All posts by jarrettcocharo

Academics, Austin, Bart, Student Life

Thanksgiving: The Starting Line for Finals & A Celebration with My MPA Family

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Clockwise from the far head of the table: Theodore, Won, Xinhao, Zyenga, Wei, Kendra, Matt, Joseph, Patrick, Me and Mark

Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday of the year. Although it is an uniquely North American holiday (I say North American to acknowledge the Canadian observance), it truly transcends religion, language and national origin. Everyone has something they can be thankful for—especially MPAs. Whether it’s the high reputation of the program; the quality education we receive from accomplished faculty; or our excellent career services team, MPA students have an abundance of resources at their fingertips. So when it came time to plan my Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to celebrate it in Austin with my new MPA family.

Because the Texas MPA program has a huge contingent of out-of-state students, there was a considerable number of MPA students staying in Austin for Thanksgiving. Of the traditional MPAs for the class of 2010, 60 percent were non-Texas residents. And of the attendees at the Thanksgiving MPA get-together, I was the only one from Texas.

At the beginning of the month, I consulted with one of my friends about planning a Thanksgiving get-together. We decided to do it potluck style, which means that each person attending the meal brings a dish. I decided to make this Jell-o and fruit cocktail mix that my grandmother usually makes. It turned out pretty well. In case you were wondering, the secret is not use water to make the Jell-o. Use Sprite.

My friend, Theodore, decided to cook the turkey. We were all very apprehensive about this. Earlier this semester, he had tried to tailgate before the Wyoming game. After failing to light the grill, he decided to cook the sausages in the microwave. The sausages exploded! Needless to say, we didn’t want a repeat of culinary disaster right before our Thanksgiving meal. But Theodore reassured us that he would get directions from his mother, and he would have a delicious bird ready for our meal. Well, he surprised us all! The turkey was delicious, cooked properly and not dried out. You can’t ask for more than that.

And finally, what Thanksgiving is complete without some football? After we finished the meal, we all helped clean the dishes and tidy up before heading back to campus to watch our Longhorns take on those Aggies from that other school across the state. Theodore and Mark actually dressed up as cowboys for the game. They were quite hysterical. Too bad their school spirit wasn’t enough to help our boys to the win. Despite the loss, we all still enjoyed the game.

Jarrett, Student Life

Food? Yes, please!

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french friesI usually write my blog posts during lunch every Tuesday. So what better time to introduce the food choices located around the business school? You will be spending a lot of time in the School of Business and in the University Teaching Center (UTC, where many of your classes will be held) across the street. So mapping out the dining options is a must. I thought I might just make a list of the options that I frequent a lot.

  1. O’s Campus Café in The McCombs School Atrium: If you like quick and convenient, then O’s is for you. It is located on the third floor of the business school. Everyday you can order sandwiches, fruit and potato salads, hamburgers, soups and regular salads from the salad bar. You can even choose between regular French fires and sweet potato fries! There is a soda fountain (Pepsi products) and coffee dispensers available. Additionally, there is usually a lunch special each day. Today’s special is chicken enchiladas with rice and beans.
  2. Wendy’s in Jester: The Wendy’s in Jester is a great place to meet your friends before an evening exam. It has all the menu options of a regular Wendy’s restaurant, but it just happens to be located across the street from the business school. Additionally, I should note that the background music playing in this Wendy’s is “rockin!” You will hear everything from top 40 to 80s rock and R&B. Every time my friends and I walk in, we are pleasantly surprised with the music choice.
  3. Asian Food Cart in front of Littlefield fountain: Everyday around lunchtime there is an Asian food cart parked in front of Littlefield fountain. You can order egg rolls, fried or white rice, and other common Asian dishes. Most meals there cost less than $6 and you can use credit/debit cards there, too.
  4. Prufrock’s Java City in the Perry-Castañeda Library: When I first saw the sign for this café in the PCL, I was immediately taken back to my high school senior English class when we studied “The Love of J. Alfred Prufrock” by T.S. Eliot. I would recommend you read it if you have 20 minutes. Back to the topic at hand: FOOD! I am not a coffee drinker, but I know many of my fellow MPAers stop by this café to pick up a cup o’ joe before class. It services coffee, soda, sandwiches, salads and assorted pastries.
  5. Texas Union: If you are in for a five-minute walk, head over to the Texas Union (located just West of the Tower). You will find Bene Pizzeria, Chick-Fil-A, Quizno’s, Starbucks, Taco Bell and another on-campus Wendy’s. You can also bowl or shoot pool on the bottom floor of the Union.

I haven’t written about the two unlimited dining halls (Kinsolving and J2) located on campus, because I don’t eat there. And I don’t know of any MPAs that do. But whatever you decide to do for breakfast, lunch or dinner on campus, there are plenty of options.

Academics, Admissions, Jarrett, Student Life

Accounting: My New Pursuit

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Sorry for my late posting. I was in and out of connectivity all week. If you read my last post, you can see that I was traveling a lot last week. But after this week, life will return somewhat to normal as the formal fall recruiting season for public accounting comes to a close. It has been quite a ride this semester, to say the least.

I thought for this blog post I might give a little background into how I fell into the accounting world. It’s not often you meet someone who studied public relations and Spanish as an undergraduate who is now pursuing a graduate degree in accounting.

When I started college, I went in thinking I wanted to be a journalist. I loved writing, and I thought journalism would be a great way to see and experience many different things in life. And I still believe that. Though as anyone who has followed the media industry these past couple of years knows, faster and more modern forms of media are overtaking newspapers.

Knowing this, I quickly changed my major to public relations. Studying public relations allowed me to stay within the College of Communication while pursuing studies that I found interesting. I was always pulled more toward the promotion and marketing aspects of public relations. As such, I decided that it would be a good idea to complement my degree with a minor in general business.

Here is where the story starts to come together. In spring 2009, I enrolled in the Fundamentals of Accounting class that all business majors and minors have to take. It changed my life! Continue reading Accounting: My New Pursuit →