Category Archives: Student Life

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

Austin, Feature, Joel, Student Life

ARK in Austin

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On a beautiful Saturday morning, I went to Starbucks to get my caffeine fix for the day. Everything was fine, normal, and actually boring until a car cut in front of me in the drive-thru lane. I didn’t know you could do that but it happened. What a way to start the day! Someone has apparently removed the orange traffic cones on the corner that were supposed to keep peace and order in this little community.

Now we have chaos. I was miffed.

I almost honked my horn, when a confused beautiful girl came out of the car, replaced the cones, and gave me a nice apologetic smile. Aha, the culprit! Thanksgiving just passed, Christmas is coming, and the end of the semester is approaching. After a mental flip coin, I decided to let it go, smile, keep my cool, and let the car proceed.

I didn’t think much about this incident afterwards. With Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby in the background, I realized it was no big deal. Christmas music just has a special way of putting me in merrier spirits. So I ordered my normal drink and pulled to the counter to pay for my caffeine  addiction.

I was handing cash to the barista, when in a very sweet manner she pointed to the car in front that was driving away and said, “They paid for your drink. Have a happy thanksgiving.”

So the people in front of me, the very same folks who just cut in line, gave me a free drink. That was totally unexpected and even as I write this post and finish that cup of coffee I still can’t believe it happened. Overwhelmed. Thankful. Speechless. That’s how I felt as I drove away from the counter, sipping coffee freely given by a thoughtful stranger.

I’ve heard about stories like this on the radio, but it has never happened to me until this day. In Austin last year, there were so many pay it forward stories on the air that I have to admit I was a bit skeptical. But now, I’m a believer. Acts of Random Kindness (ARK) do happen and some times in the most unexpected places and situations. This just warmed my heart and encouraged me so much. I am grateful, not only because of the free coffee, but because people, in spite of the pressures of this world, still know how to give and bless others. This is such a great reminder, especially for this season.

I wonder if things would have turned out differently if I frowned on that girl and did not let them pass. I wonder if instead of a nice morning, I would have ruined it for everybody. I still think about this sweet encounter and realize that this shows how the little things really do make the difference. A simple smile, a humble perspective, a grateful heart, go a long way.

Now, if I can only let somebody pass in front of me when paying for tuition at McCombs that would be a huge ARK I’d be forever thankful for. I can only imagine my reaction. I see a few high jumps happening. But jokingly aside, the point is in this season of thanksgiving and cheer, small acts of random kindness go a long way in making a positive change.

The strangers on that car may never know who I am, what my name is, or how much what they did meant to me. But on this day, they put a smile on my face and reminded me to keep paying forward.

That’s a memorable impact and one that would stay with me for a while.

Austin, Brooks, Events, Feature, Student Life

Next Stop… More Barbecue

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Back on the Central-Texas Barbecue Trail, my next stop was the world-famous Franklin BBQ. A relative newcomer to the barbecue scene compared to the longstanding Salt Lick, Aaron Franklin opened up shop in 2009 in a parking lot in East Austin. It wasn’t long before it was being hailed as the best barbecue in central Texas, and as I’ve related in my other posts that’s really saying something!

So close to BBQ!

After talking about going all semester, a group of us MPAs decided to go on the Saturday before Thanksgiving since there was not a lot going on school-wise during that short week before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate. In what was probably the worst weather we will experience here in Austin, we set out to Franklin at about 10:00am.

Upon arrival, we immediately recognized that our theory of “since the weather is so bad, there won’t be that many people waiting,” was not only shared by many others, but also was most definitely incorrect. Even with a temperature in the 30s with light rain sprinkling randomly, there was a line winding through the parking lot almost to the next block. A hostess came through the line to ask what we were going to order and she let us know that the estimated time of arrival at the front of the line was about 1:00pm.

I’m gonna eat that right there 🙂

If you make it to Franklin BBQ, make sure you bring friends because you won’t want to just order a sandwich. You can order by the pound, and after a three hour wait you would have wasted your time to only get a personal plate. There were six of us, so we ordered 4 pounds of brisket, 2 racks of pork ribs, and 1 pound of sausage.

I’m not sure if it was the wait or if I was just happy to be inside out of the horrible weather, but as we started to feast on the smorgasbord of barbecue, we all knew that it was worth it. The brisket was far superior to anything else I have tried in Texas, and the sausage was incredible. There were several options for sauce on the table, and they liberally handed out white sandwich bread that we could use as a vehicle for transporting the barbecue to our stomachs. All in all, Franklin BBQ did not disappoint even with the unusually long wait – if you’re in Austin, you’ll have to make time for Franklin in addition to Salt Lick!

Academics, April, Student Life

Study Group to Roommates: My MPA Family

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One of my favorite aspects of MPA thus far is the family you form within it. Only three months into my first semester of MPA and I already have made friends I know will last a lifetime. I met these people in my MPA classes at the beginning of this semester. I think we came together naturally because we all had the same classes and we all shared the same look of fear on our faces during the first few weeks. We started out by forming a study group on Facebook. We made reservations at PCL for study rooms (Great tool, you should utilize this!!), then went over our homework and studied together. It was all pretty formal at first because we did not know each other very well, but then we became good friends as we bonded over stress and hard work. Sometimes, we would have (and still do!) miniature freak-outs before each test and then once the tests were over we’d celebrate together. We also created a group text for when we need to ask quick questions of each other about homework or any course material. The four of us have planned to live together next year as well.

Our study group doing tax forms!

The point is, you will meet a lot of people in MPA and you will make a lot of new friends. The best friends you make are ones that will be with you through tough times and we all know MPA can be a tough program. You will need people who understand your situation, so who better to be a friend to you than someone who is in the very same situation?! And having study groups in this program is a MUST. I cannot stress enough how much it has helped me. I have NEVER in my past years here at UT had a study group. I just did work independently and asked questions from my classmates here and there. So go out and make new friends because you will be so happy you did! MPA just makes the process of making these friends that much easier!

Austin, Brooks, Student Life

MPAs Work Hard, Play Hard

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Hook ’em! Some of us MPAs in between tailgating and going to the game.

Work hard, play hard. It’s a cliché used by many groups to identify the fact that yes, their path is difficult but it doesn’t stop them from partying. Of course, I can’t speak for the entire class of MPA students, but I think it’s a stereotype that applies here as well.

Since I like to start with good news, let’s first delve into the “play hard” bit. If I am honest with myself, I have to admit that an important factor in my decision to come to UT over other master programs in accounting was the cultural amenities Austin has to offer. I knew that I couldn’t be happy in a sleepy, encapsulated small town or a suburban concrete savanna. Austin is the Live Music Capital of the World and a thriving mecca for wandering hipsters from all over America. The city’s unofficial (maybe official?) slogan is “Keep Austin Weird” which, turns out, is more of a plea to newcomers not to try and shape the city into their preconceived notions of a cool city. Instead, the idea is to be weird yourself and be a cultural contributor.

I have had the good fortune to spend some R&R time with my fellow MPAs in Austin. Most recently, a sizable group of us went to 6th Street on Halloween night. There were tons of people in the streets, closed down to traffic for the night. 6th Street can be a fun party any time of the year as well. Tailgating before football games has also been a good way to unwind on the weekend before watching our (now ranked!) Longhorns play on our home field.

Possessed by Paul James, a talented local musician I saw at the Scoot Inn with a fellow MPA.

Catching some great live music is one of my favorite things to do, period. Having lived in Nashville and New Orleans previously, I am no stranger to a good music scene, and Austin definitely has a great music scene. There are some great venues on Red River and also on East 6th Street (as opposed to the aforementioned and affectionately dubbed “Dirty” 6th Street).

I suppose I should get around to the “Work Hard” part. Being that UT’s MPA program is the top ranked program of its kind, you can be sure that we work hard. The result will be our technical competence in our field, which is one of the reasons grads of this program are highly sought after. When we aren’t partying, we spend a lot of time studying for our upcoming exams, completing homework assignments, group projects, and case studies. That’s not even including all the recruiting events we attend throughout the year.  All this hard work we put in towards earning high marks definitely earns us the right to party.

Stock photo of some really intense studying, much like that which can be found in the University of Texas MPA program.
Academics, Alexandria, Career, MPA Council, Student Life

Points to Ponder from MPA Council Ethics Week

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MPA Council had its second annual ethics week on October 21st through 25th in conjunction with the university wide Integrity-UT week. During this week, MPA Council hosted multiple events, including a screening of the movie Wall Street, an ethics lecture led by Professor Robert Prentice, and an ethics discussion for students.

My personal favorite event was Professor Prentice’s lecture, and the points he brought up will stay with me for some time to come and hopefully will lead me to make ethical decisions in my career.

He opened the lecture by pointing out that, as individuals, we tend to think we are one person who acts a certain way based on our original personalities. However, research shows that our decisions are heavily influenced by our environments and these environments can even change our personalities.

Money especially can have a huge impact on the decisions we make. Professor Prentice showed multiple academic researches that showed people behaved much more selfishly and minimized the concerns of other people in their decision when prompted with money.

Morality is something we consider when dealing with other people, and as money takes us farther away from the consequences to others, we are less likely to make ethical decisions.

Other things can also influence our decision making, such as the colors present in our immediate environment and the actions of others around us.

To learn more about Professor Prentice work in business ethics, you can check out his work and the perspective of ethics from McCombs students through Ethics Unwrapped.