall Street Trek 2009

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One of the great things about business school is the exposure afforded to you as an MBA student to just about anyone in any industry you are interested in. If you have kept up with my blog, you know I’m a finance guy so last year when the opportunity arose to travel up to New York to visit the banks on Wall Street to get a better insight on what exactly those guys do, I took it. Obviously, it had a positive effect on me as now I am heading down that road myself starting next summer.

Class of 2011 Wall Street Trekkers

With that experience behind me last year, in my second year I wanted to be able to help the first years looking to head down the road of investment banking. So, my classmate and I who are both officers in the Graduate Finance Association (each of us are titled “Vice President – Investment Banking”) decided take a multi-step approach in preparing the next class of those interested in investment banking. While the trip just ended on Wednesday, there was plenty of work that needed to be done in the lead up to the 3-day trip. The initial meeting started over a month ago with the kick off meeting and continued weekly with different requirements for both the 1st years as well as the organizers, including my classmate and I as well as the career services office. The meetings were mostly built around the goal of informing and preparing 1st years for the trip, many of which are career switchers and not quite clear of what exactly investment banking is and what types of people are drawn to the industry.

The basic idea of the actual trip is to have as many visits to as many banks in the limited amount of time we have in New York. This year the trip allowed for 9 banks in three days where each bank, with their own distinct style, presented their bank’s platform, bank culture, what they expect out of MBA hires, and/or the recruitment process. From the student perspective, they are required to come loaded with questions to help them answer the following questions for themselves: 1) Do I have the required skills to do this for the summer/ full time? 2) Do I have the desire to take on lifestyle change required to be an investment banker? 3) Am I willing to make the sacrifices necessary in the recruiting process to make an internship possible?

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Making up for Lost Time

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So let me start off by saying “My Bad.” Apparently things get quite busy during the first semester of business school and unfortunately my blog posting suffered dramatically as a result. I apologize. But now I am back with a renewed dedication and plenty of stories to share about the fastest seven weeks of my life.

First some updates on how I have decided to allocate my time on campus. After some serious deliberation I decided to join the Graduate Consulting Group, Graduate Finance Association and the Sports, Entertainment and Media Association. All three of the group’s offer unique career preparation and resources to prepare individuals both inside and outside of the classroom. Just this week the GFA lead a career trek to Wall Street, the GCG rolled out their new Case Preparation Mentorship program and SEMA finalized the details on the SEMA ’09 Sports Entertainment and Media Business Conference. The breadth and quality of these offerings speak volumes about the passion and leadership abilities of the students who run the organizations.

I also was fortunate enough to be selected for the McCombs Admissions Committee. The MAC plays a crucial support role to the Admissions staff in cultivating relationships with prospective students. It is a great opportunity to give back to the program as well as aide in the formation of the next class. My interactions with MAC members, while I was deciding on which business school to attend, were huge factors in my ultimate decision to come to McCombs.

Finally, I was given the opportunity to lead a Plus Project with Deloitte Consulting. As a career switcher, wanting to transition to the field of Management Consulting, I am excited about the real-world experience the project provides. Working closely with an elite consulting firm such as Deloitte is both rewarding and challenging and has offered me a glimpse into what my future career may entail. It is this type of real world application that makes the Plus Program such a differentiating feature of McCombs.

So now that everyone is caught up on what I have been doing (I know – try to contain your excitement), here is a little preview of what I will be blogging about over the coming weeks:

• Finals week survival kit
• MBA’s take 6th street
• The Red River Shootout and Texas State Fair
• The Deloitte Consulting Challenge
• Why Austin is Awesome

And of course I am always ready to answer questions or go into more detail about my experiences here at McCombs. Until next time- Hook ‘em Horns!

Globally Challenged

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When I was applying to business school one of the most frequently referenced phenomena were “overnight case competitions”. Essentially students form groups of 4-5, receive a case at 7pm, work the case through the night, and then present a perfectly coherent presentation in front of faculty, recruiters, and other people who ask searing questions. All of this is done on little to no sleep, and is completely voluntary. This year 98 first years formed 24 teams and chose to sacrifice a night of sleep in an attempt to win the Global Challenge. I think this high level of participation says something about the class of 2011… I’ll let you determine what that something may be.

While I cannot speak to how each team managed their evening, I can tell you how my team, the Trade Winds, survived the night and the presentation the following morning.

I feel that it is important to acknowledge that no one on my 4 person team drank a single cup of coffee from 7pm Thursday night to 4pm Friday afternoon. I knew going into the event that Jaryn and I were not coffee drinkers, but I still find it astounding that none of us caved in, particularly once we rounded the 4am mark. Since my team was operating in a caffeine-free environment, we had to come up with creative ways to keep our energy levels up throughout the night. This led to ten minute spurts of group yoga (it seemed like a solid idea circa 3am) and constant eating. In one night my team put away two 24 inch pizzas from East Side Pies, some garlic knots, bags of grapes, trail mix, sour patch kids, and enough bite-sized chocolate candy to make most people sick. Looking back I can say with certainty that this was a terrible idea, but it worked.

Chicken, Jalapeno, Pineapple, and Habanero Pizza

Chicken, Jalapeno, Pineapple, and Habanero Pizza

The final countdown to our presentation was pretty nerve wracking. We’d been up for 27 hours straight. We were tired and giggly, and I had enough nervous energy to power the entire AT&T Conference Center. It was not a pretty sight.  Eric and I determined our group was in need of a last minute spontaneous dance party use up some of our excess adrenaline. Pete pulled up “Lisztomania” on his iPhone and the three of us danced in the hallway outside of the presentation room for a solid five minutes. It was the perfect culmination of ridiculousness to round out our night of number crunching, power point making, yoga, gluttony, and general absurdity.

Team Trade Winds

Team Trade Winds

I slept for 13 hours Friday night, yet still found myself in a Global Challenge fog days later. Despite the sleep deprivation I can say the challenge was well worth it. It was a fantastic way to get to know some of my classmates better and learn more about the intricacies and politics behind international business decisions.

Austin City Limits [Mudfest] 2009

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It’s hard to believe that an entire year has gone by since my first experience at the Austin City Limits Festival last September. Having had such an amazing experience at my first ACL, I was refreshing the page to ensure I got tickets as soon as Early Bird 3-Day Passes went on sale in April. I had been looking forward to ACL for an entire year, and could not wait for the festival, whose announced lineup included Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, Kings of Leon, Airborne Toxic Effect, the B-52s and the Zac Brown Band and touted a total of 130 bands that played on 8 stages over 3 days.

The weekend started off with a beautiful afternoon on Friday. Prior to the start of ACL, C3 Presents (the Festival producer) put up a large chunk of change to help the Austin Parks and Recreation Department with a massive Zilker Park (home of ACL Festival) improvement. The park, which is a beautiful Austin locale with amazing views of the city skyline, got a new grass makeover, and the improvements were obvious to all festival-goers. With the sun overhead and the new (springy!) grass beneath our feet, my friends and I set up shop in one area for a large part of the day and watched as bands like The Walkmen, Them Crooked Vultures and John Legend took the stage. The beautiful weather was much appreciated, and the night ended with the Kings of Leon show before closing up the day.
Sunny Day

With rain predictions on the horizon, I went to multiple stores Saturday morning in search of ponchos to prepare in case of a storm. Although Target was out, I found a secret stash in nearby Walgreens and bought out almost the entire store supply of Longhorn ponchos. When the rain started coming down in the middle of the Flogging Molly show, my friends and I took cover in our trash bag lookalikes. Between my $35 wellies, my $5 poncho and the buckets and buckets of rain that came down, I’m pretty sure my raingear ROI was out of this world. The rain certainly did not stop our fun. The skies cleared up for the Zac Brown Band, which was one of my favorite shows of the festival. We stayed for the DMB show and then headed downtown to celebrate a friend’s birthday.

Ponchos

By Sunday, Zilker Park was nearly unrecognizable. Mud covered the beautiful grass, and half of the festival attendees looked like they’d come out of mud baths. Sneakers, sandals and flip flops were orphaned all over the place, and most of the crowd was trudging through the mud barefoot. Again…wellies…amazing investment. But there was something pretty incredible about watching thousands of people running around like kids, jumping in puddles and doing mudslides, completely unaffected by the dirt and totally excited by the music and their surroundings. Day 3 was muddy, but ended with an extraordinary Pearl Jam show that ranks up there with one of my favorite concerts. There’s nothing better than hanging out with good friends, listening to good music and appreciating a wonderful city. The dates for the next ACL Festival have just been announced. Although I don’t know where I’ll be next October, I know that ACL is something I’d like to return for. Muddy or not, here I come.