Category Archives: Alexandria

Alexandria Newman’s posts

Alexandria, Student Life, Uncategorized

Kony 2012- Illustrating the Power of Social Media

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I’m sure almost everyone has a friend who has posted a link to the Invisible Children’s video promoting the “Kony 2012”campaign on Facebook within the past week or so. This video has started a worldwide debate on the situation with Joseph Kony and the LRA (Lord’s Resistance Army) in central Africa and has proven the viral power of social media.

Invisible Children’s video was posted on Monday, and has garnered an astonishing 55 million views as of the last time I looked. As the video gained momentum on YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook, it was picked up by news organizations, bringing more awareness to it, and further increasing viewings.

What makes the fact that this video has gone viral so astounding is that, historically videos about humanitarian and social injustices do not typically spread in this fashion. The fact that this video is 30 minutes long makes its viral nature especially interesting, because a main rule of making a viral video is keeping it “focused, consistent, and SHORT.”

So what was it that made this video viral? Most people I have talked to say it’s because of the power of Invisible Children’s message. However, as Curt Hopkins said, many other non-profits have launched video campaigns full of good messages, but they haven’t caught on anywhere near to the extent of “Kony 2012.” Continue reading Kony 2012- Illustrating the Power of Social Media →

Alexandria, Events, Student Life

MPA Council takes Project 2012

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The River City Youth Foundation Success Center, where we spent our morning volunteering

Just last Saturday,MPA Council joined approximately 2000 other volunteers to reach out and improve the greater Austin community for Project 2012, UT’s largest day of service. What an experience it was!

Here’s a summary of my memorable day: I had to wake up quite early (especially for a college student) in order to report for duty with council members. We, along with the other morning shift volunteers, were then welcomed and thanked for our help by multiple local politicians. We also were lucky enough to watch the Dove Springs Middle School cheerleading squad perform for us! It was definitely the highlight of the ceremony.

We then went to our volunteer location, River City Youth Foundation, in south Austin. They had a multitude of tasks for us to complete to improve the facility for Austin’s youth. Some members and I were responsible for repainting the interior of the complex, while other members helped re-mulch the trails by shoveling mulch into a wheelbarrow. Continue reading MPA Council takes Project 2012 →

Academics, Alexandria, Feature, Student Life

MPA: My Personal Anecdote

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Why MPA?

Growing up, my “dream job” changed weekly. Like most kids, I fluctuated between  the typical dream professions (as well as some atypical ones): princess, astronaut, lawyer, doctor, marine biologist, plumber, etc. The bottom line of all my decisions was that I wanted to make a difference in someone’s life.

Funnily enough, the one thing I did not want to be was an accountant. I come from a family of government accountants, and I remember seeing the look on people’s faces when I told them what my family did for a living and who they worked for. It was not a look that indicated they thought my family was making a positive difference in the world.

It wasn’t until I attended the Accounting Career Awareness Program (ACAP- now called DYNAMC) here at McCombs, that I began to rethink my views. It was at this camp that I realized accounting was a field that actually interested me. What especially intrigued me was a small tax seminar on filing 1040’s led by Professor Kristina Zvinakis. It was at this camp that I realized that accounting, specifically tax, was exactly the career I was looking for as it satisfied all of the qualities I wanted out of a career:

    • To have work that I find truly challenging and rewarding
    •  To be held to a higher ethical standards than most professionals are
    •  To help people by saving them money that they can use to improve their own lives or others’ lives
    •  To save people time so they can use it to do things they truly love
This here explains my reason for deciding Texas MPA: the people are awesome!

Why Texas MPA?

It was at ACAP that I was first introduced to the integrated MPA program. It seemed too good to be true: a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting in five years!

To be completely honest (and my family and high-school friends can attest to this), I never saw myself attending UT until I attended ACAP. My family is from Washington, and I was always planning on out-of-state in order to escape the heat of Texas.

But when it came time to sit down and think about where I wanted to go to school, all roads lead to Austin. Where else could I get a top-rate education in the number one accounting program at in-state tuition rates? Nowhere, that’s where.

Texas MPA was a logical choice for me. I feel it’s the logical choice for everyone when deciding on where to pursue an accounting or business education. McCombs provides so much for its students: incredible faculty, knowledgeable academic advisors, and wonderful career advisors and services. On top of McCombs’ resources, every student has the resources of the entire university and city of Austin at their disposal.

In conclusion –it’s a splendid time to be a Texas MPA!

Academics, Alexandria, Career

To be emotional, or not to be emotional? That is the question

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As you can see, not everyone appreciates tears!

Boehner Gets Weepy on 60 Minutes

In my organizational behavior class, we discussed the above video showing Representative John Boehner’s use of tears in public speaking. The majority of my class expressed negative opinions about this practice, saying that it showed weakness and didn’t really have a place in politics. One classmate compared crying in politics to crying in business, saying that it would be inappropriate to cry in the boardroom.

After leaving class, this question couldn’t leave my mind: Is the use of emotions appropriate in politics and the business world?

The first way I approached this question was in the field of politics. I first watched this video in my business communications class last semester, and I thought Boehner’s blatant showing of emotions lost him credibility. However, upon seeing this video a second time, I’m starting to see where Boehner is coming from. Although I am not necessarily a fan of tears or politicians proponing tears when trying to appeal to their audience; I do appreciated the showing of Boehner’s seemingly genuine emotion. With responsibilities such as passing legislation regarding abortion and stem cell research, declaring war and dispatching our soldiers, isn’t it nice that our leaders are taking their decisions to heart? If my congressman was discussing these issues in an objective, non-emotional tone, I would interpret the decision as cold and calculating with little regard of the consequences to constituents. Continue reading To be emotional, or not to be emotional? That is the question →

Alexandria, Austin, Career, Student Life

Why I Live Strong

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My friend Allie and I running the LiveSTRONG Marathon in Austin last year to spread awareness

At the very beginning of 2012, I joined Team LiveSTRONG. As a member of Team LiveSTRONG, I help raise awareness and raise funds to improve the lives of people affected by cancer. Although I have never personally had to battle cancer, my life as still been affected by this disease.

To summarize my history with cancer, both my beloved Grandpa Jimbo and one of by best friends in elementary school, Bailey, ran out of time in their battles with cancer. After losing them, I guess I thought that cancer was done with me. That I could no longer be affected….but of course that could never happen.

In September, my dad found out his best friend from college, Mike, was diagnosed with cancer and had a very slim chance of survival. I felt so helpless seeing the hurt my father felt while dealing with this news. My parents and I visited Mike and his family over winter break, and I suddenly became furious at the toll that battling cancer took on such an incredibly funny, bright and kind man. It was then I realized cancer would never stop affecting my life, or millions of others’ lives, until it was cured.

Now, obviously because I am a student in the MPA program, I am in no way qualified to cure cancer. But, I could take action. I decided to join Team LiveSTRONG so I could no longer feel helpless in the fight against cancer, and so I could spread hope to people like Mike and his support group.

I personally got involved in the war on cancer because I became fed up with being helpless. I know almost everyone has an issue close to their heart that they can’t stand for and we all need a way to find a sense of agency and hope.

So… What do you do about it? GET INVOLVED! Continue reading Why I Live Strong →