Izzi Gonzalez

The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business

“Customer-focused marketer who is passionate about music, art, fashion and her rescue pup!”

Hometown: Alpharetta, Georgia

Fun Fact About Yourself: In my now very little free time, I love to unwind by playing video games on my Nintendo Switch. I love any Pokemon and Legend of Zelda titles.

Undergraduate School and Major: Texas A&M University, Marketing

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Citi; Continuous Improvement Lead Analyst

What makes Austin such a great place to earn an MBA? Austin offers a lot – both career-wise and personally. Fortune 500 companies have been migrating to the Austin area over the past several years, bringing plenty of job opportunities. On a personal level, Austin is a dog-friendly city with tons of things to do – restaurants, bars, hiking spots and music events.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Texas McCombs’ MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? It would be the Immersive opportunities McCombs offers to help you gain relevant experience – from being able to customize your own curriculum, to pursuing fellowship and organizational opportunities, to completing MBA+ mini-consulting projects.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Texas McCombs? I’m most excited to apply for Marketing Fellows at McCombs because of the combination of curriculum and consulting projects that will help me develop my marketing skills. I’m especially excited for the Spring semester, when the Fellows get to provide marketing solutions to real business problems on a weekly cadence.

What has been your first impression of the McCombs MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Always willing to give you their time and advice. I’ve loved how receptive and helpful other students and alumni are when reaching out for informational interviews or coffee chats. Makes me all the more excited to be able to pay it forward in the future!

Tell us your best McCombs story so far. A group of us went out on South Congress to watch the Pride Parade and celebrate. It was a night full of food, fun and dancing!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest career accomplishment was going from being a new employee in a new role, to becoming the go-to Subject Matter Expert in my area of Customer Experience. Over the years, I was able to show my value to my cross-functional partners and became a customer advocate, driving strategy and improving the customer experience along the way.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? It’s been a few years since it was published, but Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg was a great read that helped inspire me to follow my dreams and take risks, and pursue my MBA!

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Texas McCombs’ MBA program? Focus on developing your story and your personal brand, since McCombs looks at applicants holistically. Try to go to a Discover McCombs event and meet current students to learn more about their experience too!