Category Archives: Student Life

extracurricular activites, UT sports and other campus events, student organizations, recreation, etc.

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

October 23, 2014 Olivia Coffey Leave a comment

There are some sweet perks associated with being an MPA student at McCombs. First off is the free access to Capital Metro all UT students receive. I ride a Metro Rapid bus to get to campus everyday which would otherwise cost $1.50 per trip, or $49.50 for a 31 day pass. Thanks to UT, I can swipe my ID card when I hop on and ride for $0.00. The Rapid buses are fast, clean, WiFi equipped, and have “next bus” tracking capabilities that help me gauge whether or not I need to power walk from McCombs. The bus comes by approximately every 10-15 minutes during peak periods. Of course the cost of this service is partially built into tuition, but minimizing my out of pocket incremental costs is always appreciated.

Next are the McCombs-specific resources: laptop rentals from Media Services on the third floor of GSB, the Reliant Productivity Center on the fourth floor of GSB, and the free weekday New York Times papers on the first floor of GSB. The laptop rentals are great for when I need some computing power but don’t feel like lugging my laptop from home and don’t want to be tied to a computer lab. Rentals are free as long as the equipment is returned by 5 PM. Reliant is a great, quiet place to study right in McCombs with ample natural light, tons of cubicles, and a few group study rooms that can be reserved online. There is also a printer in the back of Reliant which can be pretty handy, especially since students can print straight from their laptops via easy-to-install software and drivers. Finally, there are the free copies of the NYTimes right by the entrance to McCombs. It’s great to be able to peruse the news in print during the week. I especially enjoy the Tuesday paper for the Science Times and the Wednesday paper for the Dining section (Melissa Clark’s “A Good Appetite” column is a particular highlight). And KenKen is fun any day.

Lastly there are the MPA specific benefits: nameplates and name tags, the MPA lounge, and the MPA mailroom. Every MPA gets a nameplate and name tag and they personally make me feel pretty legit. I never had anything close to this when I was a Fine Arts major in undergrad! We use the nameplates every day in class and the name tags were mostly used earlier in the semester for initial recruiting events. It might sound nerdy to you but I love my nameplate. Then there’s the MPA lounge. It’s an exclusive studying and socializing space (more of the latter in my opinion; I can’t get work done in there) that only MPAs have access to. Just touch your ID card to the sensor and open sesame, the door swings opens automatically for you into a room with couches, comfy chairs, and big tables. Sadly we don’t have windows (upside is you won’t get depressed when the sun goes down the night before an exam because you’re oblivious!) but we have recently acquired a coffee machine which my coffee drinking friends appreciate. We also have a big whiteboard calendar so MPAs can keep up with MPAC events, birthdays, and other goings on. There’s a whiteboard on wheels which is useful for working out homework problems or posting general announcements. Finally, there’s the MPA mail room. Every MPA has their own mailbox, which is used to return homework and exams. And who doesn’t love getting “mail?”

Austin, Brooks, Max, Student Life

Sports versus Food

September 17, 2014 maxfrancis Leave a comment

Laugh now, but I’m an Atlanta sports fan. As a result, I had to eat my feelings this weekend. Good thing Mom and Dad (and Brother and Sister) were in town!

My wife—Meg—and I don’t like adventuring too much when we’re hosting others and we ended up taking my family to some of our favorite places to eat. In order to truly drown my sorrows in foord, we had one delicious meal for every horrible loss incurred this weekend:

Round 1: UGA versus Torchy’s

I went to The University of Georgia for my undergraduate degree. Like many (about half) of the traditional students, I was not an accounting major and studied marketing during my undergrad. Anyways, I was heartbroken to see the Bulldogs lose in Columbia on Saturday. Only two things kept this loss from ruining my weekend. One, we’re still ranked higher than the Gamecocks (Go Dawgs!), and two, priming the tank with Torchy’s Tacos.

In order to wash away the pain, Meg and I took my family to one of the best taco restaurants in Austin—Torchy’s! Torchy’s boasts a delicious menu of TexMex-style tacos. I remember we got some combination of Democrat (shredded beef), Brushfire (jerk chicken), and Mr. Orange (blackened salmon) tacos. Of course, we had to top it all off with dessert in the form of Lil Nookies (deep friend cookie dough)! Job well done, Torchy’s!

Round 2: Braves versus Rudy’s

The Texas Rangers swept the Braves this weekend. Though I was sad to miss my home team playing just up the road, it doesn’t look like I missed much. As with the Bulldogs, I had some good food to dampen the pain of our October hopes slipping away. [editor’s note: GO RANGERS!]

Thank you to Rudy’s off of 183 for your mid-sweep boost! I love Rudy’s breakfast tacos. Like usual, we got some combo of bacon, sausage, and potato breakfast tacos. They are delicious to start out with, but add a little heat, and mmm mmm mmm! Unfortunately, I only had room for one taco this time because I knew I needed to leave room for my next big loss.

Round 3: UT versus la Barbecue

vs la Barbecue

What to say?! The Longhorns played much better and with much more heart than last week’s loss to BYU. Unfortunately, games are longer than 57 minutes. The Horns fought the entire game and forced a key turnover with the minutes winding down, but it wasn’t enough to hang on. While the effort and the execution were markedly improved, it still resulted in a credit to the Win-Loss account. Thankfully, I had some serious meat to make it better.

La Barbecue came onto the Austin circuit only a couple of years ago, but it has certainly made a name for itself. La Barbecue comes from the Franklin lineage, which Brooks covered in his BBQ tour last year. I haven’t been to Franklin’s, yet, but supposedly the quality isn’t much different, and the line is substantially shorter.

We got to la Barbecue around noon on a dreary Saturday and waited about one hour to order before we inhaled 3 pounds of brisket and a pound of pork. The food truck/trailer/park is BYOB, which makes the wait fly by, and any time you did spend in line is completely forgotten with the smell and taste of John Lewis’s work. The UT loss stung, especially with the victory in our grasp, but La Barbecue did a lot to make me feel better.

Round 4: Falcons versus Hopdoddy

On Sunday, the Falcons did not Rise Up against Cincinnati. Like UGA’s defeat, the Falcon’s loss was upsetting, particularly coming one game after such great victories. Regardless, we credited the loss column again, and as a result, I turned to the dinner plate.

While it’s no fun to watch your team lose, delicious burgers do make it better. Hopdoddy is a must while you’re in Austin. Their burgers are incredible and the atmosphere is fun. Anything you order will be great; just don’t forget queso and fries!

Honorable Mention: Fantasy versus Pinthouse Pizza

Clearly, I wasn’t perfect this weekend. My starters were about as stout as wet noodles, and my bench, with 4 total suspensions and deactivations, scored almost as many points as them. Don’t worry, though, I’ll follow it all up with Pinthouse Pizza. It’s a yummy pizza joint with home-brews and a family-style atmosphere. Perfect for washing down a fantasy meltdown!

Academics, Austin, Career, Employment, Events, Olivia, Recruiting, Student Life

Orientation, Recruiting, and Easy Tiger

September 4, 2014 Olivia Coffey Leave a comment

Things have been quite busy for us MPAs these last few weeks between the close of summer classes, orientation, recruiting events, and the start of the fall semester. With the kickoff of fall classes comes OCR deadlines, employer information sessions, and mock interviews in the next week or so. Some tMPAs have already had actual interviews and before we know it, we will be receiving offers even though we officially started school just one week ago!

Despite the hustle and bustle, I managed to find some time to explore Austin. Most notably, I checked out Mozart’s on the lake (stunning lake view, tasty coffee drinks, and delicious pastries), relaxed on the rooftop of 219 West (great view of downtown and tasty drinks of another variety), saw the kickoff football game versus North Texas (burnt orange everywhere; we won!), and most recently explored Easy Tiger.

Easy Tiger is a unique space that combines bakery and beer garden in a way only Austin could. When you enter the building, you are first presented with their bakery counter that serves house-made breads, pretzels, sausages, and corned beef. You can see straight back into the bakery itself and watch the magic in action. If you proceed downstairs, you find yourself in their dining and bar area where they have a large selection of craft beers, wines, spirits, cheeses, sandwiches, etc. Go through the back door and you are on their outdoor patio that straddles Waller Creek. There are walkways and bridges around the creek that are fun to wander around. Easy Tiger is right on the edge of “dirty sixth” where it turns into east sixth and is a low key and welcome alternative to the nearby offerings of sixth street. I will be going back for the bread, chai tea, and the outdoor atmosphere.

Austin, Events, Max, Recruiting, Student Life

1st and 10

August 28, 2014 maxfrancis Leave a comment

The MPA program completed Orientation last week. It was a crash course on many of the academic and career resources available to students. (These resources and the flexibility they allow were the leading factors in me choosing to attend the UT MPA.) There were also 3 major recruiting events: Etiquette Dinner, Networking Reception, and Career Fair. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet various organizations and gauge mutual interest. As a friend put it, it was like “Employer Rush.”

Despite how interesting this past week was, there’s only one thing on anybody’s mind right now: FOOTBALL! College football kicks off its season this Saturday, and pro ball not far behind, so while afternoons may be filled with class, evenings are now dedicated to finalizing tailgate plans and fantasy lineups. (And homework, of course!)

Pre-class discussions are quickly turning to the ball that bounces funny, intercollegiate ribbing is taking place between undergraduate rivals, and everyone is becoming their own fantasy expert. People are discussing the new college football playoff format and how it compares to the BCS. Amidst all the excited, there’s one large, looming question: How are the Longhorns going to be under a new coach?

Despite all of Charlie Strong’s attempts, expectations are still high for him and his team. You can be sure that the UT faithful will flood Austin in droves to see how the new regime begins against North Texas and BYU. You can also be sure that the MPA students will be in the stands in Orange and White to cheer on the Longhorns as we get to take part in the school’s storied tradition.

Having received my undergraduate degree from The University of Georgia, I am excited to experience Game day at another perennial powerhouse. I look forward to watching the football team’s journey throughout the fall. Much like them, I will have the chance to set off on a new journey this semester, face new challenges and climb to new highs; I can revel in the excitement of a new future as I put the T back in Taxes! 🙂

Academics, Max, Student Life

Reality Check

August 12, 2014 maxfrancis Leave a comment

Students entering the tMPA program who did not major in accounting for their undergrad are asked to attend class for a 5-week summer session in order to get up to speed for fall courses. At first blush, it sounds somewhat hard to believe: take two accounting classes and catch up to students who took two years’ worth of accounting. Not only have these summer courses taught me more than I thought possible in this short amount of time, but also they have revealed the intentions of the program and the expectations of the students.

Having taken a couple of summer courses in undergrad, I expected Financial Accounting and Introduction to Taxation to follow a similar, relaxed pace. Boy, was I wrong! They are much more grueling than even my toughest undergraduate courses. Truly, I am glad to have found my study group so quickly (thanks to the MPA-sponsored pizza party the week prior to class) because we have had 4 tests in the past 4 weeks and are preparing for 2 more tests and 2 projects over the upcoming week. Thankfully, we’ll have a couple of days off before Orientation starts, and then we get to meet the rest of our class.

While dealing with the blistering pace of summer courses, however, I’ve realized I am not here to make easy A’s. In fact, I’m not at this program to check a box and take 30 hours. I chose the Texas MPA because I have only one year to get the best education I can. Additionally, it gives me the chance to recruit with top firms, work alongside the smartest students, and learn from a superb faculty. If such an opportunity means late nights and early mornings, then I will take those gladly because I know many people would gladly trade places with me right now.

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