Meet The Texas McCombs MBA Class of 2021

THE HIMALAYAN SENSATION

Smith’s biggest achievement, however, didn’t come on the track. At Audi, he was the only sales rep selected to join the company’s Product Council, which conducts inventory management and market analysis to enhance product configuration to speed up access and sales. Alas, Smith wasn’t alone in making critical contributions before signing up at McCombs. Nolan Melson, for one, was chosen to speak at SWSW 2018 and made the event’s Interactive Advisory Board a year later. At KPMG Nigeria, Tochi Kanu-Ivi formed Tech in Heels, a women in technology club to boost her peers’ profiles as well as their technical abilities. Before that, she co-founded Eagles HOPE Foundation, a series of summer leadership camps for teenagers that she operated for seven years.

“[It] reached over 3000 teenagers across three states in Nigeria. Starting the summer camp was my first step towards creating platforms that help other people excel. Additionally, I have found ways to incorporate social work in whatever environment I find myself. Doing this is more than a hobby, it’s a passion I will carry on for a lifetime.”

Shaivya Vashishtha also cut her teeth in social enterprise. In her case, Vashishtha trudged up the Himalayan Mountains, educating farmers and lobbying local government officials to help them turn higher returns on their produce. “I was able to get more farmers to join the movement, which increased the production by about 100%,” she recalls. “And the farmer’s income on those products rose to as high as 100% as new markets and demands were identified. CropConnect was also covered in local newspapers for helping farmers realize their strength and increase their income.”

MANY DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS

The work of Rahul Sekhar Rajasekharan Nair reached even greater heights than the Himalayas. A systems engineer at the Indian Space Research Organization – India’s answer to NASA – Nair was part of 35 launches. “My biggest accomplishment is that I had the opportunity to be a part of a high-level team to facilitate, analyze, and document best practices from different domains of rocket operations. I authored a report on it, which has since served as a reference for zero-defect delivery programs.”

Nair’s other talent? He can speak four Indian languages – the product of being a military brat. His classmate, Larisa Olteanu, is also fluent in four languages…and knows three more. Being a quick learner came in handy when she arrived in the United States 11 years ago. “[I had] $20 in my pocket, a bag of clothes and no acquaintances,” she explains. “I had no knowledge of English.”

A rocket scientist. A physician. An Olympic athlete…not to mention financiers, consultants, attorneys, and exporters. Yes, this class is diverse – and that has made the time all the more refreshing so far, says Tyrone Smith. “Honestly, I was a little concerned coming from a non-traditional business background that I would be at a disadvantage to my classmates, but what I have discovered is exceptionally intelligent people from all different backgrounds contributing to the conversation,” he adds.

WOMEN BREAK THE 40% BARRIER

One number that sticks out about the Class of 2021: 260. That’s the number of students who make up the class, down 29 students from the year before. At the same time, the school experienced a modest dip in applications (-137) and a rise in acceptance rate (+4%) during the 2018-2019 application cycle.

That said, the average GMAT rose a point to 704, though the average GPA slipped from 3.49 to 3.42. Students taking the GRE scored 159 in both the quantitative and verbal sections. The percentage of women also broke the 40% ceiling – a nine-point increase over the past five years. In turn, the percentage of international students, true to most American MBA programs, declined by five points. That number was made up by the percentage of American minorities, which climbed from 18% to 29% over the past year (with underrepresented minorities holding 16% of the class seats).

Academically, Business (33%) and STEM (31%) majors represent nearly a third of the class each, with Humanities and Social Sciences (15%) and Other Backgrounds (21%) comprising the rest. In terms of professional backgrounds, the Class of 2021 is rather diffuse. 14% worked in Finance and Banking before business school. Energy and Government backgrounds each represent 11% of the class, followed by Technology and Consulting (10% each). Another 44% fell outside of all of these categories, another representation of just how diverse the class really is.

TOP ACCOUNTING PROGRAM

Chances are, they will be equally in demand by employers, as spring graduates saw their mean base pay rise from $119,036 to $124,965 (with Forbes projecting pay to rise for McCombs MBAs by $65,200 over the next five years). That’s not the only data point where the McCombs MBA community could take pride. In U.S. News’ annual ranking of school specializations – based on feedback from business school deans and MBA directors – the school again ranked as the top program for accounting, along with 4th for finance and 11th in information systems.

In the same survey, the school finished #10 for entrepreneurship. Certainly, the school enjoys an advantage being in Austin, a true intersection between tech and entrepreneurship. However, notes Tianyu Zhou, the school also invests heavily in programming in these areas.

“It’s the extraordinary entrepreneurial ecosystem, not only within McCombs, but also in UT and Austin. Through my personal experience of founding a start-up from scratch, I know how important it is to find like-minded team members and get support from experienced advisors. McCombs provides a comprehensive support system to its students through the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, Texas Venture Labs, and the Longhorn Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program (just to name a few). I’m excited to have the opportunity to explore these resources.”

AUSTIN AND McCOMBS GO HAND-IN-HAND

Those aren’t the only resources that students enjoy at the university, adds Assistant Dean Janet Huang. “Outside of the classroom, students enjoy of a wide range of activities and resources across campus, afforded to a university of this size. This includes renowned speakers, live music, art and history museums, health resources, recreational sports, libraries, football games, and more.”

In fact, you could call the University of Texas-McCombs relationship a virtuous circle, with each side supporting and enhancing the other, adds Tina Mabley in a 2018 interview with P&Q. “This depth at the university allows us to create innovative programs that connect collaborative teams across campus,” “whether that’s public policy students, med students, and MBAs finding solutions for child poverty; architecture students and MBAs working on sustainable design ideas; or law students, computer science students, and MBAs teaming up to work with early-stage companies and start-ups to help raise series one financing.”

Recently, P&Q circled back with Mabley, to learn about new developments on campus along with aspects of the McCombs MBA program that can sometimes be overlooked. Here are the responses she wrote back…

A Q&A WITH TINA MABLEY, ASSISTANT DEAN OF THE McCOMBS MBA PROGRAM

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments in your program?

TM: “The Class of 2021 will be our inaugural class going through our innovative, researched-based Leading for Impact course. Spearheaded by Professor Ethan Burris, faculty director of the Center for Leadership and Ethics, and Associate Professor Sekou Bermiss, this course charts a personal leadership journey that spans the entire two years of the full-time MBA program and culminates in an integrated team-based capstone project in the final spring semester.

The program involves key elements of leadership training: assessment, content, practice, reflection, and mentorship. As our students come into the program with significant professional experience, the full-time MBA allows for a unique immersion opportunity that connects their ongoing leadership development to coursework, student leadership, self-assessment, and exposure to thought leaders in business and beyond. We are excited that the purposeful design of the Leading for Impact Course will help students bring all of these things together to enhance their understanding of and skill in leadership through a personalized self-development plan throughout the program.”