The MPA Program Office is excited to welcome Sarah Stiff, who is sarah_stiff_pccjoining the team as a Peer Career Consultant (PCC). As a PCC, Sarah will help MPA Career Services with many different projects and events. She’ll also be available to meet with students about things like resume review, interview tips, using the RecruitMcCombs system, and career research tools. Look for a future announcement for when you’ll be able to start scheduling appointments with Sarah and come to her walk-in hours.

We asked Sarah a few things to get to know her….

  • Tell us a little bit about yourself and your background. 
    I am from Houston, Texas, but I completed my undergraduate accounting degree (with a minor in French) at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. I have worked with The American Bureau of Shipping, PwC Audit and Deloitte Tax all in Houston and the US Business Tax group of Deloitte in London. I am currently a Traditional MPA graduate student here at The University of Texas at Austin and will be graduating from the Financial Reporting & Assurance Track of the program in May 2017.
  • If you could be an Olympic athlete what sport would you compete in?
    I don’t have many talents when it comes to sports, but if the Olympics had a “who can eat the most” competition, I know I’d definitely get gold (and probably break the world record).
  • If you could have any kind of pet what would it be?
    I wouldn’t want anything spectacular, just a rescue dog. Anybody who knows me knows that I absolutely adore dogs, so I plan on adopting one as soon as possible.
  • Who is your favorite fictional character (books, movies, TV shows) and why?
    My favorite fictional character has to be either Mulan or Tiana from Princess and the Frog. I love how confident and passionate they are, and they emanate my favorite quote that: “The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success. You can accomplish anything if you’re willing to pay the price.”
  • As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
    This is rather embarrassing, but whenever anybody would ask me what I wanted to be when I was young, I would always say “a lunchbox because it always has lots of yummy things inside it”. While my career goals have changed over the years, my love of food hasn’t.
  • Why are you excited to work with MPA students?
    I love working with all people, but especially the students here at UT. No matter where you go, you will never find people that are more dedicated to learning and to helping better the world we share, one small act of kindness at a time.