Tag Archives: learning

Academics, Internships, Student Life

Melissa Takes Boston: Part 2 (Lessons from Beyonce)

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Did everyone have a happy Super Bowl weekend? (Or happy Beyonce weekend to those of you whose interests align more with mine.) Beyonce has been very popular in entertainment news recently with the lip syncing controversy and as headliner for the Super Bowl halftime show. I thought I would take some time to share some of my favorite (and applicable) lessons we, as MPA students, can learn from Beyonce.

1. No one can tell you that you can’t succeed. One of my favorite quotes is, “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Van Gogh. I think this quote can be extended as a solution to any voice you hear that tells you that you cannot succeed. As students at the University of Texas, members of the MPA program, and even interns in the field, there will always been someone who does not believe we can succeed. (Even if it is ourselves.) Looking at the Beyonce lip-syncing controversy, when she was criticized for her inaugural performance, she retaliated by singing the National Anthem at the start of the Super Bowl Press Conference. As you go through school and our internships, you have to remember that no one can tell you that you can’t succeed. And when they do, because they will, then prove them wrong.

2. “You know it costs to be the boss. One day you’ll run the town.” I have always found this lyric of Beyonce’s to be particularly interesting but I find it more applicable as I get further into my education. Classes can be overwhelming sometimes and I know I am not the only one who has dramatically questioned if it is all worth it. As we go through intense classes and now a busy-season internship, we must keep in mind that these are all steps towards our goals. We may have some struggles along the way, but one day we’ll run the town. (and according to B, us girls will run the world.)

3. Image is important. Before I became a business student, I didn’t own a suit, and I had maybe one or two business casual outfits. Throughout recruiting and now during my internship, I am learning how important it is to ‘dress to impress.’ How you dress is often the first impression that others have about you. Although it is key to act professionally, you will not be taken seriously if you are not also dressed with professionalism. (Beyonce certainly always dresses to impress.)

Beyonce’s driven personality and inspiring songs are great sources for inspiration as we continue along our educational paths and soon into our careers.  Who do you look to for life lessons and what lessons have stuck with you?

Click here to read Part 3 of Melissa Takes Boston!

Academics, Events, Melissa, Student Life

The Man in the Glass

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Harvin C Moore IIIA few weeks ago, Professor Limburg and the MPA program welcomed Harvin C. Moore to speak at our Distinguished Speaker Lyceum.

Mr. Moore began his presentation with some relatable stories, his qualifications, and who he was. To give you some background, Mr. Moore was a lawyer, businessman, and UT Grad (Hook ‘Em!) who had much success in both Real Estate Development and the Savings and Loan business. He was known for having a “Midas touch”  due to his gift for putting together lucrative real estate deals. His story seemed to be similar to others we have had the pleasure of hearing this semester in Lyceum- a successful businessperson who has graciously volunteered their time to share with us personal anecdotes and provide some advice before we head off into the real world.

All of a sudden, Mr. Moore began describing a scenario to us and asked us to close our eyes and imagine a man standing alone in the middle of El Paso. (Are you a little confused? Don’t worry- we were too.) Much to our surprise, we open our eyes and see Mr. Moore standing on stage and he begins to tell us of his time in PRISON in El Paso. His company had been issuing illegal loans, and justifying it to themselves because they were solvent at the time of the loan. Being solvent doesn’t negate the fact that the type of loaning Mr. Moore was participating in was illegal. He explained that after he was notified about the criminal charges, he knew he could not sit in the court room and plead “not guilty.”  Thus, Mr. Moore went to prison.

I found his story so interesting, and it was quite an eye-opener to the entire Lyceum audience. The MPA program provides us with ample opportunities to succeed, yet once we do succeed, we must be sure that we maintain our ethical principles. In his message, Mr. Moore alluded to the poem, The Man in the Glass, by Dale Wimbrow. The poem reminds us that we will all have the opportunity at least once in our lives to act in a way that compromises our ethical beliefs, but if you can’t live with yourself after you make such decision, it probably is the wrong decision.

Academics, Feature, Melissa, Student Life

Welcome back, Longhorns!

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BevoWelcome back, everyone! If you are new to the MPA program this year- congratulations and I hope you are excited for an amazing year! I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and the transition back into the swing of things isn’t proving to be too difficult. My summer was a fun one, but I am glad to be back at McCombs.

Over the summer I was informed of some fantastic news about UT. The UT Austin ALPFA Chapter received the Student Chapter Award for the Central Region! ALPFA is largest Latino association for business professionals and students with chapters nationwide. Every year they chose a student chapter from each region and this year, it was UT! I am increasingly humbled and honored to be a part of this school when I learn about all of the accomplishments and accolades that UT is constantly bringing in.

Another tidbit of exciting news this summer was the selection of the winners for the 2012 Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Awards. This year, two McCombs professors were honorable recipients, Anitesh Barua and Steven Kachelmeier. I had the opportunity to take an MPA class with Professor Kachelmeier last semester and it is great to see a familiar professor receive this award! In the article, Professor Kachelmeier is quoted regarding the importance of passion in a teaching role saying, “If a teacher is not passionate about the subject matter, one can hardly expect students to feel otherwise.” Passion about the subject is something that I really value in a professor and if you are new to McCombs this year, you can certainly expect to see passion for their subject is key to McCombs professors.

Feature, Melissa, Student Life

SOPA: what it means to this MPA blogger

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Google's response to SOPA

If you’ve visited Wikipedia, Google, or various other websites yesterday, you probably noticed their blackout/anti-SOPA messages and warnings. Before I go any further, let me just say that this blog entry is an attempt to explain SOPA in the most colloquial way that I can. I realize that there may be some missing pieces in my explanation.

SOPA stands for the Stop Online Piracy Act, which, on the surface seems to be a worthy cause. In theory, this act attacks something that is actually a real problem, internet piracy. The word piracy has a negative connotation and thusly initial public response would be that it is harmful. Haven’t we always been taught that plagiarism is wrong? Sure, the surface goal of SOPA is to stop foreign sites from providing users with pirated material and that is something the general population should at least try to support. And why companies such as Time Warner ARE supporting the bill. But, the repercussions of the bill would be far worse than just having to wait an extra week for the episode of your favorite show to be up on Hulu.

SOPA would have the biggest effect on any sites that use user-generated content. This may be why Wikipedia is so enthralled in the anti-SOPA movement. Other sites include Tumblr, Twitter and YouTube. Of course, this bill will not criminalize posting YouTube videos, per say, but it will hold YouTube to a new level of accountability and make it far more difficult to share and watch videos online. SOPA gives the Attorney General the ability to act against infringing websites without a trial or a court hearing and with that comes the ability to take advantage of this power. This would potentially cause more harm than the good that comes from intellectual property protection. Of course, SOPA would not go to the depths of some internet censorship such as that in China, however in practicality, it will have similar repercussions.

There have been attempts to stop piracy in the past- for example there are bills that have already passed that do exactly what SOPA is claiming to do and so, some believe that SOPA is unnecessary.

Of course, I am not supporting plagiarism or internet piracy. I go to a University with very high ethics and I plan to always stand by the honor code. However, I believe SOPA would do more harm than good and I hope that everyone takes a minute or two to get educated about the bill.

If this at all resonates with you, then please, do some research and find out how you can make a difference. Google has a few things to say about the bill and check out this full page ad that ran in the NYTimes a few months ago.

Please keep in mind that these are my own personal views, and may or may not reflect the opinion of McCombs or the University.

Student Life, Uncategorized

New Year’s Revolutions

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New Year's resolutions can sometimes go in one year and out the other

It’s that time of year again… a new year, and time for New Year’s resolutions. I thought about what I wanted to do with this year and how I could improve myself, but I lacked inspiration, so as usual I turned to Google.

The first thing I found was a list of the ten most common New Year’s resolutions. They were all excellent, but all of them are things I already strive for on a daily basis: spending more time with loved ones, getting more organized, exercising, eating healthy, etc. I remained uninspired.

After spending more time in attempts to find a resolution, I stumbled upon the million-dollar question: Why do I even need to make a new year’s resolution? What makes January 1st so special in that it’s the only time of year to make a new resolution and improve myself? I knew there had to be a reason resolutions exist, otherwise, why is this custom worldwide?

After contemplating these questions (and doing some research of course), I found my answers. The magic of a new year is that it inspires us to dream big. We tend to get stuck in the monotony of day-to-day life. There is just something about a new year that breaks that cycle. It helps us realize that “if we did all the things we are capable of, we would astound ourselves” –Thomas Edison.

The promise of new beginnings allows us the opportunity to shoot for the stars and remove the cynicism that seeps into our lives as the year progresses. Kristi Hedges from Forbes Magazine said, “we’ve been trained to be critical and think small. We’re cautious of new ideas and motives, and we wait for the other shoe to drop. We get a lot of social reinforcement for this posture by being heralded as savvy, analytical, and smart.” Continue reading New Year’s Revolutions →