That’s opportunity knocking at your door, right here in Austin!
This blog is the next in the series of blogs discussing the components that make Austin such a great city to go to school in. Austin is a city just brimming with opportunity. Whether it is internships or job opportunities, volunteering opportunities, or really any opportunity, Austin can provide it for you.
Internships/ Jobs
The lovely UT campus is located deep in the heart of Austin. A few blocks away from McCombs is the Texas Capitol, home of the Texas Senate and House of Representative. I had the opportunity to intern at the Capitol last spring to explore my interest in law and politics. After a semester as a legislative aide, I figured out that politics wasn’t my forte, but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to immediately find out it wasn’t a field I wanted to continue.
A few blocks from the Texas Capitol is downtown Austin, where opportunities for jobs and internships in almost every industry possible are readily available. As you read earlier, a fellow blogger Xinmiao interned at American Short Fiction and is currently interning at Greenlights for Nonprofit Success. The opportunities are seemingly limitless. Continue reading Hear that?→
One of the most appealing aspects of attending the University of Texas is the fact it is located in the heart of Austin. I know that I was a little nervous moving to a big city for college, but Austin is the perfect college town. Why would I say that? First of all, I say that because the UT campus is off on its own on the north end of downtown Austin, so you get that feeling of being on a centralized college campus that is rare in urban universities. Second, the entire city seems to be compromised of Longhorn fans and alums, so you’ll see that welcoming shade of burnt orange everywhere you go. The other reasons Austin is a great place to go to school are Austin’s history, opportunities, entertainment and food.
To do the city justice, I will write a post about each of these components of Austin. Today, we are going to focus on the city’s history.
The Founding of Austin
The city’s recorded history began in 1830s when Anglo-American settlers arrived. These settlers eventually founded the city (then called Waterloo) along the banks of the Colorado River. During this time period (around 1836-37), Texas had just won it’s independence and recently formed the Republic of Texas. In 1837, President Sam Houston established the Republic’s capital in Houston. It was at President Mirabeau B. Lamar’s instructions that the Texas Congress purchase all the land of Waterloo and surrounding the banks of the Colorado River to establish a permanent Texas capital. The Texas Capital named the new city Austin in honor of Stephen F. Austin, “the father of Texas,” and officially chartered the city in 1839. Continue reading A long time ago, in a place not too far away…→
The signature motto of The University of Texas is “What starts here changes the world.” When I first came to UT, I felt that this was just a showy saying with little substance behind it. I am starting to realize, however, that this statement is truly the cornerstone of our university.
When most students decide to continue their education at Texas, they do so not only because they want a great education, but because they want to matter in the world. The University of Texas gives them the appropriate means to accomplish their goals.
Every student I have met here wants to matter in the world. They are all extremely ambitious people with big goals for their futures. The majority of MPA students take on leadership roles in organizations on campus, participate in company networking sessions, sign up for interviews and mock-interviews, and work hard to get excellent grades in their coursework to set themselves up for a fantastic job. UT students invest their time and energy in things that will give them the opportunity to matter in the world.
I continually share with my parents all of the things McCombs and the MPA program offer to maximize my future opportunities. My mom said, “Ally, it’s a wonderful program and it is great that you are focused on your future, but don’t neglect to focus on the present and enjoy this time of your life.” It wasn’t until August of this past year that I understood the true meaning of what she was telling me.
The first thing I understood about focusing on the present was that I would only be in college at UT with all of my friends for a finite period of time, whereas I will be working forever. It only makes sense to take advantage of everything the University offers while you are a student: going to football and basketball games, attending campus events, and spending lots of time with friends. Continue reading Carpe Diem→
My professors tell me the best way to prepare for interviews, is to read newspapers every day. They highlight the importance of being aware of what’s going on with the economy and current events outside of the 40 Acres, because that’s the world we will be living in. When speaking with adults, being able to apply what we are studying to current events creates more stimulating conversation than talking about assignments and grades.
What better place to follow sports than at our own Frank Erwin Center cheering on the mens Longhorn B\basketball team!
I have accepted this as something I need to do to be successful with recruiting. I thought this was all that I needed to do, until I read a blog by the Young and Frugal highlighting the importance of sports in the business world. They made an excellent point:
“In the real world most people won’t talk politics with you for fear of offending you (or someone else), and not many people want to talk business because that’s what they do all day.”
Sports is something that you can talk about with everyone, and use as a gateway to talk about most anything: from the business of sports, player gossip, personal experiences from playing the game, and locations you have traveled to watch games. It is a topic almost everyone can relate to or have an opinion about, and a great way to join a conversation. In fact, a Green Mangoes blog made an interesting point on the importance of sports in the business world:
“My friend Anna, who is Hungarian, told me once that when she was in school in Hungary, studying English, she took a course on doing business in America. (Maybe that wasn’t the title, but that was the topic.) One of the things they stressed as a key to being successful in business dealings with Americans was to be familiar with the names and current records of sports teams. Because there is no better way ‘in’ than , ‘Hey, how about those [fill in name of appropriate sports team here]? Think they can go all the way this year?’”
To summarize up the underlying reason why sports are essential in business, I would like to go back to the Young and Frugal blog:
“Talking sports is about relationships. The emotional connection that forms between you and “your” team, the relationship that forms with your co-worker because his team is your team’s rival, and the relationship of feeling that if you can have a good conversation with someone about sports, you can have a good conversation with them about anything. On the contrary, when meeting someone who doesn’t follow sports it’s extremely difficult to break the ice and find a common ground. Up- to-date knowledge of sports is a key part of business in today’s world because businesses are about relationships, and sports can be the key to developing strong relationships.”
After this I thought I had what I needed for recruiting down: news and sports. In addition, when I think back to my prior experiences with recruiters, it is true that I have discussed sports and current events many times, but many conversations centered on pop culture like movies, music and TV shows. Talking about these things has the same effect as sports, they help establish relationships. Talking about these things helps me to determine if I could work with someone for over 8 hours a day. If we like the same movies and TV shows, we most likely have very similar senses of humor and personalities.
This revelation helps me in two ways. First, it will help me prepare for recruiting and building relationships. Second, it will help me convince my parents it is essential for me to catch up on all my TV shows over break!
You don't have to be a stereotypical accountant like Angela (from The Office) to be successful!
I just read an interesting research article about personality types that succeed in accounting. The article by Bealing, Baker, and Russo researches the Myers-Briggs personality types of graduating accounting students and compares them to the personality type of other graduating business students. The overall Myers-Briggs personality type for accounting students was ESTJ.
For those of you unfamiliar with Myers-Briggs personality type, it measures the perception of individuals and classifies them into one of sixteen different personality types based on four different characteristics (Side note: I highly recommend everyone takes this test, its jaw-dropping to see its description of your personality and definitely helps you become more self-aware. I also think it is crucial for successful teamwork because it helps me understand how others are approaching the same problem but getting such different results.) An ESTJ means that the individual is extroverted (outgoing), sensing (paying attention to information that you collect through your five senses), thinking (making objective decisions), and judging (prefer a structured life style).
The lovely UT campus is located deep in the heart of Austin. A few blocks away from McCombs is the Texas Capitol, home of the Texas Senate and House of Representative. I had the opportunity to intern at the Capitol last spring to explore my interest in law and politics. After a semester as a legislative aide, I figured out that politics wasn’t my forte, but I am thankful that I had the opportunity to immediately find out it wasn’t a field I wanted to continue.
