In my family, my dad uses the annual Christmas card as an excuse to brag about the family. I happen to think my dad’s idea is a good one, so here goes.

Seven months ago during exec elections, I said this would be UBC’s best year ever because of YOU, our members. I certainly expected big things, but I had no idea just how much time, effort, and passion you would put into making McCombs the best it can be. Judging by every metric I can think of, you have absolutely blown me away this year. Just think about it:

• Think about the 300+ incoming students who were welcomed into our McCombs family with a full day of exploring Austin and meeting their peers at the best McCombs Kickoff we’ve ever had.
• Think about the nearly 3000 UT students who got to hear from company executives like George Bodenheimer, Gary Kelly, Brian Gallagher, and Larry Young this semester thanks to our VIP committee and volunteers.
• Think about the 15+ McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations who have been able to decrease their web-hosting costs and improve the quality of their sites thanks to our Tech Team.
• Think about all those in our community who benefited from your generosity at Habitat for Humanity, Longhorn School Bus, Best Buddies, Austin Green City Festival, and countless other community service events.
• Think about the scores of McCombs students who got to visit top companies like Bain, BCG, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan on our Dallas and New York Company Field Trips.
• Think about all the McCombs students who had the chance to put their education into practice and solve a real business challenge during our Fall Case Competition.
• Think about the 60+ undergraduate students who got to shadow MBA students during our most successful MBA for a Day event ever.
• Think about the BC Gladiators’ IM Volleyball domination and the best cheering section I’ve ever seen in Gregory.
• Think about the hundreds of parents who got to see what McCombs is all about during Family Weekend.
• Think about the hundreds of McCombs students who got to learn about fascinating faculty research through our Faculty Research Presentations. And don’t forget about all the thank you notes students wrote to their professors!
• Think about the myriad ways in which we represented McCombs to the University through Senate and SG voting.
• Think about the work you did to voice McCombs students’ opinions to the administration through Dean Gilligan’s State of McCombs Address and McCombs Town Hall.
• Think about the work our members are doing on the Curriculum Ad-Hoc Committee to reform and improve the McCombs academic experience.
• Last but certainly not least, think about all the fun we had during progressive dinners, the Thanksgiving feast we shared at TTTT, and the sock wars and werewolf-ing that made FYL Late Night such a hit.

And that only starts to describe the great things our organization has done this year. The full list of accomplishments could no doubt go on forever, but what I really want you to think about it this: All of these things and countless others were made possible this semester by YOU. When UBC does something well, it is because YOU do something well. Given our successes, then, I’d say you should be pretty darn proud of yourselves.

So whether you’re an org rep or an elected member, an FYL-er or a returner, let me say THANK YOU for taking ownership of this organization and doing such incredible work for our college. I am constantly reminded how fortunate I am to work with each of you in what is — without question — the best organization on the Forty Acres.

I hope you all find ample time to relax and spend time with your friends and family over the break — you deserve it. Plus, we’ll all need to be well-rested and re-energized in January because you’ve set the bar even higher for UBC. I can’t wait to see all the ways in which you will improve our organization and further strengthen our college and university in the coming months. Here’s to an unbelievable 2012!

As many of you know, the Undergraduate Business Council is committed to serving all 4,400 McCombs undergraduate students by hosting value-adding events and by voicing student concerns on college-specific and university-wide issues. Additionally, UBC is charged with serving as the umbrella organization for all McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations (MASOs). That means a lot of different things, but at its core, it means collaborating with you to help you do what you do best — serve McCombs students.

In order to more effectively represent all students and to support the 35 MASOs, we’re proud to kick off this year’s UBC Org Outreach Initiative! Throughout the coming year, our members will be going out into the b-school and visiting events and programs hosted by all 35 amazing MASO organizations. From community service events to corporate programming, we look forward to seeing some of the amazing work being done by our partners in organizations throughout McCombs.

As part of this organizational outreach initiative, I’ve promised to personally visit every MASO at least once during this academic year. My goal is not to come “speaker circuit” at other organizations’ meetings. Rather, I’m eager to talk with their leadership teams and members, observe the tremendous ways in which they are enhancing the McCombs experience, and bring back their voice to Business Council meetings.

I hope you’ll join me in exploring the McCombs School and seeing the amazing things our students are doing.

Remember to contact previous chairs and committee members for more information about each position. Happy applying!

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!

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.

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?

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.