Mauro Rodriguez is a junior in the Texas Honors Electrical and Computer Engineering and Business program (Texas ECB), a joint program giving students the unique opportunity to major in Electrical & Computer Engineering Honors and Business Honors at UT. Mauro grew up in Madrid, Spain and moved to Houston with his family when he was 16, where he attended an international high school. While the move was slightly intimidating at first, he was excited about the opportunity and had a smooth transition to Texas.
The ECB program began in 2022, and Mauro was part of the inaugural class. When considering colleges, he knew he was interested in studying both engineering and business. Therefore, the new program seemed like the perfect fit, especially since UT had been on his radar for a while.
ECB has given Mauro the opportunity to explore careers in both engineering and business, with ample resources to learn about both fields. Moreover, through his ECB cohort, he has met some of the smartest people he has known who share his interest in the technical aspects of engineering and desire to develop a strong business background, while exploring the intersection between the fields.
Canfield BHP has been an integral part of Mauro’s college experience, since he has been taking classes with the same cohort and friends since freshman year. He has grown close with his Canfield BHP cohort, and he is also thankful for the ECB cohort within Canfield BHP as he can study with peers who have the same workload.
To further explore his interests in engineering and business, Mauro has been taking on internships and extracurriculars. Last summer, he interned with a startup, where he gained exposure to product, coding, and Excel. The internship was very open ended and tailored to what he wanted to try, so he was able to touch both technical and business-oriented projects.
Mauro is also on the internal development team of Texas Guadaloop, a student hyperloop organization with engineering and business subteams. Guadaloop has also given Mauro an opportunity to explore both of his interests and is giving him insight into the work he would be doing at the corporate level of a tech company. Even though he is on the business side, knowledge of the engineering side is incredibly helpful, both for Guadaloop and his future career. With Guadaloop, he is also able to spend time doing what he likes outside of class while learning and figuring out what he wants his career to look like.
Next summer, Mauro is interning at Coatue, an investment management firm with nearly $50 billion in assets under management. He will be working under their private equity strategy with a focus on tech investing.
Focusing on having time for himself is the main differentiator for Mauro’s success. By ensuring that he relaxes on the weekends–whether it is through playing soccer or golf, boxing, or socializing with friends–he is able to be much more motivated and efficient during the week. Ultimately, balance is key, and Mauro has realized just how important it is during college.
You can learn more about the Texas Honors Electrical and Computer Engineering and Business program at ecb.utexas.edu.