Category Archives: Events

Events that are happening around and with the MPA

Austin, Events, Max, Recruiting, Student Life

1st and 10

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1st and 10The MPA program completed Orientation last week. It was a crash course on many of the academic and career resources available to students. (These resources and the flexibility they allow were the leading factors in me choosing to attend the UT MPA.) There were also 3 major recruiting events: Etiquette Dinner, Networking Reception, and Career Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet various organizations and gauge mutual interest. As a friend put it, it was like “Employer Rush.”

Despite how interesting this past week was, there’s only one thing on anybody’s mind right now: FOOTBALL! College football kicks off its season this Saturday, and pro ball not far behind, so while afternoons may be filled with class, evenings are now dedicated to finalizing tailgate plans and fantasy lineups. (And homework, of course!)

Pre-class discussions are quickly turning to the ball that bounces funny, intercollegiate ribbing is taking place between undergraduate rivals, and everyone is becoming their own fantasy expert. People are discussing the new college football playoff format and how it compares to the BCS. Amidst all the excited, there’s one large, looming question: How are the Longhorns going to be under a new coach?

Despite all of Charlie Strong’s attempts, expectations are still high for him and his team. You can be sure that the UT faithful will flood Austin in droves to see how the new regime begins against North Texas and BYU. You can also be sure that the MPA students will be in the stands in Orange and White to cheer on the Longhorns as we get to take part in the school’s storied tradition.

Having received my undergraduate degree from The University of Georgia, I am excited to experience Game day at another perennial powerhouse. I look forward to watching the football team’s journey throughout the fall. Much like them, I will have the chance to set off on a new journey this semester, face new challenges and climb to new highs; I can revel in the excitement of a new future as I put the T back in Taxes! 🙂

Brooks, Events, Feature, Student Life

International Potluck

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Recently, the MPA International Connection hosted a potluck where international students shared foods from their respective home countries. Fortunately, they invited all of us to come and try them out. In good spirit, the domestic students brought some of their own food to share with the international students. Career Consultant Dawn Shaw was there, too, helping promote unity among the varied group of students in the MPA program.

About 25 students brought food from China, Philippines, Korea, Vietnam, Mexico, Hawaii, and elsewhere. My only regret is that I didn’t save more room for the Korean BBQ. A bigger sampling might have given me enough ammo to write about another stop on my “BBQ trail” even though it’s pretty different from Texas BBQ.  There was so much food that I didn’t get to eat a substantial amount of any one dish, but I do not regret1610014_294678857356625_2368457516241372259_ntaking the opportunity to try out each one. My contribution, being a southerner, wassouthern-style sweet tea. I made a regular sweet tea version and another one infused with fruit.

Altogether, it was a great way to branch out and try something new that you would not otherwise be exposed to. I have always enjoyed eating foreign foods, but there’s nothing like home-cooking. That is a truism that transcends national and cultural boundaries. It also provided a venue to better get to know some fellow students who we may not have known at all otherwise.

That there is enough interest in an event like this is a testament to the diversity of the Texas MPA class, which is a quality important to me. I have enjoyed my travels outside the US and look forward to future travels, but experiencing fellowship in this context with others who are outside their home countries is the next best thing.

 

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Academics, Brooks, Events, Feature, Student Life

Competing With Engineers for a Sustainable World

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A couple of months ago, we all received an invitation to compete in BASF’s Team Chemistry challenge. A fellow MPA student decided to formTexas-mascot a group, and so I joined. It seemed like a fun project – come up with ideas to lessen the environmental impact of football gameday. I love football gameday and I have an interest in environmental sustainability, so it was like a match made in heaven. Of course, the incentive of winning a bunch of money didn’t hurt.

So, we set to work coming up with ideas on how to approach the problem.  We easily came up with a host of small solutions that would have some impact, but quickly got bogged down in the details. After spending some more time pondering our work, we decided to focus on a group  of related solutions and hone in on them.  As Joel said in his most recent article about accountants being risk-averse, we learned from our initial mistakes, found the proper balance, and ended up with some pretty cool ideas.

We were invited to a couple of events by BASF and the Athletic Department to learn more about the initiative and the goals of the competition. One event was a sustainability panel sponsored by UT Engineers for a Sustainable World. The panel was entirely made up of engineers and the audience was entirely engineers … except two of us MPA students. It was very intimidating hearing about them discussing various polymers of which we had no clue of their existence much less their properties. Apparently these students have a big advantage over us with their knowledge of chemicals, considering BASF is essentially a chemical company. The next event was a stadium tour, during which our guides told us about their issues with waste management. Their focus seemed to be only on waste management problems, while our solutions did little to address that.

ConcoursePoster_#2_Sec120But, we pressed on, confident in the power of our ideas despite not having the technical knowledge that is certainly common among our competition. What we do have is a business ingenuity that enabled us to come up with feasible solutions that are easily implemented and have a measurable impact. We used the skills we have learned in economics, finance, and accounting to estimate the results of our proposals. We also used our branding and presentation skills to develop a persuasive format through which to deliver our proposal.

We find out Friday if we are invited to the finalist round, where we will present and defend our ideas in a “shark tank” environment. We’ve had fun putting it all together, and we’re proud of our accomplishments, but it would be great to get to write a “Part II” to this article about our preparation for the finalist round!

 

Career, Events, Internships, Recruiting

Recruiting: Interview Week

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The crazy week of interviews and pre-interview dinners is past and somehow I have managed to survive. How did I survive you ask? Was it nonstop coffee and late-night studying? Was it doing my hair/makeup everyday (which I usually do not do)? Was it dressing business professional nearly everyday of the week despite the hot, muggy temperatures outside? YES. Despite all of this, it was also an incredible experience. Yes, I admit, it was scary being interviewed by partners consecutively but I feel so much more confident now. And who doesn’t like getting treated to steak dinner every night for a week? No complaints there.

The W Hotel, Downtown Austin

Pre-Interview Dinners

The firms will host a “pre-interview dinner” each night before your interview with them the next day. The dinners will be at a nice place or hotel downtown, such as the Omni or the W. They are usually catered with amazing food and also may include a fun event, such as casino games and a short presentation. At these dinners you will get a chance to speak with your interviewer. This is extremely helpful because it will help you feel more relaxed for the interview the next day. If you can make some good conversation with this partner at the dinner, the same good vibes are sure to carry over into your interview the next day. Also, please do not forget about etiquette at these dinners! You may be nervous and forget which forks and knives to use (hint hint….I did that) but that is OKAY! Remember that nobody is perfect, and you are bound to make a few mistakes here and there. Focus on what you can do to make recruiting successful (clean clothes, good sleep, etiquette) and forget about the stuff that is out of your control (redness, sweating, whatever!). Just keep smiling and know that they really do just want to get to know you!

Interviews

The interviews were my favorite part of the whole week. I am not sure if I am comfortable with one-on-one interactions or if I just had really good conversations but either way the interviews went better than I expected. I am definitely the type of person that gets nervous and shows it, so my first piece of advice is to remain calm. It is not as big of a deal as you will make it out to be in your head. By your last interview of the week, you will be a pro at getting interviewed. In fact, I found myself laughing during a couple of my interviews. The partners are people just as much as we are and they enjoy jokes, too. Bottom line? Just be yourself! Do not undermine the importance of the interview, but also realize that you will be working with these people and they want to make sure your personality fits with the firm.

Things to remember for your interview: unofficial transcripts, follow-up thank you emails, and the right business attire (Yes, ladies that means pantyhose is included!).

Academics, Events, Recruiting

Recruiting: Week Three

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MPA Mock Interviews

If you have ever taken BA 101, a class required of all first-year business majors, you probably know what a mock interview is. Basically, mock interviews are practice interviews. Each semester, MPA career services holds a round of mock interviews for MPA students right at the beginning of recruiting season. This semester things have been a little different as a snow day delayed the event until the end of the month.

As an MPA student, you want to take advantage of this resource and sign up for the MPA Mock Interviews as soon as you can. They are a great tool for students to gauge how well they interact during an interview and practice thinking on the spot. It’s also a great confidence builder. Sitting through three or so mock interviews will ensure you feel more at ease talking with employers. MPA Career Services brings in actual recruiters to interview you in these practice interviews. It is possible to end up practicing with the exact same recruiters you interview with at the real thing! While it’s kind of a roulette when it comes to what employer you get, no matter who you interview with it is still good practice. I encourage you to sign up for multiple!

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Resume Drop Period

Sometime around the first week of February there will be a period where you are permitted to finally apply to the job postings on OCR (Online Recruiting System). Our resume drop period just ended a few days ago and, from my experience, there are several things you need during this time. You need cover letters, a resume, official transcripts and time. While having cover letters or resumes ready might seem obvious, the fact that you need official transcripts might come as a surprise to you as it did to me and most of my friends in the program. Do not wait until the last minute to request trancripts! Some students this semester found out on the last day that you needed them and there was a possibility that school was going to be closed due to weather that day. Luckily, school remained open. However, they had major freak-outs that could have been avoided.

Lesson to be learned: Do not wait until the last minute to start applying to job postings.

You will find during the application process there are certain documents you need from the school. These applications may require you to apply online, which can take a good amount of time. Do not want to rush through your applications! Make sure to set aside a decent amount of time so that you can complete them thoroughly. The last thing you want is to lose an opportunity because you did not submit all of your documents on time.

Miss the first installments of April’s MPA recruiting experience? Check out Recruiting: Week One