Meet The Texas McCombs MBA Class Of 2027

Life rarely goes as planned. It’s unpredictable. It’s messy. It’s unfair. All it takes is one bad day for everything you’ve built to crumble.

For Nick Ferris, that day came in 2023, when a spinal cord injury rendered him a paraplegic. Before the injury, he’d risen to become a senior operations engineer. At one point, he had spearheaded an infrastructure strategy for a 50-mile pipeline network, one that doubled its capacity and saved nearly $25-million in annual disposal costs. After his injury, Ferris realized he could no longer perform field work in a wheelchair. And it spurred him to pursue a new mission.

Everyone loves a great comeback story. We admire the people who climb out from the bottom to beat the odds and make a difference. For Ferris, that meant returning home to the University of Texas, where he’d studied as an undergrad, to earn his MBA at the McCombs School of Business.

THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

“The Texas McCombs mission of “human centered, future focused” education is what drew me here,” he tells P&Q. “The emphasis on real-world impact directly aligned with my goals to make the world a better place for people with spinal cord injuries. McCombs was the one program where my values, my past, and my future truly converged.”

Ferris has experienced many successes along his new path. He partnered with DeMarcus Lawrence, an All-Pro NFL defensive end, on a “specially-designed adaptive workout” in conjunction with the Adaptive Training Foundation. In fact, Lawrence completed the workout alongside Ferris in a wheelchair himself. During his first year at McCombs, Ferris was also elected VP of External Affairs for the Healthcare Innovation Fellows. Long-term, he hopes to apply biotech-driven solutions to help individuals with spinal cord injuries enhance their mobility.

“Success means leaving McCombs having built something that genuinely helps the disability community. Whether through my NoHandicap venture, adaptive technology partnerships, or nonprofit leadership, I want to graduate knowing I transformed both my career path and the opportunities available to people following a similar journey. If I leave with deeper relationships, a stronger sense of purpose, and momentum toward meaningful innovation, I will have succeeded.”

AN UNFORGETTABLE VICTORY

Victoria Falk joins the MBA Class of 2027 after suffering adversity herself. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, she was once responsible for over 1,300 soldiers as a human resources officer – “across multiple continents and time zones,” no less. After suffering an injury on deployment, she was cautioned that she might never run again.

That didn’t deter Falk.

“I won the Chicago Triathlon in my division and got to check off a bucket list dream by competing alongside my dad.”

What does Falk hope to achieve at McCombs? “My McCombs MBA will be successful if I leave having grown as a leader, built a diverse, high-impact network, and gained the skills to drive meaningful organizational change. Success means not just mastering business concepts, but applying them through hands-on projects, contributing to communities like TVIB, and emerging ready to lead teams with purpose, empathy, and results.”

COMING BACK FROM CANCER

Eloise McIntosh also faced down adversity when she was 14. Diagnosed with throat cancer, she lost her hair and endured chemotherapy. But she survived…and went on to co-found a loungewear company that donates much of its profits back to supporting childhood cancer programs.

“When I started the Good Hood Club, my goal was not only to create a platform to share my own story with cancer, but to build a space where others felt comfortable enough to share theirs – and we did exactly that,” she tells P&Q. “We collaborated with patients, survivors, and their families to design custom hoodies that represented their stories and their strength in comfort. Being able to build a career so deeply personal and empowering has been one of my proudest achievements.”

A self-described “career explorer”, McIntosh hopes to gain clarity as an MBA student at McCombs. “One of the things that drew me to McCombs was its deeply human element – a large emphasis on introspection, reflection and personal growth alongside my professional development. I consider my MBA experience a success if, two years from now, I have learned something about myself – who I am, what I want to do, and where I want to go. McCombs truly nurtures this process and that is the exact environment that I am excited to be in.”

RIDING OUT A WRITERS STRIKE

As a whole, the Class of 2027 is defined by its wide range of professional experience. Take Sarah Goodman, who majored in Radio/TV/Film as a Northwestern undergrad. Most recently, she served as a Branded Content Manager at Paramount, where she worked on content for shows like Entertainment Tonight and CBS Mornings. However, her big moment came during the 2023 writers strike, when Goodman stepped outside her job description to hold her operation together.

“I led efforts to sell new brand partnerships, while stabilizing existing ones and adapting our strategy in real time as the industry shifted. As a result, I preserved partner trust, helped maintain a culture of optimism, and ultimately delivered high-performing integrations that satisfied our clients despite widespread disruption.”

J. Cole Richards made his mark in high finance during a six-year run at the Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, where he eventually served as VP of Private Equity Fund Finance Organizations. Despite his career progression, Richards points to raising $10,000 for the United Way during a charity event he co-hosted as Treasurer of the Junior Board. At the opposite end, Jorge Arechavaleta Zambrano built his career in public sector consulting.

“My biggest accomplishment has been the opportunity to work with mayors from cities across Mexico to improve their public spaces and make city life better for their residents. Through these collaborations, I’ve helped local governments design and implement projects that made streets safer, parks more accessible, and communities more connected. Seeing how small urban interventions could restore pride and quality of life in entire neighborhoods has been the most meaningful and impactful part of my career.”

BALANCING RISK & REWARD

Before becoming a regional manager for the AliBaba Group, Waqas Rehman was named the youngest senior manager at Nielsen. Stephanie Nugent rose from being a hostess to a general manager in the hospitality industry, before eventually taking her talents to Equinox and Madison Square Garden (and a summer internship at Citi). As a consultant, Henry Rosenstein guided the merger between two AmLaw 100 law firms in areas like finance and information technology.

“We made it through go-live smoothly and successfully launched the merged firm within our project timeline. It was cool walking through downtown Chicago and seeing the new logo for the merged firm on the wall of their building, knowing that our team played a key role in bringing it to life.”

The class isn’t shy about making career changes, either. Three years ago, Ikenna Egbosimba moved from a safe corporate job to an independent business intelligence consultant. For Claudia K. Figueroa, leaving Mexico and her research and development career to join the Class of 2027 has been daunting and refreshing all rolled into one.

“Rather than leaving that background behind, I see it as the foundation I am building on as I expand into new areas, one that has pushed me to grow in ways I never expected and opened doors to new possibilities. This decision is part of a bigger goal: combine the best of both worlds – science and business – to build solutions and experiences that create lasting, meaningful impact.”

A CLASS PROFILE

By the numbers, the Class of 2027 includes 235 students. International students and women account for 31% and 29% shares of the class respectively, with students hailing from 36 countries overall. Another 17% of the class are first generation college graduates and 15% bring military experience.

Academically, the class attended 155 institutions as undergraduates. 44% majored in fields related to Business, Economics, and Accounting. Another 34% hold degrees in STEM fields, while Humanities graduates make up 9% of the class. As undergraduates, the class averaged a 3.48 GPA. During the application process, they hit a 657 on the GMAT Focus and a 320 on the GRE (with 37% of the class submitting scores for the latter). In terms of professional experience, 17% of the class last worked in Finance, followed closely by Technology (16%), and Consulting (15%).

HOOKED ON THE HORNS

The ranking numbers have been equally positive for McCombs. In terms of American rankings, the school ranked 13th in P&Q’s 2025-2026 MBA composite ranking, up 3 spots from the previous year. McCombs also placed 18th with U.S. News & World Report and 15th with Fortune. Internationally, McCombs finished 41st in the 2026 Financial Times MBA ranking, ultimately posting the 12th-highest score in terms of its research quality and volume among American schools. When U.S. News surveyed business school leaders earlier this spring, McCombs also ranked among the ten-best in four disciplines: Information Systems, Accounting, Real Estate, and Business Analytics. Last year, when The Princeton Review surveyed alumni and students about their schools, McCombs posted the 4th-best score for Campus Environment.

That makes sense. Among McCombs’s biggest assets is the University of Texas itself. The flagship university of the second-largest state, the university boasts a 500,000-member alumni base, not to mention 300 undergraduate and graduate programs and over 12,000 courses. And the McCombs School offers scale to match, with over 6,000 graduate and undergraduate students and 700 faculty members to bring a wide range of expertise to students. On top of that, McCombs alumni number over 100,000 graduates (plus another 25,000 professionals taught through its Executive Education program). Known as Forty Acres, the University of Texas boasts a spirited alumni and student base, known for throwing down their ‘Hook ‘em Horns hand sign to reflect their love for all things burnt orange. Laura Rivera, a UT grad who is also pursuing her Masters in Mechanical Engineering at the school, calls it a “Longhorn-state-of-mind”: “Once a Longhorn, always a Longhorn.” Like everything in Texas, the university is simply big – be it size, reputation, resources, or fervor.

“Our McCombs MBA has a very tight-knit community, but outside of it is 44,000 undergraduates and over 10,000 other graduate students,” says Henry Rosenstein. “The programming across campus is top notch – last month I attended a promotion in a campus auditorium for Bill Gurley’s new book Runnin’ Down a Dream, where I sat fourth row and watched Bill and Matthew McConaughey discuss what makes a fulfilling career. They’re just two of our incredible alumni that regularly make time to engage with students here.”

More than that, the university imprints a certain mindset, adds Jorge Arechavaleta Zambrano. “The University of Texas has a culture of getting things done. It is not just about ideas or ambition, but about taking real action, building something tangible, and making progress even when it is hard. That sense of determination and practicality is what drew me here; it is exactly the mindset I want to carry into my career.”

A TECH MECCA

The Class of 2027 enjoys another advantage: McCombs’s Austin location. The state capital is less than a mile down the street from McCombs, giving students access to power brokers and influencers alike. In fact, there is a saying that the university and the city feed off of each other, with UT and McCombs providing young talent and the city offering a platform for them to use it.

What a platform it is!  Long known as Silicon Hills for its tech and entrepreneurial might, Austin is home to many of the top industry players. Tesla employs over 20,000 people in the area, with Apple and Amazon adding another 10,000 apiece. Dell Technologies and Oracle (for now) are both headquartered there. And companies like Meta, Google, Microsoft maintain campuses in Austin with 1,000-2,000 people. Aside from Dell, the city was also the birthplace of startups like Whole Foods Market, YETI, Bumble, and Indeed (sort of). PitchBook reports the region attracted $7.8 in VC investment in 2025, up from the $4-billion reported by Dealroom in 2024. What’s more, the Austin metro boasts 17 unicorns.

That’s hardly a surprise. After all, the region capitalizes off the state’s hands-off approach that eschews personal and corporate income taxes. Partnerships like Opportunity Austin have also been generous with incentives and support to attract and scale businesses. And the region features over 70 incubators and accelerators, led by the Capital Factory and the Texas Venture Labs. And McCombs has even thrown in their hat, opening the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies in 2021 – producing programming and services that enabled the school to rank 2nd (Undergraduate) and 3rd (Graduate) in the 2025 Princeton Review Entrepreneurship Ranking.

‘A CITY POWERED BY INNOVATION, HUMILITY, AND HEART’

Hiro Yoguchi, a ’25 McCombs MBA, says Austin possesses a “young, dynamic vibe” thanks to the talented young professionals coming in from the East and West Coasts. As a result, he observes, “the city feels fresh, innovative, and full of opportunity.” The Class of 2027 seconds that notion.

“I love being in a city where most people are my age,” writes Waqas Rehman. “It’s fun to always have good live music shows playing and outdoor activities happening, so there’s never a time you’d feel bored.”

That includes events like South by Southwest (SXSW). Held in March, the festival brings together the leaders of the technology and entertainment industries and attracts 300,000 people annually. True to Austin’s moniker as the “Live Music Capital of the World”, there is Austin City Limits and Levitations – not to mention all the venues that dot 6th Street. In October, the Formula One Grand Prix is held in Austin. For students who love Tex-Mex – or brisket, barbecue, and breakfast tacos for that matter – there are few places better than Austin. Let’s not forget Austin’s ‘live-and-let-live “Keep Austin Weird” countercultural vibe that’s fosters both openness and creativity.

And it all comes with year-round warm weather with relatively low humidity (except for AC-spiking streaks in July and August).

“Austin is a city powered by innovation, humility, and heart,” observes Nick Ferris. “It is a place where founders sit next to students, where the health tech and biotech ecosystems are booming, and where community actually means something.”

Next Page: An Interview with Tina Mabley, Senior Assistant Dean, Full-Time MBA

Page 3: Profiles of 12 Members of the MBA Class of 2027

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