Vergi Agustini

The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business

“Always striving to be the best version of myself and on a lifelong journey to find the best boba!”

Hometown: Bali, Indonesia

Fun Fact About Yourself: I don’t have a first name or last name. My full name is Kadek Ayu Vergianti Agustini. In Balinese culture, the name Kadek is given to a second-born child, which means that you will meet plenty of Kadeks if you visit Bali!

Undergraduate School and Major: Macalester College, double major in Economics and Geography. Pursuing an MPA/MBA dual degree at The University of Texas at Austin, currently a 2nd year Master of Public Affairs student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and entering my first year in the Texas McCombs MBA program.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: The Concord Group, Consultant

What makes Austin such a great place to earn an MBA? Austin is a great place to build community, explore nature, and pursue your passion. Whether you like art, food, music, computer science, or birdwatching, this city has it all. When deciding where to pursue my graduate degree, I focused on cities that provide ample opportunities for networking, internships, and potential employment post-MBA. Being an international student, I have to rely on all resources available to me to develop a network and gain insights into career opportunities that interest me. Having lived in Austin for the past year, finishing the first year of my MPA/MBA dual degree, I have truly enjoyed the sense of community in the city, and I am grateful for all my friends and peers who have helped me grow professionally and make Austin a home far from home.

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? I chose to pursue an MBA for two primary reasons: acquiring an advanced skill set in data analytics and learning how to lead and communicate effectively and confidently. When I was working in real estate consulting, I understood the value of an advanced understanding of data analytics, especially to drive insights and devise strategy. McCombs, and UT Austin in general, provide various opportunities to sharpen my data analytics and programming skills, and learn how to practically use cutting edge tools. I am also planning to pursue a career in management consulting post-McCombs, and having access to professional coaches who can help me sharpen my communication skills is extremely valuable!

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Texas McCombs? The club I am most excited about is the Food and Beverage Club! I love exploring new restaurants and food trucks, and doing so with other McCombs students will be super fun! I am hoping to also introduce everyone to Indonesian food, and Balinese food in particular.

What has been your first impression of the McCombs MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best McCombs story so far. Everyone I have met at McCombs is friendly and incredibly driven. McCombs prides itself on being a super collaborative environment, and I quickly understood why during orientation week. Everyone wants to build genuine connections. In getting to know each other, we share parts of our personality that are much more than our pre- or post-MBA career goals. I believe this sense of purpose and desire to learn from one another builds a healthy and vibrant environment where we can all collectively succeed and help each other along the way.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: When I was an undergraduate student at Macalester College, I pursued various research opportunities in Economics and developed a strong interest in academic research in general. When I left college to start a career in real estate consulting, I was worried about all the progress I had made in my research projects never getting published. That changed in 2022 when I published my first First-Author paper in Real Estate Economics titled “Redevelopment along arterial streets: The effects of light rail on land use change”. I consider that to be my biggest accomplishment given the amount of effort I had to put in to move my research work forward, while fulfilling my duties as a consultant and applying to graduate school.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience at McCombs successful? Two things stand out with respect to measuring my success at McCombs: how much I challenged myself to grow and get out of my comfort zone, and how much time I have spent getting to know my peers and forming lifelong friendships. My ultimate hope is to use the time here to collaborate with my peers and learn from alumni, coaches, and mentors who constantly share their experiences with us. During my MBA graduation, I would also consider myself successful if I could identify a group of friends and mentors who have helped me get there and whose friendship I will forever cherish.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Texas McCombs’ MBA program? Focus on how an MBA at McCombs can serve your purpose and career, and what you will add to the McCombs community as a student. McCombs has unique qualities that distinguish it from other institutions, and those qualities will only stand out to you if you invest the time in aligning McCombs’ strengths with your career goals. As I mentioned previously, the environment at McCombs is super collaborative, so it is crucial that you convey to the admission team what aspects of your education and experiences (work or otherwise) can be useful to the wider community at McCombs.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE TEXAS MCCOMBS MBA CLASS OF 2025