Picture yourself at graduation. Describe how you spent your time as a Texas McCombs MBA to achieve your personal and professional goals (500 words).
Picture yourself at graduation. Describe how you spent your time as a Texas McCombs MBA to achieve your personal and professional goals.
The McCombs curriculum was central in helping me secure my post-MBA role as a consultant. My new job requires a strong grasp of corporate strategy as well as an understanding of macroeconomic trends and the impact on clients. Dr. Fred Flintstone’s “Managing Strategy” class gave me a valuable understanding of different strategy frameworks and consequences, but most valuable part for me was our final group project: my classmates and I evaluated opportunities for WeWork to expand into short-term vacation rentals. Dr. Wilma Rubble’s “Strategic Macroeconomics” class was the perfect complement, giving me insight into the levers behind and the varied consequences of macroeconomic trends.
Some of my best memories and most impactful learning experiences happened outside the classroom. Through McCombs’s MBA+ program, I worked closely with classmates on advertising distribution for Austin’s own NadaMoo, a vegan ice cream company with national reach. I tapped into my extensive data-management background to understand the impact of advertising on customer conversion rates, but I also learned from my teammates with different strengths, such as problem-framing and communicating with stakeholders. I learned most from watching a teammate conduct interviews with employees in seemingly unrelated departments, to understand how they may be affected by our recommendations.
Another opportunity I relished was serving as a Board Fellow with the NGO Austin Voices for Education and Youth, which enlightened me about the challenges undocumented children face, from multiple relocations to parents with on-the-job injuries. I left my time on the board proud of the analysis I completed, which helped the NGO get the funding they needed to expand their speaker series to serve refugee children across the Southwest.
I’m also proud of myself for not letting my physical health deteriorate over the past two years. My study group and I were regulars at Epoch Cafe for late-night caffeination, and P. Terry’s made up an unhealthy portion of my diet; fortunately, the Graduate Business Adventure Team, with its mountain biking and hikes in the Greenbelt and runs on the Hike-And-Bike trail, kept me moving. Through the club, I also shared one of my biggest passions – paragliding – with my classmates by organizing a McCombs paragliding trip to Corpus Christi for 30 classmates in March 2023.
I come from a long line of Longhorns, starting with my great grandfather, a former UT Professor of Medicine. I loved having my parents and grandparents sitting in the crowd, remembering their own UT graduations. As the newest Longhorn in the family, I express my gratitude the best way I know how: my hand held high in a “Hook ‘Em” gesture, as a proud McCombs alumnus.