Hispanic Heritage Month, celebrated from September 15 – October 15, is a national celebration of the accomplishments and cultural history of Hispanic and Latinx individuals and organizations in the United States. At Texas McCombs, our students are a constant reminder of the positive impact that diverse backgrounds and perspectives bring to our communities. We are proud to highlight some of our Latin American & Hispanic MBA Association (LAHMBA) students’ stories, their “Why McCombs?” and LAHMBA initiatives this year.
Tag: student life (page 2 of 3)
As Pride Month comes to an end, Texas McCombs would like to highlight how our Engaged Queer & Ally (eQual) MBAs organization has continued to support the McCombs and Austin communities, share resources and organize exclusively in a digital platform to celebrate Pride this year. Despite being in the middle of a global pandemic, McCombs students continue to stay engaged, as world-changing leaders committed to serving our many diverse communities.
eQual MBA students at Texas McCombs
Who are eQual MBAs?
Engaged Queer & Ally (eQual) MBAs, McCombs’ LGBTQ+ affinity group, is dedicated to promoting diversity & inclusion in the @utexasmba program & community at large. Every year, they’re committed to recruiting more LGBTQ+ prospective students, organizing regular events, connecting to alumni, and building relationships with allies and sponsors. Furthermore, through their efforts, eQual MBAs bring forth educational discussions to McCombs about gender and sexuality, advocate for allyship and inclusion, and connect members to the larger Austin LQBTQ+ community. Overall, the group is divided into three different pillars: allyship, alumni, and service.
Aside from being full-time MBA students, everyone involved in the organization has faced additional challenges throughout their eQual MBA journey. Despite being the smallest affinity group at Texas McCombs, they continue to grow. Currently, they hold 14 LGBTQ+ members — a record high for the club – along with many allies as members. 2020-2021 co-presidents Andie Parazo and Matt Mason look forward to continuing to grow membership and offering support and resources to the LGBTQ+ and ally community at McCombs.
The eQual MBAs organization, to me, means having a community that will always be there to support me. The members of eQual are not only the people that I rely on to help organize events for the advancement of queer and all underrepresented people’s rights, but they are also some of my closest friends in the MBA program.
— Matt Mason, eQqual MBAs Co-President, MBA Class of 2021
Allyship, Intersectionality and the Importance of Showing Up
As an MBA student at Texas McCombs, your world-class education comes with access to the vibrant city of Austin. Ranked as the #1 place to live in the U.S., there is always something to do in the Texas capital. Our local Longhorn network extends far beyond Texas McCombs, and you will enjoy all the outside-the-classroom perks that come with being a student at The University of Texas at Austin.
The Silicon Hills
Nicknamed “Silicon Hills,” Austin has become a hub for technology and entrepreneurship. With companies like IBM, Google, Intel, Apple, Oracle, Dell, and Samsung growing their presence in the city, Austin ranks as the no. 1 place in America to start a business and the no. 2 best city for startups. Austin is home to about 5,500 startups and tech companies, hosts an annual Austin Startup Week, and is home to one of the biggest tech business innovation showcases in the world– SXSW.
The city is also geographically small enough that the Google Offices are only a twenty-block, bike ride from campus, unlike megalopolises like New York and Los Angeles.
“The largest factors of my attendance decision were corporate partnerships, program culture, and location. The growing presence of tech companies in Austin, TX was an attractive option for full time employment, and I loved the strength of the relationship between McCombs and the city. While it was important to me to join a prestigious program, I would not have done so at the sacrifice of a cultural fit.”
— Kyle Johnson, MBA Class of 2021
The University of Texas also has strong ties with growing industries in The Texas Triangle–Houston, Austin, and Dallas. In a recent interview with Menlo Coaching, Rodrigo Malta, Managing Director of MBA Recruiting and Admissions, highlighted the advantages of the incredible location of Texas McCombs, life in Austin, MBA Fellows Programs, and job placement opportunities outside of Texas.
Austin and its neighboring cities, Houston and Dallas, offer more to students now than ever before with industries like tech, real estate, and consulting booming—all headquartered in central Texas.
In the interview above, Rodrigo highlights that Houston is famous for its energy and banking sectors– Shell, BP, and Exxon-Mobil are all headquartered or partially headquartered in Houston, making the city a hot market for energy-focused MBAs. Investment banks in Houston also have strong energy practices, broadening the scope of careers.
Dallas is a mix of little of everything, but consulting and manufacturing are especially strong with companies like BCG, Ericsson, and Toyota calling Dallas home.
“The city itself gives our students a lab in which to put into practice what they are learning in the classroom. What really differentiates us from other business schools is the relationship that the university has with the city of Austin.” –Rodrigo Malta, in an interview with Menlo Coaching
What’s on Campus
Step outside Rowling Hall, and be immersed by The University of Texas campus. Head to the gym for a quick workout, a swim, a quick basketball game, climb on our rock wall or relax in the sauna. Our facilities also offer massage sessions and classes in yoga, various levels of exercise, different sports training, CPR, First Aid and Wilderness Medicine, and more.
Students are also granted free admission to museums in Austin. The Harry Ransom Center that specializes in collecting literary and cultural artifacts like the Gutenburg Bible and the first photo ever taken–the Niépce Heliograph. Our other museums around campus include The Blanton Museum of Art, the LBJ Presidential Library, the Texas Memorial Museum, and the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum.
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The City’s Culture
In recent years, Austin has been noted as one of the best travel destinations with 27.4 million domestic visitors annually. During the day, outdoor enthusiasts can float along the Colorado River by paddle-board, canoe or kayak, dive into the Barton Springs Pool, or take a hike at the Barton Creek Greenbelt. At sunset, watch as hundreds of bats fly out from under the South Congress Bridge.
Locals enjoy the springs outside of Barton Creek pool. Photo by Tomek Baginski on Unsplash.
Our “Keep Austin Weird” mantra is noted for the city’s live music, art galleries and shows, festivals of all kinds, and countless breweries. The popular South Congress Avenue, SoCo for short, is home to the famous “I love you so much” mural, Homeslice Pizza, and many unique shops and boutiques.
“From the first time I stepped foot in Austin, I’ve been amazed by the energy and vibrancy of the city. Although all great business schools offer tons of resources, Texas McCombs’ seamless integration with the surrounding city was a huge factor in my decision. There’s nowhere else I could experience being at the nexus of equally amazing academic, technology, and entrepreneurial communities, all whilst eating some proper Texas barbecue.” — Alice Xu, MBA Class of 2021
For a night out, visitors and residents alike head to Sixth Street or Rainey Street, two of the busiest bar districts, for their late-night drinks. Sixth Street is the main entertainment district in Austin with something different at every end with an abundant amount of bars to choose from. Rainey Street, while busy, is more relaxed. The street is lined with houses that were renovated into bars and is popular for its brunch scene on Sundays.
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Our Longhorn Community
Texas McCombs welcomes around 270 full-time MBA students a year, which is perfect for fostering a collaborative, tight-knit student environment. With over 40 different professional, social, and community-centered student organizations, there is a place for everyone.
The Texas Alumni Network is one of the largest in the world with more than 500,000 UT Alumni, 100,000 McCombs Alumni, 25,000 MBA Alumni and more than 30 Alumni Chapters.
“I had three main reasons to choose McCombs: The collaborative culture of the school that leads to owning one of the best networks, the world class career management center that guides you through one of the best recruiting experience ever, and the new mini silicon valley of the USA – Austin. After all, MBA for me was all about building professional relations, career progression, and exposure to potential hubs of the future.”
— Haimanti Gupta, MBA Class of 2021
We are deeply committed to developing a supportive alumni network and dedicated career staff that can tailor your experience to get you where you want to be. With more than 200 unique employers and over 1,300 on-campus interviews, rest assured that the Texas McCombs MBA program will help you launch your dream career at every step of the way.
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If you have any questions, please reach out to MBA Admissions. Hook ’em!
After receiving over 1,900 applications for our Full-Time MBA program, Texas McCombs is happy to welcome our incoming MBA class of 2021! Our admissions team prides itself in fostering a diverse range of students with individual talents and backgrounds that will positively impact their peers, their networks, and the world around them for years to come.
Each MBA class is the result of relationships built between MBA candidates and the Texas McCombs community through connecting with MBA admissions, attending MBA events, completing our application and visiting our campus at UT Austin, one of the most prestigious public universities in the world, deep in the heart of welcoming, vibrant Austin, Texas.
We are looking forward to getting to know the next class of Texas McCombs MBA students this fall! Get a sneak peak at our Full-Time Class of 2021 below:
Our commitment to creating a well-rounded and engaging education starts with our diverse student body. In the last three years, the number of women enrolled at Texas McCombs has continued to increase, with 2019 being the highest percentage of women in the Full-Time MBA program ever.
Students also have the opportunity to go beyond the classroom to develop global perspectives of the business world through our Exchange, Double Degree and McCombs Adventure programs. These give students the opportunity to immerse themselves in other cultures while studying in countries around the world. Our Global Connections program takes students on an eight to ten-day tour to learn about business powerhouses in countries like China, South Africa, Thailand, Cuba, and Argentina.
This year, Texas McCombs was ranked as one of the top 20 business schools in the country by U.S. News and is consistently cited as a top value due to the strong return on investment for our graduates after working with our dedicated Career Management team within one of the largest business school networks in the world.
Students also have the opportunity to join one of our 40+ student organizations ranging from leadership and professional orgs to affinity and social and sports orgs.
The next deadline for the 2019-2020 Full-Time MBA application is our Round 2 deadline on January 7, 2020. We encourage you to prepare to submit your best application and recommend the below resources to help:
- Read our GMAT/GRE blog series to prepare for your test.
- Review our new application essay topics and start thinking about your responses.
- Attend an upcoming MBA event to meet admissions staff and alumni.
- Learn about our new center for graduate education: Rowling Hall in McCombs Magazine.
- Send a message to the Admissions Committee with any questions you have.
Questions? Feel free to reach out to us: TEXASMBA@mccombs.utexas.edu, (512) 471-7698 or follow us on all our social media platforms @UTexasMBA.
We look forward to getting to know you and reading your application. Hook ’em!
Srija Dasika, MBA 2019
Srija Dasika, Texas McCombs MBA ’19, recently shared her experience of becoming a new mom while working and being part of the Evening MBA program. She is originally from Portland, Oregon and works as an R&D engineer at Verizon. She says it was, “tough, but very rewarding and not impossible!” to become an MBA parent. Srija had her first baby in April 2017, during her first year as an MBA in Austin.
Being A Student and a Mom
“Becoming a new parent is one of the best things in the world, but it’s not easy. Your whole world changes, your responsibilities and priorities shift, you are actively learning to live a new way of life with very little sleep. The moments that make parenthood wonderful are what inspire me to do well and work hard. Having strong support at home, school and work helped me a lot. My MBA cohort is very close and that was a huge motivation for me to work hard and stay with my class without taking a break. My company also had a generous maternity policy that allowed me to recover and bond with my baby before going back to work. Overall, I have learned a lot, it has been a satisfying experience and I am very thankful for my support structure.”
Juggling School and Parenthood
Many Working Professional MBA students, given their average age range and typical experience, may also be contemplating starting (or expanding) a family. Texas McCombs has an official Parental Accommodation Policy in order to support your family choices during your MBA, whether that means a pregnancy (you or a partner), adoption, or other specific family circumstance requiring leave.
We recently chatted with Natalie Tyrrell, Texas McCombs Evening MBA 2019, about her experience becoming a new mom while being in business school. She navigated this transition within our parental accommodation policy and hopes her experience can help future students face this challenge. Natalie is originally from St. Louis, MO and in addition to school and family, she currently works as a Director of Talent Development for a school district. She had her daughter, Edith Marie Tyrrell, in October 2018. Congrats, Natalie!
The Tyrrell Family
Lily Yap, MBA Class of 2020
Our Dallas/Fort Worth Class of 2020 welcomed its largest class ever, with 88 new students. This is also the most international class the DFW program has ever had and the most diverse in terms of companies/organizations represented.
We recently caught up with Lily Yap, a DFW MBA student originally from San Francisco, California. She received her Bachelor’s degree from Louisiana State University in Business Management and works on coordinating life-saving programs and operations for animal welfare services in Dallas.
Lily’s “WhyMcCombs?”
Lily was excited to see how passionate the current MBAs in her field are and looked forward to taking leadership classes. She believes classes that refine “soft” skills are extremely beneficial and looks forward to sharing her unique knowledge with other students and organizations.
The following was written by Samantha Frapart, Texas McCombs MBA ’17, and originally posted in June of 2017.
I thought I couldn’t get into business school. With my double-major in English and Ecology, five years in non-profits, and my natural aversion to words like “Nasdaq” and “synergy,” how could I convince admissions teams that I belonged in their MBA programs? Well, after graduating from McCombs in May of 2017, I’m here to happily debunk one of the greatest myths of business school: The non-traditional candidate.
Contrary to popular belief, business programs aren’t looking for human calculators. They are looking for students eager to foster strong teams, willing to negotiate & compromise, and ready to share diverse perspectives. In management classes, I was able to add a unique viewpoint to discussions on anything from government regulations to corporate social responsibility. Though I looked to my study-team for help with my finance homework, I was able to offer equally important business lessons like proper brief-structure and design thinking.
We all have something to offer, it’s just a matter of figuring out what that is and letting it shine through.
Though I assure you “non-traditional” is a thing of the past, I know this process can feel daunting. So with the Full-Time MBA application currently open for the next class, I’d like to share some helpful tips from my experience (before and during business school) in hopes that it might ease your worries about applying and prepare you for the fantastic two years ahead.
The easiest way to keep up with Texas MBA news, admissions updates, and student life is to follow the The Texas MBA Program on social media. Our students and staff are posting pics, stats, and info daily to make sure our future MBAs stay updated on all the reasons #WhyMcCombs!
Check out what we’ve been up to this spring…
It’s well-known that Texas produces more crude oil and natural gas than any other state in the US. However, did you know that the Lone Star State leads the country in wind powered generation capacity? The energy industry serves a crucial role in the macro economy and its complexity, technological advancements, and never-ending thirst for capital attracts many students to McCombs every year.
Here at UT, we benefit from vast resources to aid in our professional development towards becoming leaders in the energy industry. As Texas MBAs, of course we like to team up and make a friendly competition out of it whenever possible. Last week, Net Impact and ExxonMobil gave us the perfect opportunity to do so by hosting its inaugural Energy Bowl at McCombs.
Texas MBAs at the Energy Bowl!
Leading industry experts MC’d the competition, which was not your average trivia night (not going to lie, I 100% expected a question on the gusher at Spindletop, TX…I was wrong). Exxon and Net Impact tested students on categories including energy in pop culture, history, new and emerging sources, and projected trends in energy use. We’ve selected a few challenging questions to share below (Answers at the bottom of this post):
- How many smartphone batteries would you need to equal the energy contained in one gallon of gasoline?
- Which musician once worked as a roughneck on an offshore oil rig?
- In what city was the first dam specifically developed for generating hydroelectric power?
- How many 5 MW wind turbines would it take to provide the equivalent of NYC’s electricity consumption?
We had a great time trying to solve these problems and asking the panelists questions about the future of the industry between rounds. Perhaps more important than racking up points at trivia is your team name, shout-out to “1.21 Gigawatts” for the clever Back to the Future reference.
Whether you are interested in pursuing a career in conventional or renewable energy, there’s no better place to make the next step than McCombs!
(Answers: 4,000, Trace Adkins, Austin, 4,000 + back-up power)
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