Nolan Melson

University of Texas at Austin’s McCombs School of Business

“Passionate about influencing positive change on a global scale.”

Hometown: Iowa City, IA and Los Angeles, CA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was a competitive gymnast for 15 years of my life.

Undergraduate School and Major:  United States Military Academy at West Point, Systems Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Capgemini, Senior Consultant

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Being selected as a Speaker at SXSW 2018 and appointed to the SXSW Interactive Advisory Board in 2019.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Willingness to help each other and pay it forward.

What makes Austin such a great place to earn an MBA? Tech, Tacos, and SXSW. Also, a surplus of weird and passionate down-to-earth people launching cool companies.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I knew going into business school that management consulting would be my target industry and that I would like to work in a major firm’s Austin, Dallas, or Houston office. My Texas McCombs MBA will allow me to achieve that goal, and then some.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I hope to participate in Venture Fellows and Graduate Consulting Group.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? What kind of impact do you want to have on the McCombs community? I really like this question. That’s because it has made me think outside of my own personal objectives of securing a certain job offer, GPA, or taking a particular concentration. Instead, it caused me to think about the relationships that I want to build with my classmates and professors while on the Forty Acres. Additionally, this question has made me think about how I want to pay it forward while at McCombs, and give back to classmates: whether that be assisting with case interview preparation, leading a trek, or just taking the time to sit down and talk with one of my classmates who might be going through a tough time.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I was ready to pivot from IT consulting to management consulting and I needed an MBA in order to truly transition and thrive in that role.

What other MBA programs did you apply to?  University of Chicago Booth, Wharton, Stanford GSB, HBS, Columbia, Indiana, Georgia Tech

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Thanks to Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT), I was able to identify schools that were good fits for me based on my GRE, GPA, extracurriculars, culture, and placement at target companies.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment was when I traveled to China on my own at 15 to train in gymnastics and study Mandarin. I learned so much about the beauty of the Chinese culture and realized that I could thrive on my own in a foreign land.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? In 10 years, I ideally see myself as a Partner at a management consulting firm, still making my kid’s games and recitals.