Category Archives: Career

recruiting, internship, professional development, career workshops and events

Alexandria, Career, Student Life

Go Figure!

Leave a comment
Like auditors, skating judges have created their fair share of scandals

Just last weekend, I went home to Dallas in order to judge at a local figure skating competition. When I was at the rink, I had the opportunity to talk to my old skating coaches and friends. The question that always came up was, “What are you studying at school?” When I told them I was an MPA tax track student, many of them gave me a very puzzled look and asked how I ended up choosing that as my career. I thought it was very interesting that many of my friends in the skating world didn’t see what was so attractive about accounting, just because I feel the skills I have developed as a skating judge have helped better me for my career in accounting.

Being knowledgeable about the rules and being able to apply them in snap decisions- The first thing a skating judge must do before taking the panel to judge an event is to familiarize themselves with the rules and requirements of a well-balanced program for the level of the event they are going to judge. If a skater doesn’t do enough elements a well-balanced program requires, or if skaters do elements that are not allowed in a particular level, judges must be able to immediately recognize this in order to make the best possible decision in determining the score the skater’s performance deserves. Judges have to have to determine the skater’s score almost instantly, as they only have a few moments in between each skater in order to award their marks. Like judges, accountants have to be aware of all the standards when they go to work for a client. They also need to be able to apply these rules in quick, stressful situations. Continue reading Go Figure! →

Career, Employment, Melissa, Student Life

Sacrificed communication

Leave a comment
Before Facebook chat and text messaging, AIM was my technology-based communication of choice

Technology has always been something I have been really passionate about- hence, when I became an MPA, I kept MIS as my minor here at McCombs. I look at websites, read blogs, etc. and just love to hear the fascinating stories about how technology is shaping and improving the world we live in. However, something else very crucial to the changing world is communication. I am a strong believer in the importance of honest communication and believe that communicating, itself, also shapes and improves the world we live in.

That being said, I was intrigued when I came across a NYTimes article this morning that contrasts ‘communication’ with ‘connection,’ and discusses the role that technology has in the “sacrificing of communication.”

The article goes on to explain the notion of being “alone together.” In a world where we are attached to our smart phones and computers, we feel constantly connected to all of the people in our lives. Sherry Turkle, the author, goes on to explain how we expect more from technology and less from each other. We feel like, because we could send an email or text message at any time, we are all connected. Of course, this is important in a world that is getting smaller and I am not trying to downplay any of the amazing technologies that help business communication today. I just think it is important to remember that there is a difference in what you get out of a face-to-face conversation vs. one online or via email. Continue reading Sacrificed communication →

Career, Paul, Student Life

Morality in Business and Politics

Leave a comment
Calypso entices Odysseus, who stays with her for seven years before returning to his wife, Penelope.

The topic arose with a handful of acquaintances this year; otherwise, I probably would not have felt it necessary to write about it. Given the way I feel the

zeitgeist is flowing and the situation where the U.S. Secret Service has found itself in the past several days, this is something that needs to be addressed.

Most people that know me know that I feel that President Obama is very hit-or-miss with his policies; however, I think his administration’s recent actions hit the nail right on the head. Over a dozen officers created a stir from possible activity with prostitution, and they were all sent home immediately. One officer, General Fraser, commented that it was behavior “not in keeping with the professional standards expected.”

More poignant, though, was a comment by a street vendor named Edwin Yepes, who said in a CBS article, “They are supposed to come here and set the example….it’s better if they don’t come than if they damage our image of them.”

What a stain on the United States!

And yet, recent conversations I have had seem to indicate that many people don’t see a connection between personal judgment and professional performance. The classic examples are Kennedy and Clinton; one acquaintance told me it was okay for these men to X-Y-Z as long as they were doing their job. While there is no denying that these men performed superbly on the job, their judgment has to be questioned. Continue reading Morality in Business and Politics →

Academics, Alexandria, Career, Events, MPA Council, MPAC, Student Life

MPA Council Hosts Catherine Cook, Founder of MyYearbook

Leave a comment
MPAC members with Catherine Cook

Last Wednesday, April 4th, the MPA Council invited Catherine Cook (founder of MyYearbook.com) to speak as part of their Esteemed Speaker Series.

Ms. Cook started off describing what MyYearbook was all about. When I hear about social media sites, I assume they are destined to fail since they are competing with the powerful network effects of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. But Catherine Cook explained how these three social media giants don’t cover the entire span of the social media market. Facebook is for people you already know, Twitter is primarily used for news and entertainment feed, and LinkedIn is for the professional sphere of social media.

None of these sites are for meeting new people. That is the goal of MyYearbook. Cat Cook told us she got the idea at 15 when she moved to a new high school and didn’t know anybody. One of the purposes of the site is to help people who move to a new city engage with new people within a certain mile radius of them. Continue reading MPA Council Hosts Catherine Cook, Founder of MyYearbook →

Alexandria, Career, Employment, Feature, Student Life

An interesting proposition for colleges:

1 Comment

The Economist published an article on April 9th concerning an idea of California college students that could possibly radically affect college students everywhere if it is taken into consideration by universities.

Students of the University of California propose that instead of charging tuition, they’d like universities to take 5% of their salary for the first twenty years following graduation.

This idea has some huge implications for higher education. An individual’s level and quality of education would no longer be determined by parental current income, but by a student’s future income, which would open more opportunities for them.

What particularly fascinates me about this article is the potential overhaul of universities’ organizational structure and culture. They would be the ones bearing the most risk under this proposal. With their income being contingent on their student’s job placement, universities have large incentives to become much more focused on placing their students in high paying career positions. Continue reading An interesting proposition for colleges: →