Love is in the AirSometimes we hear stories from our students that we simply can’t resist sharing. I recently ran into Andrew Blake (MPA ‘09) at the MPA Meet the Firms event. He shared with me how he met his wife through the Texas MPA Program. We all know that the MPA Program provides you with the skills needed to pursue an accounting career, but who knew it could also help find love?

After hearing about our top accounting program, Andrew decided to check out Austin and get a feel for the city and the University of Texas. The visit solidified the fact that Austin was a great place to live and Andrew joined the Texas MPA Program.

Andrew arrived early on the first day of orientation and was given a sticker with a cow on it that corresponded to the table he should sit at. Fifteen minutes into orientation, Sandra Alcorta-Leal (MPA ‘09) showed up, grabbed a cow sticker and sat down next to Andrew. Little did either of them know, this would be the beginning of a terrific relationship! They ended up being the first couple to develop out of the program, earning the nickname “The Sandrew” from the rest of their class.

According to Andrew, “Dating a fellow MPA was great because we had that much more time to hang out. We had the same classes or at least had classes in the same buildings at similar times and went to all the MPA events together. I think it allowed our relationship to grow faster.”

Andrew and Sandra were married in November 2010 with around 15-20 people from the MPA Program in the audience—not surprising considering our tight-knit group. Andrew is currently a Senior Consultant at FTI Consulting and Sandra is a Senior Financial Analyst in Fossil Group’s Global Capital & Corporate Expense Group.

With all the time our graduate students spend with one another, you never know when cupid will strike!