Meet The Texas McCombs MBA Class Of 2025

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MECCA

Increasingly, entrepreneurship has become a centerpiece of the McCombs MBA experience. According to P&Q research, 52.3% of MBAs participated in an entrepreneurship club during the 2022-2023 school year, with another 78% completing an entrepreneurship-themed elective. Among the Class of 2025, Kate Tully is looking forward to tapping into McCombs’ entrepreneurial ecosystem – something ’23 alum Kevin Long did during his stay in the program.

“UT has arguably more resources available than any other school in the country. Working for a year in VC through Venture Fellows, spending my summer in UT’s SEAL accelerator, accessing 3-D printing Labs, and bouncing ideas off world-class professors and students who are always willing to help are just a few examples of how McCombs has made my MBA experience incomparable. As a huge plus, Austin, Texas is one of the fastest-growing entrepreneurship hotspots in the country and serves as the perfect ecosystem to launch a startup.”

Long goes on to say that there is seemingly an entrepreneurial event happening every day in Austin. Kate Tully describes it as the “Silicon Valley of the South” – a place, in the words of Greer Kann, “filled with people in their late 20s.” While Ebube Israel-Bolarinwa heaps praise on the “live music, amazing scenery, and mouthwatering tacos”, she adds the “real magic” of Austin lies in its “entrepreneurial spirit and thriving economy.”

“Austin’s robust business ecosystem offers abundant prospects for internships and post-MBA careers, facilitated by its proximity to industry leaders. The city is alive with opportunities, and that infectious drive for innovation with a blend of education and entertainment makes it the ultimate setting for an MBA adventure.”

GREAT MUSIC, SPORTS, AND TACOS!

Nanci Espinoza observes that you have to go “where things are happening” – and Austin, she says, is booming. And one of the best parts of McCombs, Ray Tang adds, is the campus is “a stone’s throw from downtown” (10 blocks, technically). Certainly, Austin still conjures up images of fleet-footed founders making their fortune in cleantech, fintech, and life sciences. After all, the city’s startups generated $17 billion dollars in VC funding from 2018-2022 – spinning out 12 unicorns in the process. Even more, the startup scene is supported by an impressive backbone of Fortune 500 might. In fact, there is nine million square feet of Austin office space occupied by Dell, Apple, IBM, Meta, Google, Amazon, Oracle, and Intel. That doesn’t count Whole Foods being headquartered there too.

Maybe the best part of Austin? The wealth of resources around it, says James Craig Jones. “McCombs is in the heart of Austin, a city that is defining itself in the technology, startup, and renewable sectors while within a three-hour drive of Dallas (Finance), Houston (Energy, Healthcare, Logistics), and San Antonio (Manufacturing) in the heart of what I think will be the center of U.S. business for the next generation.”

Known for SXSW and Austin City Limits, Austin also boasts an amazing quality of life. Chastity Lovely describes it as a “chill place” where you can’t beat the weather…except during the summer. McCombs alumni would tend to agree with the assessment. Alexis Greco, a ’23 alum, believes the cultural attractions are on par with larger cities like New York City and San Francisco. Her classmate, S. Ryan Pierson, happily clicks off many of the advantages he enjoyed.

“Austin is one of the fastest growing cities in this country with great weather, outdoor activities (parks, lakes, trails), food scenery (restaurants, food trucks, breweries), culture (galleries, museums, festivals), sporting events, and unlimited job opportunities if you wanted to stay here after graduate school.”

And UT sports are pretty good too, Pierson adds, with the dormant football program coming to life in recent years. “There are few top tier business programs in this country at schools with similarly top tier athletics programs, which is something I was looking for as a previous collegiate student-athlete. UT Austin is consistently one of the strongest schools in all collegiate sports and doing your MBA here offers you the opportunity to attend all sports. To top this, McCombs holds their own tailgates for sporting events. These events are one of the best forms of networking among students and alumni. Even if you have no interest in sports, the opportunity to network in an informal setting at these events is absolutely worthwhile.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH TINA MABLEY

What’s next for the McCombs MBA? This winter, P&Q reached to Tina Mabley, the assistant dean and director of the Full-time Texas MBA. Here are her thoughts on new developments at the program, a well as some of its unique features.

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Mabley: “The two most important developments this year have been our updated portfolio of global opportunities and our addition of an AI/Machine learning course to our custom core curriculum.

1) Fostering Global Leadership: Over the past year, a major development has been a comprehensive revamping and reengagement of our Global Education offerings. This initiative provides students with varying depths of global engagement, enhancing their cross-cultural awareness, building their global networks, and preparing them for leadership in an interconnected global business environment.

Students can participate in Short Term Exchange Programs (STEP) programs, which are 5-to-14-day immersive experiences with partner business schools worldwide, focusing on local business acumen as well as specialized industries, such as sustainability, energy/mobility, and innovation management. Additionally, our Global Connections Study Tours offer semester-long courses, including 9-10 days abroad, providing an immersive education about business and culture in the featured country. For a more extended international experience, students can opt for a Semester Exchange, spending one full semester in residence at one of our 30 partner universities across the globe.

These new options for global learning experiences empower our students with key cross-cultural competencies, such as adaptability, global mindset, and empathetic leadership, and a deeper understanding of diverse markets, industries, and cultural nuances. One hundred percent of our students participate in one or more of these global opportunities to satisfy their Worldview of Business and Society curriculum requirement. This strategic enhancement ensures that our graduates are well-prepared to excel in an increasingly interconnected and dynamic global marketplace.

2) Forwarding AI/Machine Learning – For five decades, The University of Texas at Austin has been a global leader in artificial intelligence research, education, and innovation. As part of our campus campaign, Year of AI, we are launching new courses and beginning this semester, students have an opportunity to take a custom core class called AI for Business and Society. This course provides MBA students with a comprehensive introduction to AI technologies from a business perspective, covering foundational concepts and methods for creating business value with AI. Students will learn to identify opportunities for AI application, understand AI-related risks, and develop mitigation strategies for ethical and societal challenges. The course aims to equip students with the foundational knowledge to make informed decisions about AI solutions, without requiring prior coding or AI expertise, and includes hands-on experience with state-of-the-art machine learning techniques. Additional AI electives will launch in the coming year.”

P&Q: Give us your one-minute pitch for your business school. What makes you unique?

Mabley: “Our Texas McCombs MBA program is not just about shaping careers; it’s about shaping the future. We believe that deciding to pursue an MBA is a pivotal moment—a crossroads where individuals define not just what they want to achieve, but who they want to become and what impact they want to make in the world. At Texas McCombs, we embrace this ethos wholeheartedly.

Our program serves as a test kitchen of ingredients, where students are empowered to become the innovative, human-centered, tech-savvy, and globally aware leaders of tomorrow. With an intimate student cohort size of 250, set within the expansive environment of one of the world’s largest and most cutting-edge universities, our students have the freedom to explore endless possibilities for interdisciplinary study and experience.

Located in the heart of Austin, a city synonymous with groundbreaking pioneers such as Dell, Vrbo, and Whole Foods, our program offers unparalleled exposure to the intersection of big ideas and bold innovations. Moreover, being situated in Texas—one of the most vibrant economies in the U.S.—ensures a dynamic learning environment and exceptional employment opportunities.

But what truly sets us apart is our commitment to fostering a community where every individual’s potential is not just realized but celebrated. Here, students aren’t just preparing for the future; they are shaping it. And with a network of half a million Longhorn alumni around the world, the impact of our graduates extends far beyond the confines of our campus.

In essence, Texas McCombs isn’t just a business school—it’s a launchpad for the next generation of visionary leaders, where ‘Here, You Are What’s Next’ isn’t just a slogan; it’s a promise and a reality.”

P&Q: Sustainability has emerged as a major attraction to prospective MBA students. How does your full-time MBA program integrate sustainability across its curriculum?

Mabley: “At McCombs, we integrate sustainability across our MBA program in curriculum, experiential learning opportunities, and student initiatives.

In our curriculum, our students choose a selection of courses in ethics and sustainability to satisfy a program requirement in Responsibility and Integrity. This ranges from new courses such as Sustainable Operations to Corporate Scandals and Ethics (insider trading, financial misreporting, executive compensation, and Ponzi schemes) to our short-term program in sustainability with Copenhagen Business School. Additional courses feature topics on sustainable finance, corporate sustainability, sustainable operations and impact investing and entrepreneurship.

Experiential learning opportunities are offered through a cross-campus collaboration managed by McCombs, called Global Sustainability Leadership Institute (GSLI), built in partnership with Moody College of Communication, and serving as UT Austin’s hub on campus for innovation and social and environmental impact. Activities include the following:

* Longhorn Impact Fellowship at Texas (LIFT): A fellowship opportunity providing students with hands-on experience, acting as sustainability consultants for renowned companies like Dell, Eero, and Thermo Fisher Scientific.

* MBA Impact Investing Network and Training Program (MIINT): A global competition that gives graduate business students a chance to practice impact investing, of which our McCombs students won the global championship in 2020.

* Sustainability Education and Enterprise Development (SEED): A pitch competition that offers opportunities for students to engage in international impact investing competitions, and sustainability entrepreneurship challenges.

Our student organizations, such as Board Fellows, Net Impact, and Clean Tech, actively contribute to career treks, workshops, hands-on projects, and mentorship opportunities, fostering a comprehensive and impactful sustainability experience throughout our MBA program. Our student-run graduate business council (GBC) recently added a Sustainability Representative, to drive sustainability initiatives, including Sustainability Week, with workshops, park clean-ups, and circular economy speakers.

Finally, last year, Texas McCombs hosted ClimateCap MBA Summit. The ClimateCAP Initiative, founded by Fuqua School of Business at Duke University, is a global partnership of 35+ business schools working together to educate MBA students by providing them with the skills and insights they will need to lead in climate action throughout their careers. We support over 20 MBA students travelling to this event annually.”

Next Page: Profiles of 12 Members of the Class of 2025

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.