Category Archives: MPA Council

Academics, Alexandria, Career, MPA Council, Student Life

Points to Ponder from MPA Council Ethics Week

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MPA Council had its second annual ethics week on October 21st through 25th in conjunction with the university wide Integrity-UT week. During this week, MPA Council hosted multiple events, including a screening of the movie Wall Street, an ethics lecture led by Professor Robert Prentice, and an ethics discussion for students.

My personal favorite event was Professor Prentice’s lecture, and the points he brought up will stay with me for some time to come and hopefully will lead me to make ethical decisions in my career.

He opened the lecture by pointing out that, as individuals, we tend to think we are one person who acts a certain way based on our original personalities. However, research shows that our decisions are heavily influenced by our environments and these environments can even change our personalities.

Money especially can have a huge impact on the decisions we make. Professor Prentice showed multiple academic researches that showed people behaved much more selfishly and minimized the concerns of other people in their decision when prompted with money.

Morality is something we consider when dealing with other people, and as money takes us farther away from the consequences to others, we are less likely to make ethical decisions.

Other things can also influence our decision making, such as the colors present in our immediate environment and the actions of others around us.

To learn more about Professor Prentice work in business ethics, you can check out his work and the perspective of ethics from McCombs students through Ethics Unwrapped.

 

Austin, Joel, MPA Council, MPAC, Student Life

MPAC in the Community

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One of the things I love to do is to volunteer. For me, there is nothing like giving back and helping make a better tomorrow, one little act at a time. Perhaps this may sound too ideal, esoteric, or even ethereal. However, I speak from experience because if not for people who have helped me along the way and paid it forward in their time, I would not be where I am today. So when I joined MPA Counciland learned that community service is one of its pillars, I could not have been happier to be part of such an organization.

At CAFB

In the past few weeks, MPAC has had two community service projects. The first one was with Capital Area Food Bank (CAFB), where we moved, organized, and sorted 6,500 pounds of food in about three hours. To put it in context, this is equal to 5,625 meals that the agency provides in Central Texas. CAFB works with several local agencies that help distribute the food to combat hunger in the region. I can’t believe how much food we sorted in the time we were there.  We worked in an assembly line and had an efficient process of packaging foods. When the agency coordinators announced the impact of our work, there was a sense of pride in the group, because we knew we made a difference.

MPAC at AAC

The second project we had was a visit to the Austin Animal Center (AAC). This was a fun job. How could it not be? We walked dogs every 15 to 20 minutes. From the small young dogs to the big and rowdy ones, we had a chance to take the dogs out for exercise and show them some affection. It was a good way for us to also get a work out and reduce stress levels in the process.

Austin Animal Center

I will not forget the last dog I walked, which was a German shepherd. She was big, strong, and energetic. At some point, it was hard to tell whether I was walking her or she was walking me. I had to tie the leash around my waist a few times for added support. Needless to say it was a funny sight. By the time we left AAC, we had mud everywhere from walking and playing with the dogs. It was a good experience and one that really put smiles on our faces.

One thing I really appreciate from these events is that it shows how MPAC is committed to social engagement. It is not just an organization that promotes accounting and the career opportunities therein. It is much more than that. When it started to rain during the past AAC event, the volunteer coordinators gave us the option to leave early. A fellow student turned to me though and said, “I’d like to help some more if I can.”

That’s the spirit of service and I could not even be more proud to have folks share the same passion when it comes to giving back. I’m definitely looking forward to the future projects we’ll have.

Jonathan, MPA Council, MPAC

Getting Involved: MPA Council

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I worked for a few years prior to returning to school in the MPA program.  I was a bit of a wallflower as an undergraduate, and I wanted to do the complete opposite here.  I’m doing everything I can to be as active as possible, and one of the great things about UT and the MPA program is that you can be as deeply involved as you desire.  As a traditional MPA, I’m only going to be here for just over a year, so I have to jump in feet first.

To that end, I was very interested in the MPA Council.  A couple weeks ago, they hosted an information session to kick off the fall semester.  I loved that one of their goals is to build the community of the MPA program, and that includes not only students, but alumni, faculty, staff, and employers.  I was elected to an officer position as Vice President and I’m massively excited to help roll the year out.  Ethics Week and Faculty Appreciation Week are both under my office, and I’m currently talking with potential committee chairs who will run those events.  I love building communities, and I want these events to really help weave that MPA tapestry.

Opportunities like these are why I came to UT, and are the kind of experience that you just don’t get other places.  We’re the top accounting program in the country at one of the largest universities in the country.  That combination gives us resources and access that are invaluable.

I’ll close out my first post here with my best accounting joke:

Why are so many students afraid to major in accounting?
They hear that it’s accrual experience.

Academics, Career, Employment, Events, MPA Council, MPAC, Recruiting, Student Life

First Impressions

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First impressions are important because they always last, and the same goes for my entrance to the MPA program. Notwithstanding a brief visit last fall and interacting with career services over the summer, my first impression of the actual MPA program began just a few weeks ago when all the new Traditional MPA students met, many for the first time. It was orientation week, and we were finally starting the journey we had been planning and anticipating for several months.

As we all gathered in the large banquet hall set aside for the first day, I was nervous about the people I would soon meet. What was everyone going to be like? Where was I going to fit in? Quickly, the fear passed to excitement as I began introducing myself to my new classmates. I’ve always enjoyed meeting new people, and there was no shortage of interesting backgrounds to discuss. Various schools, different areas of the country, and multiple nationalities were represented in the newest cohort. One thing we all had in common was our ambition to succeed and the stuff to make it happen.

Most of orientation week was centered on career services and academic planning. Vinh Nguyen spent time speaking with us about the different career paths available to MPAs. The “industry, audit, or tax” question could be a dissertation on its own, but it was something that many of us were still struggling with as we approached our first day of class. We had the chance to meet our professors at a breakfast and then hear their perspective on the “industry, audit, or tax” question. Also thrown in the mix were several events where we had to make our first impression on potential future employers: an etiquette dinner, a networking reception, and a career fair were all on the bill for the first week. We even had a chance to socialize as a class at a pizza and bowling party thrown by the MPA Council.

Back to first impressions, though. The professors are clearly passionate about what they do, and it is evident that they are proud to be a part of the MPA program. I’m sure you are aware of how big of a difference it makes when a teacher is excited about what they are teaching, and these folks have it. The career services department is top notch from their support and preparation to facilitating interaction with future employers. I ended the week with a pleasant optimism about my job prospects. The students I will be learning alongside are an extraordinarily bright and diverse group of fun people. The connections I made that week are sure to last a lifetime. Hopefully I left a good first impression on a few people, too!

Academics, Alexandria, Centennial, MPA Council, Student Life

Happy New Year!

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Last year I wrote a blog about New Year’s resolutions, so this year I thought I’d switch it up and look at the past year in review. And because accountants love numbers so much, let us take a look at the past year in numbers.

300: Hours of lost sleep

268: Number of Intermediate Accounting problems worked

750: Cups of coffee drank

64.5: Hours spent researching tax law

90: Number of hours spent at McCombs studying during finals

10: Number of Esteemed Lyceum Speakers

13: Number of football games I wish I we had won

9: Number of football games actually won

11: Number of interceptions thrown by UT quarterbacks in 2012 (ugh, this just pains my heart)

28: Number of volleyball games won on the pursuit of the national championship (and this one warms my heart right back up!)

13: Number of Longhorn medals in the 2012 London Summer Olympics (6 gold, 5 silver, 2 bronze)

67: Number of all-time gold medals won by Longhorns (not a 2012 fact, but this picture definitely went viral in the UT network during 2012)

309: Number of new MPA candidates admitted

2: Number of MPA Council awards given at 2012 spring commencement

100: Number of years UT Accounting has celebrated

7: Number of years in a row UT Accounting has been ranked #1 at the graduate level

2: Number of National Championships won by Longhorns this year

1: Number of med schools coming to the UT Austin community

2012 was clearly a fantastic year, and here’s to 2013 being as equally memorable and classy!

Keep it classy, Longhorns.