Tag Archives: students

Roommates: A Mix of Cultures

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One of the things I was looking forward to most about the MBA experience was learning about other parts of the world.  I love getting exposure to different cultures.  That’s why I joined IMBASA last year.  It’s also why I’m spending my spring semester on an exchange program in South Africa.

But enough about me.  Two of my classmates have had a significant cross-cultural experience just within their own apartment.  Gui Sessa is from Brazil.  He shares an apartment with Tejas Gohokar from India, both this year and last year.  As roommates, they have shared a lot of information about their respective countries.  Although there are several differences between Brazil and India, they have a number of similarities as well, which have helped these two build a stronger bond.

Outside of the sharing of cultures, one thing that impressed me was that each of them is teaching the other a language.  Gui is teaching Tejas Spanish and Tejas is teaching Gui Hindi.  And neither of these is their first language.  As a person who is not bilingual, I find this quite impressive! 

 It is this type of cultural exchange that makes McCombs a great program to be a part of.  There are several opportunities to expand your horizons and learn about another part of the world.  There are MAP trips, Global Connections, or Exchange Programs.  Or you could do what Gui is considering and take a trip to India (or another country/region) after graduation.

Either way the opportunity is there.  I encourage you to take advantage of it.

Top 10 Reasons to get your MBA at Texas

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I’m going to countdown my top ten reasons why you should get your MBA at McCombs. Note these are my top 10 reasons, not the administration’s. I’m also not necessarily a representative sample of the student body. I did ask about 50 current students what their top 3 reasons are, and used that to inform some of my recommendations.

Without further adieu, here goes:

# 10: You get to be a Longhorn.
When you look at anyone’s list of the top mascots in college sports (Sports Illustrated, Fox Sports, ESPN, etc) Bevo (the real Texas longhorn that attends football games and other university events) is always in the top 10. But Bevo himself is just the tip of the iceberg – the Longhorn brand is so universally recognizable and unique that in the college football hall of fame, every school but one has letters representing their school’s logo. Texas has the longhorn logo, as that’s all that’s needed to identify the university.

The power of the brand is evident – Texas is the #1 school in terms of raking in licensing royalties, according to Collegiate Licensing Company. The new Longhorn TV Network should only increase it.

The fact that the shape of a longhorn’s head naturally lends itself to the greatest hand signal in sports doesn’t hurt. Nor does the accompanying phrase of “hook’em horns” either. The burnt orange color is unique as well – classier than traditional oranges, it is said to have been picked by Darrell Royal to match the color of a football in order to confuse opponents.

Especially if you went to a school with a color for a mascot (like I did), coming to Texas is like hitting the jackpot. You’ve got an endless supply of awesome swag to wear around, people on the street to flash the hook’em to, and a brand to be proud of.

#9: Electivity

MBA students pose with traditionally dressed Indians on a McCombs global study trip in 2010.

You may have heard the first semester at UT is a bit of a punch in the face with a lot coming at you all at once. It’s true – we took 9 courses in the first semester, and even though we spent only 7 weeks doing basic accounting and finance, our professors crammed in a full course’s material in the short time frame. This meant an all-out blitz and many long days trying to synthesize what was coming at us.

But it also meant that after the first semester, we were mostly done with our required courses. And that means more electives over the next 3 semesters. Required courses are good – employers expect newly minted MBAs to have certain skills, after all – but it also means you have less time to take the classes you really want to take.

Overall, what I found most refreshing about my liberal arts undergraduate experience was the opportunity to take classes I was interested in, rather than having to take a prescribed list of courses that were necessary to get a certain degree. It’s been nice to know that I can continue that experience in business school.

#8:  Leadership Opportunities per capita
With over 40 clubs and organizations but just 260 students in your class, there’s an outsized opportunity to take on leadership opportunities at McCombs.

Think about it this way – every business school is going to have a consulting club, a marketing club, and a finance club. But every club can only have one president and a few other officers; this is a huge benefit in McCombs’ favor.

Our clubs at McCombs range from the industry/professional clubs like the aforementioned to affinity clubs like Latin American and Hispanic MBA to purely networking clubs like the MBA Golf Club. Students have the opportunities to join as many clubs as they like, but most find it difficult to take on leadership in more than two clubs.

For a listing of the organizations on campus as well as more details about each of them, see http://new.mccombs.utexas.edu/MBA/Full-Time/Student-Life/Student-Organizations.aspx.

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Introducing new bloggers!

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We are so excited to welcome our new bloggers for the 2010-2011 academic year. This year, these eight new bloggers (six from the MBA Class of 2012 and two from the Class of 2011) will join continuing (now second-year) blogger Kalin McKenna to share their experience as MBA students at The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business.

Like previous bloggers, these eight will give us a sneak peek into their lives as students. They will provide us with their unique perspectives on orientation, cohorts, study groups, the plethora of organizations on campus, Austin’s unmatched culture, the McCombs community, recruiting, global trips and their studies abroad.

And without further adieu, meet the new bloggers:

Morgan Brown: Morgan is an avid blogger who is in his first year of the program. He is originally from Houston, Texas, but has spent the last several years in Connecticut. Morgan will have lots to share about his time back in Texas and his studies in Entrepreneurship and Marketing.

Anwesha Chatterjee: Anwesha is a first-year MBA student from India, who is pursuing a concentration in General Management. As an international student at McCombs, she can offer that unique perspective on life as a student at Texas.


Leah Clayton: Leah is a second-year MBA student, who is spending her second year pursuing a double degree from WHU Otto Beisheim in Germany. Undoubtedly, she will give us a taste of what it is like to study abroad as she adjusts to a new country, school and culture.

Jonathan Felix: Jonathan is a second-year student from a small town in Ohio. He graduated from Ohio State and has been traveling the country as a consultant ever since. This year, he will have plenty to share as he finishes his journey here at McCombs and looks forward to his next step.

Kristin Miller: A first-year student from Connecticut (via New York), Kristin is a History of Art major from Cornell, who is pursuing a concentration in Marketing. Look forward to hearing about all things Austin and her adjustment to her new life as an MBA student.


Alex Niebrugge: Alex is a first-year student from Colorado that attended the University of Michigan. He spent the last few years in the Financial Services industry in New York. Alex will have quite a bit to share about Austin’s great outdoors, Mexican food, the UT culture and his studies as he concentrates in Finance.

Morgan Simental: The photographer of the group, Morgan is a first-year student that is joining McCombs from the West Coast (Santa Barbara, California to be exact). Morgan will give a pictorial view of his MBA experience.


Jany Xu: Jany is a first-year student who has lived in China, Germany and Houston, Texas. She graduated from University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School, where she studied marketing and management. Look forward to reading insider tips about navigating the MBA program at McCombs.

In addition to bringing on these new bloggers, we’re also excited to give the blogs a slightly updated, cleaner look. Stay tuned to see that new look launch in a couple weeks and check back soon to read about the bloggers’ adventures at McCombs.