Henderson Chandler is a student in the Canfield Business Honors program with a triple major in International Relations and Asian Cultures and Language – Chinese. Before moving to Texas in second grade, he lived in Qingdao, China. With his unique blend of academic pursuits, Henderson is interested in national security and hopes to join the US Army after graduation. He is a part of Army ROTC, which provides him with a route to commission as an officer into the active duty Army.
Since his dad went to UT Austin for both his undergraduate and law degrees, Henderson naturally gravitated towards becoming a second-generation Longhorn. UT was also a target school and close to home. He became interested in international business through his mother, who is a businesswoman with her own international agency that helps cotton buyers and sellers from all around trade cotton.
In freshman year, Henderson caught the consulting bug; he was interested in the career as it would allow him to see different industries. He joined Texas Consulting, whose spotlight is on new members and taught him an incredible amount when he joined. While he eventually became interested in other careers, the organization became a family for him on campus. Henderson’s favorite memory was staying up late and helping a fellow member on his statistics homework when they were on an organization retreat in Fredericksburg.
At the time, Henderson was not part of Canfield Business Honors, but he met many Texas Consulting members who raved about the program. He also saw how Canfield Business Honors helped with recruiting, so he decided to apply and joined as a sophomore transfer.
One of Henderson’s most influential experiences on campus was the BA 151H Lyceum course that Canfield Business Honors students take during their sophomore fall semester. In Lyceum, successful professionals discuss their career journey and provide advice. One of the speakers was Kendall Howell, a Canfield Business Honors graduate who joined the Army, pivoted to Harvard Law School, and is now a national security lawyer. His path mirrored Henderson’s desired path, and hearing from Mr. Howell made it seem much more real and achievable. Henderson reached out to Mr. Howell after class, and they are still in touch over two years later. Through this class and connection, Canfield Business Honors made Henderson more confident in his ability to pursue his dream of leading soldiers in the Army.
Through Texas Consulting, Henderson also met Ashish, a fellow CBHPeer, who–like him–was interested in politics and global affairs. Ashish served as an important mentor and helped make an introduction for him to the Clements Center for National Security, another pivotal organization that shaped Henderson’s college career. The center’s mission is to develop the next generation of national security leaders. To do so, they bring in national security professionals such as analysts from the intelligence community, foreign service, and the military to speak about their experiences and give advice in an intimate setting. Henderson joined as a student assistant and quickly developed an interest in national security, leveraging his status as a Clements Fellow to network with professionals on his desired career path. Moreover, many fellows at the center were international relations majors, so he added on the major in order to engage in their exciting conversations. Through the center he has made some of his closest and most cherished friendships.
Additionally, the Clements Center provides opportunities for students to attend very influential conferences. For instance, service academies such as West Point host symposiums where delegates from around the country and international military partners put together a presentation over a three day period. Henderson attended and contributed within Arctic Security. He enjoyed engaging with the cadets and seeing that they had the same aspirations–this bolstered his confidence that he could also contribute meaningfully to the Army, despite not attending a service academy. The conferences have also allowed him to explore and discuss his research interests including Arctic security, US Army defense innovation, and US-China affairs. Recently, Henderson was a panelist at the Transatlantic Policy Symposium hosted at Georgetown’s Walsh School of Foreign Service, presenting his research on Arctic defense cooperation
Henderson has many career aspirations. Within the Army he is considering working as a defense attache in our embassies abroad or teaching international relations at West Point. He also wants to bring in the business perspective learned in Canfield BHP, and is interested in contributing to defense innovation, where there is a lot of momentum and room for growth. It is becoming easier for small businesses to partner with the US government and bring in tech, which is crucial as many of their processes need to be updated and brought up to speed. Austin’s defense startup scene is thriving; there are government startup incubators such as DIU, AFWERX, and NAVALX that span the Department of Defense. Henderson has already gotten a taste for Austin’s startup space–he is interning at the Army Applications Laboratory, which has an office at the startup hub Capital Factory and is developing technology like augmented reality for maintenance training of military vehicles. Organizations like the Army Applications Laboratory bring modern solutions to the Army much faster than previously possible–and much of the progress is happening in Austin.
When asked for his advice, Henderson emphasizes that you don’t have to know exactly what you want to do, and to find excitement in the opportunity we have to explore while at UT. Pursuing the traditional paths such as consulting or investment banking turned out to be not for him, but he eventually discovered his passion on campus. Therefore, he feels it is important to let the experience at Canfield Business Honors and UT open new doors. Take a peek outside of McCombs and see what motivates and energizes your fellow Longhorns. Something may just peak a new interest or take you down a new path. We are so fortunate to be here on the 40 Acres, so do it justice by going out and engaging meaningfully and exploring.