All posts by natalie jacobs

Academics, Career, Natalie

My Busy & Exciting MPA Internship: An Overview

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It’s been about a month now since I completed my MPA internship in Dallas, and I’ve got to say, I still haven’t gotten used to the fact that I have to be a student again. I really enjoyed being able to go home and not have any homework to worry about. I even had time to watch American Idol for the first time ever (I’m a little behind on the craze). Getting paid to work hard rather than paying to work hard was nice, too.

However, waking up at 6:30 a.m. Monday through Friday is something I could do without, and one thing I’ve thoroughly enjoyed since I’ve been back at school is not setting my alarm. Having class two days per week from noon to 6 p.m. certainly has its perks. Five days off and two days of work…completely opposite from my work schedule.

I’m really grateful for the unique internship opportunity that the MPA program incorporates into our degree. To be able to spend three months doing an internship that reflects exactly what we’ll be doing in our full-time job is a fantastic chance to see what’s ahead, but still be able to come back and learn about our profession from a different perspective. To sit through an Introduction to Auditing class when you’ve never seen a real audit is kind of like reading assembly instructions without any visuals. You understand what you’re reading, but it’s tough to see the big picture since you have no idea what the final product is supposed to look like. Now, having worked on a few audits during my internship, I have a completely different perception of an audit for my Studies in Auditing capstone class. So far, the class has been much more rewarding and interactive than my Intro to Audit class. It has nothing to do with the quality of my professors for the two classes (both are excellent); rather, I think it is because I have seen what an audit actually looks like so I am able to better appreciate what I am learning. Continue reading My Busy & Exciting MPA Internship: An Overview →

Austin, Natalie, Student Life

VIP Distinguished Speaker Series: E&Y’s CEO Jim Turley

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Last week, I went to listen to Jim Turley, the CEO and chairman of Ernst & Young (E&Y), speak as a part of the Undergraduate Business Council’s VIP Distinguished Speaker Series.

Lehman Brothers

It was the first Monday back from spring break…that is, the Monday after the media went crazy with malpractice allegations over Ernst & Young’s involvement with the Lehman Brothers case. I went in thinking Mr. Turley might not bother discussing the touchy subject with a bunch of students, but he got right to the point. He spoke in detail about what the allegations were, reminded us that there is a desire to direct anger about corporate greed toward someone, and finally said that he is confident that E&Y took all the right steps regarding the Lehman Brothers audit.

After about 20 minutes, he moved on to what he actually came to speak about: his perception of the business world today. He discussed the importance of approaching business from a worldview perspective. As a resident of both New York and London (the locations of the U.S. and global headquarters, respectively), and as well as a co-chair for the Russia Foreign Investment Advisory Council, he certainly brings a global perspective to the firm. He discussed the impending convergence to IFRS as well as where he believes the U.S. stands in relation to other countries around the world. He feels strongly about the need for common standards across the board, rhetorically asking, “What if every country brought a different set of soccer rules to the World Cup?

Where the U.S. stands

When discussing the current economic climate in the U.S., Mr. Turley gave an interesting analogy (or “warning,” depending on how your interpret it). When analyzing the ups and downs of different countries’ economies, he says they are either in the shape of a “V,” a “U,” or an “L.” The V countries are those that are rapidly emerging such as China, India and Brazil. The United States has typically been a U country. When we hit a low point, our free markets and our legislators have typically been able to bring us back to a high point after a reasonable amount of time. However, he warned that we might start looking like an L country, which is commonly seen in Europe. A country’s economy becomes an L when there aren’t enough market incentives to bring the economy back up. In short, he implied that increased regulations could make us more susceptible to becoming an L country. Obviously this analogy has some political undertones, but it is interesting nonetheless.

Entrepreneurship

Mr. Turley also discussed E&Y’s commitment to supporting entrepreneurship and his belief that entrepreneurship and innovation are keys to economic recovery. In keeping with the previous point, he mentioned how the government can help by supporting public policy that stimulates economic growth and therefore helps entrepreneurs. Because innovative companies substantially outperform their peers by finding new ways to grow, it is important to support creative, innovative thinking across organizations in all sectors. Only then, he says, can we as a country pull ourselves out of the present financial crisis.

Natalie, Student Life

Red McCombs on the Spirit of Giving Back

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Red McCombs
Red McCombs

Today, I had a special opportunity to meet Red McCombs and listen to him speak. It was a campaign kickoff event that the BBA Legacy group organized for the first day of their two-week fundraising campaign.(Although I’m not a part of this group, I had the privilege to sit in as an MPA blogger).

In a nutshell, the campaign encourages participation in fundraising among current students. According to the presentation, the goal of BBA Legacy is to improve the undergraduate program’s national rankings by encouraging increased alumni participation as well as increased participation among current students. The funds go to McCombs student programs geared toward developing students into young professionals and preparing them to enter a competitive workforce.

Mr. McCombs came to speak about giving, fundraising, and the challenges it can pose. A UT ’50 alum himself, he knows a little something about giving back to your alma mater. In 2000, he made a $50 million donation to the business school. He champions a message that it’s not about how much you can give; rather, it’s simply about participating and giving an amount you can be proud to give.

He acknowledged that fundraising is difficult. As he put it, we are hardwired to work hard, be thrifty, and grow our resources. Giving up our money often feels unnatural. So, the most important thing he believes you can do in fundraising is to appeal to others’ sense of pride because pride motivates people. Most BBA students and graduates are proud of their major or degree, so it’s important to appeal to that. To do so, he says you must be proud of your campaign and your campaign goal.

When Mr. McCombs donated to the business school, he envisioned an academic climate where every person who graduates has their choice of several job opportunities. He says we are closer to that goal now than we were five years ago, but we’re not there yet, and we won’t be there until people line up and recruit every one of our students. He also mentioned that the MPA program is the closest to his vision, and he hopes that each of the other departments can eventually attain the same status as the MPA program.

The BBA Legacy group and Mr. McCombs’ vision for the school go hand in hand. I just did my part and donated to the campaign this afternoon. If you’re a student or an alum, you should consider doing the same. It doesn’t have to be much. Five dollars is plenty. The BBA giving program and the MPA Legacy are trying to increase its participation percentage, so do your part to help. Visit the BBA New Tradition or  MPA Legacy 2010 pages to learn more about the campaign and to donate.

Natalie, Student Life

Texas-OU Red River Shootout!

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One of the great benefits to attending the University of Texas–whether for undergrad or grad school–is the sports program. At 18 years old, I placed equal importance on academics and athletics. This might be why my list of college applications looked an awful lot like the 2005 BCS standings. But only Texas had the great school-to-great sports ratio for which I was looking.

This past weekend, I attended my fourth Texas-OU game as a UT student. Being a fourth year student certainly has its perks–for one, a fantastic 25-yard line seat on the 10th row of the upper deck. (FYI- graduate students receive second priority for season tickets to football games.) Texas home games are tons of fun, but there is nothing like the annual Red River Shootout. Take the fun of a regular game and multiply it by five. Everything that happens in the game elicits an emotion. You’re either jumping up and down hugging strangers or you’re disgusted by 50,000 cheering Sooners as if they offended you, personally.
txou2009 005
Sitting with my boyfriend and friends, waiting for the game to start.

Then there is the whole State Fair aspect to this game. Think of it as a giant tailgate with all the delicious fried food you could ever dream of (and a lot you probably couldn’t dream of–think fried butter, fried snickers, and chicken fried bacon). My state fair menu consisted of: a corn dog for breakfast, funnel cake for mid-morning snack, chicken strips for halftime snack, shredded chicken stuffed jalapenos after the game. Yummy.
Deep Fried Butter.h2-resized-600
Deep-fried butter. A heart attack waiting to happen, huh?

Continue reading Texas-OU Red River Shootout! →

Academics, Natalie

The Dreaded ACC380k.1

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I am so happy, thankful, and somewhat surprised that I’ve made it to this Saturday, still alive and well. Several times over the past couple of weeks I have wondered whether that’d be the case. You see, Thursday night was my first Intermediate Accounting midterm, and I’ve heard horror stories about this class, not only from other recent MPA students, but also from my father, an ’82 graduate of the McCombs accounting program.

But as it turns out, it wasn’t so bad. For maybe the second or third time in my college career, I can truthfully say I didn’t procrastinate when it came to studying for this test. I started last Sunday, and tackled a different topic each day, doing practice problem after practice problem after practice problem. On the night before the midterm, I timed myself as I took the 2008 midterm 1. I felt pretty comfortable with it at 10:30 p.m. and decided the best thing I could do at that point was get plenty of sleep. If there was one important thing I realized by doing all the practice problems, it was that an all-nighter before one of these exams would be a terrible idea. Solving these problems certainly takes an alert mind!

The test was long. It was during dinnertime. And it was tough. But it wasn’t impossible, and I felt well-prepared.

My professor, Dr. Shuping Chen, has done a terrific job at preparing in-depth answers and explanations to ALL of our practice problems, and this really helped me study well. And because she gave us the first exam from last year, I was prepared for the format and level of difficulty of the exam. One of the things that motivated me to keep studying hour after hour was the level of detail that Dr. Chen put in to the solutions manual. If she was going to spend THAT much time and effort on answers to optional problems, then it must be important and I had better keep studying. Time and time again, I am thankful and appreciative of the professors in this program. There is a reason the MPA program is ranked No. 1! It’s very tough but also very well-taught.

So maybe ACC 380k.1 isn’t as terrible as everyone makes it out to be. Or maybe they make the first midterm easier so that we don’t all suffer anxiety attacks. Who knows! I’ll have my answer by October 29, the date of our second midterm.