The Chairs Speak: Alumni Business Council

Bhargav Srinivasan, 2011-2012 Alumni Business Council Co-Chair

Hey there, freshman! I am fourth-year member on UBC, and I’d like to discuss opportunities for you to grow and develop through Business Council.

1. Meticulous project management – Council hosts over 40 events a year toward the goal of offering career development opportunities, academic and faculty-related enrichment, and a channel for students and student organizations to connect with each other. By joining committees and eventually becoming chairs and board members, you will have the opportunity to understand the detailed thought and planning that goes into organizing a class-A event.

2. Peer representation – Council acts as the representative body of the 4,400 undergraduate business students at McCombs by voting on university-wide legislation and serving as a concentrated voice for student issues. Every member of the council has the privilege and duty of being one of the voices that impacts the quality of student life and academics by listening to what their peers think and channeling those opinions into actionable commentary.

3. Friendships for a lifetime – While the previous points are skills you develop through service to McCombs, making friends and becoming apart of the UBC family are inevitable once you join! Whether through meetings, committees, or events, you will find a group of people with one major commonality (serving the school) that will be your family throughout college!

The Chairs Speak: Company Field Trip

Pranitha Patil, 2011-2012 Company Field Trip Chair

The Undergraduate Business Council is the most unique and inspiring organization I’ve ever joined. From irreplaceable mentors to the closest group of friends and unforgettable events, UBC defined my freshman year and I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Over the course of a year, I visited companies focused in different business fields, interacted with faculty at McCombs, and discovered my interests. My passion from this organization stems from my involvement with Company Field Trips.

Company Field Trip, or CFT, is an incomparable opportunity for students to tour companies in different cities all over the country and learn about various business fields. Each field trip is tailored to expose attendees to the vast opportunities in the corporate world. The upcoming year holds an exciting selection of visits with companies in Dallas, New York, and California. Students get the chance to tour offices, talk to employees about their experiences, meet recruiters and alum, and explore the city.

These trips would be impossible without our incredible alumni network as members of Business Council go on to follow their true passions. With a constantly expanding network, it is not rare to find a BC alumni welcoming you with open arms regardless of where you are in the world. Business Council is a home away from home. I can’t wait to experience the next three years with 100 of the best individuals on campus.

The Chairs Speak: Alumni Business Council

Casey Sherley, 2011-2012 Alumni Business Council Co-Chair

I realized coming into school that the group I would become a part of would inevitably have a major impact on my direction in college and the person I would become.  As this was truly the case, I couldn’t be more satisfied with my choice to become a part of the Undergraduate Business Council.  It’s a group that takes pride in what it does.  We organize and host events for McCombs’ students, while also serving as its voice within the Senate of College Coucils.

More than this, it’s a group of individuals who have high expectations of themselves and the work they do.   As a member of UBC, you learn firsthand how contagious a group dedicated to excellence can be.  When you feel like you’re doing well enough or working hard enough on UBC, you’re always going to see someone else working harder.  In my experience, it’s always motivated me to work harder than I may have, and raised my academic and professional expectations for myself.  Not to mention this all takes place amidst a group that laughs and has a good time together.  I’ve always enjoyed an atmosphere of excellence that I can take pride in, and this atmosphere, the collection of people itself, is what I love most about council.

This year I’ll be serving as one of two Alumni Business Council Chairs.  In this role, I hope to inspire others on council and impart valuable insight from former members as former ABC Chairs have done in the past.  I also look forward to the challenge of raising the bar, as it is already quite high.

The Chairs Speak: McCombs Kick-Off

Melissa Dunn, 2011 McCombs Kick-Off Chair

When I attended McCombs Kickoff my freshmen year, I remember looking around and thinking, “THIS is what a college event is like.” Between the t-shirts, the boat, and the sheer enthusiasm, I was in awe of the day and those that had put it on. Two years later, I stand on the cusp of autumn, chair of that very same event.

McCombs Kickoff is McCombs’ annual beginning of the year bash that includes a boat party on Lake Austin, swimming in Barton Springs, games in Zilker Park, and (this year) even a concert in the park. The day is filled with fun, friends, and free stuff, and freshmen make bonds that hot day in August that last the rest of their college careers. For the next four years it is not uncommon for two people to meet in a class or organization, stare at each other for a second, and then realize they had actually met at Kickoff their freshmen year. Or when people find out I’m in UBC, they brighten up, saying, “Y’all put on Kickoff, right? That was awesome!”

One thing that I love about the Undergraduate Business Council, my home for the last two years, is its ability to bring together the entire business school, and not just its own members. Often times, I pass fliers stuck up around McCombs put up by this group or that and wonder if I can actually attend, or if the event is for members only. In UBC, we put it right on the publicity- our events are not for our members, but for the enrichment of the college. VIPs, Case Competitions, and especially Kickoff, would never reach their massive size if these events were meant for UBC only. In fact, we spend countless hours in audit meetings tooling with ideas to get MORE non-UBC attendance at our events—what other organization does that?

This year, I am all too happy to boast that Kickoff is going to be amazing, and we’re doing it with the help of not just our current members, but our extensive UBC alumni network as well. Of the two bands that are playing our concert (for free!) one, Suite 709, is comprised of five members, two of whom were on UBC’s executive board back in the day. The other singer, Sevan, is managed by one of UBC’s seniors from last year, who started his own record label while in college. And our vegetarian food options are being catered by an alum who took the McCombs dream and decided to open his own food trailer. These are the inspirations that UBC members have to look up to, and the standards of creativity and excellence our organization sets before us.

On August 22nd, 300 McCombs freshmen will get their first taste of college, two days before they ever enter a classroom. They will congregate on the South Mall, nervous, excited, and totally unprepared for what the next four years holds. But with the help of UBC, the Kickoff Committee, our executive board, and our team leads- they will be ready for whatever comes next. And really, what’s not to love about that?

The Chairs Speak: Faculty Relations

Maria Fernanda Alvarez, 2011-2012 Faculty Relations Chair

Why do I love Business Council? To answer this question you need to understand where I was a year ago, and where I am now.

Last fall I was a terrified freshman. I couldn’t have felt more lost or out of place. Enter The Undergraduate Business Council and within months I felt part of something important, I knew what I was doing was worthwhile, and the people that surrounded me gave purpose and guidance. To exemplify this I’d like to explain what I do as Chair of the Faculty Relations Committee.

This Committee serves our mission statement by providing “ways for students to improve faculty relations.” Through programs like Thank Your Professor and Faculty Research Presentations, FRC focuses on promoting familiarity between faculty, staff, and students.

Faculty Research Presentations, or FRP, is one of our most successful programs; it started in 2005 as a way for professors to share their research outside of the classroom with students and other faculty. But the way I see it, it is much more than that. It is a chance to learn about topics and information that is not available elsewhere. It’s a special forum where we are presented with original research, where we get to ask questions and spark interesting conversations. Why is this important? Why is that worthwhile? For students it’s a way of opening horizons in the business world and a chance for knowledge and interaction. For the faculty it is a chance to share their work and see how the student body reacts to it. They might even learn a few things from us, or end up with new questions they didn’t think on their own. It is important because it’s more than just a presentation; it’s an exchange of ideas.

Thank your professor is an amazing way to give back and really show appreciation for our faculty. Today, more than ever, we must realize the importance of thanking them for their time, effort and passion. In short, what we do is worthwhile because a healthy and open relationship between faculty and students has a real tangible impact on the McCombs community and morale.

Lastly I’d like to briefly talk about the team effort that is involved in putting on programs like these. Without going into details, the support that is provided at every level of this organization is outstanding, so much so that it inspires all of us to pay it forward. As Chair of FRC I will closely work with a committee that will be selected this Fall, I will do my best to mentor and involve these new teammates to ensure that they too feel that the work we do in UBC is important so that one day, they will also pay it forward.

The Chairs Speak: McCombs Executive Summit

Maria Vlahova, 2012 McCombs Executive Summit Chair

I am the chair of the 2012 McCombs Executive Summit, an event aiming to bring together the country’s top business students with the nation’s most influential corporate leaders to discuss pertinent contemporary issues. This year’s theme is: Advancing Technology for the Increasingly Mobile Consumer. We seek to educate students by hosting a discussion panel, several breakout sections, a case study, and a keynote lecture, in which we examine how cutting-edge technology influences human interaction and revolutionizes every industry in the business world.

The Chairs Speak: Family Weekend

Carolyn Mao, 2011 Family Weekend Chair

I think Family Weeekend is special because it’s an event unlike any other in the business school. It’s the first that many parents and students finally witness and experience for themselves what it means to be a part of McCombs. Their peers will give them a taste of the real McCombs; not the one that recruiters, websites, and magazines see. I think it’s a great way for everyone to interact while learning about the opportunities inside, but more importantly, outside the classroom.

The Chairs Speak: What Do You Love Most About UBC?

Spencer Davis, 2011-2012 Publicity Chair

Business Council is like no other organization I have been a part of. There is so much depth to it in every sense – especially the people. If I ever feel like I need anything, the first place I go to is Council, because 99% of the time someone can help me out. One great thing about having so many like-minded people with their own talents is the ability to collaborate. I know when I was on the publicity committee we always worked with each other to create the best results we could, and being on other committees, I know this to be a recurring theme throughout Council. There is always something new to find on Business Council, and I am always excited to discover it.

The Chairs Speak: What Do You Love Most About UBC?

Satvika Ananthanarayan, 2011-2012 Community Service Co-Chair

When I look back on my freshman year, I am repeatedly amazed at the events I attended and projects I was involved in. In eight months of college, I saw six CEOs of major companies, as well as the ever-so-entertaining T. Boone Pickens, whose titles would run off the page, I hosted an event for underprivileged middle school children, I learned about the ins and outs of the UT academic system, I visited Big Four consulting companies and learned about their recruiting process, and I even helped out at an animal shelter.

But more importantly, I made 100 new best friends who I can count on throughout my life.

This is what makes Business Council unique as an organization. Through the hustle and bustle of planning incredible events to benefit both McCombs and the university as a whole, you end up making the greatest friends you’ll ever encounter. And I speak from experience when I say that the bonds created in GSB 2.126, and in the Frito-Lay Center, are of a kind that you will not find anywhere else.

Odile Kane – Second Year Returning Member

Families: Those Who Have Them, And Those Who Wish They Did

‘Family’ is among the most fascinating of words. Evoking immediately a sense of utmost loyalty and devotion, the word ‘family’ has become a wild trend at UT.

Organizations of all kinds- be they social, academic, professional, or whatnot- have all clamored at ‘family’s tall, ridged gates, eagerly anticipating their entrance. I have seen many attempt the reaching of this nirvana-like place, but only one organization I know of has truly attained its full power and meaning.

The Undergraduate Business Council is quite a bit like the internet we as business students are so fond of and are rarely able to function without. That fluid, constantly adaptive system built upon a solid backbone: family. Whether or not we are Al Gore’s brainchild, we are a community of users logging in to a common interface- the organization- and using its resources. But like the world wide web, UBC is built upon a foundation- though thankfully in this case not a series of fiber-optic cables. I speak of families: the reason UBC has a firm posture when so many organizations suffer from extreme scoliosis.

Some have curvature in their backs, where the families are existent at first but have dwindled into near-oblivion by years’-end; others suffer from inverted vertebrae, where the back is sore from attempting to support too large a structure. Like with Goldilocks and her three bears, I have found that UBC’s family structure is ‘just right’.

Devotion is, to be honest, too tame a term to apply to these brave individuals who take upon themselves the role of parent. Loyalty, dedication, and stubbornness are apt, but also lacking in depth and scope. In no other land, as far and wide as one may seek, will a traveler come across parents such as these: father figures ready to guide their ‘children’ from ‘birth’ (incoming UBC members) to ‘old age’ (UBC graduating seniors); mother hens clucking tongues whilst wielding platters of baked goods; parental units often far more stable than our biological ones; siblings who form closer bonds than many ions.

In truth, this is a phenomenon I have found of most curious nature and have studied since my first semester last year on Council. However, the fruits of my research go as follows: the mystery is not to be broken; UBC’s mysteriously-wonderful family system is one built upon its own reputation. Each year, potential parents are children, and seeing the example set by their current parents, follow suit- or attempt to impress further- during their tenure as parents. This never-ending cycle results in superior parenting- and a Christmas-Every-Day effect for their subsequent children.

Regardless of its mystery, the system works wonders- Thus far, my two sets of parents have been nothing short of both miraculous and admirable in their verve. I doubt I could put forth a fourth (hah) of their effort were I to be wearing their shoes (though, preferably, not Jeff’s). And thus I say to current parents and past parents of UBC- rock on, parental units; your legacy goes not un-noticed J.