Business Honors Spring 2014 Student Spotlight

BUSINESS HONORS First business honors major graduate pursues dreams in a D.C. classroom Jennifer McCatharn ’11 Jennifer McCatharn ’11 was standing at the foot of the Lincoln Memorial at twilight, thinking about all that she had seen in her few days in D.C. on a trip with other business honors students. Looking up at the marbled face of one of the most influential men in American history, she had a revelation: this could be her future. She reached for her cell phone. I love it here, she texted her mom.

After becoming the first Mays student to graduate with a degree in business honors, Jennifer McCatharn ’11 is now pursuing a master’s degree in education through The Urban Teacher Center in Washington D.C. Her mom was quick to respond: Just remember, your home is in Texas.

Now, two years later, Jennifer is leaving that Texas home and returning to the nation’s capitol, where she will pursue a master’s degree in education through The Urban Teacher Center. She will participate in a four-year program, during which she will earn her degree for free in exchange for service in a D.C. school.

Jennifer knows the road ahead of her won’t be easy—D.C. public schools are notorious for their low graduation rates and poor academic scores—yet she is optimistic. The Urban Teacher Center recruits top candidates from across the nation to prepare them to teach in the most challenging schools, equipping them with state-of-the-art training and linking their certification to their students’ performance outcomes. Jennifer is eager to join this innovative program, which has the power to impact so many lives, as well as education reform on a local and national level. She looks forward to being in the classroom and using her creative and business skills to encourage learning.

In May 2010, Jennifer became the first Mays student to graduate with a degree in business honors. She says that the program has benefitted her through the intimate class-sizes and special opportunities such as the D.C. trip she took part in her sophomore year. She also appreciated the honors book club, which exposed her to books such as Three Cups of Tea and Good to Great that have shaped the way she sees business and the world.

Jennifer is thankful for the scholarships she received during her years at A&M. “I know how much it has meant to my family and to me…someday I hope to give back in the same way.” She asserts that though there are many intelligent students at Mays that are deserving of scholarships outside the honors program, she sees it as a worthwhile investment to give to honors scholarships, especially as many honors students double major, adding a more specialized degree. “It’s a diverse group of people who are choosing a unique path and the scholarships act as further incentive to take on the challenges of the program.”

BUSINESS HONORS Global experience broadens student leader’s perspective Kyle Murphy ’15 During the summer before his junior year, finance and business honors double major Kyle Murphy pursued a unique opportunity that gave him a global perspective on business. Through the MSC LT Jordan Institute’s Internship and Living Abroad Program, Murphy traveled nearly 10,000 miles across the globe to intern at SSA Consulting Group in Singapore.

SSA Consulting Group focuses on providing all facets of consulting for small- to medium-size businesses. During his time there, Murphy worked with six other team members on two consulting projects – one involving a chain of bakeries and one involving a middle-market TV production company. He collected data, conducted interviews and ultimately developed and presented his improvement recommendations to the two companies.

Murphy said he learned broad skills in finance, HR and strategy and gained a diverse experience because the companies had very different needs and problems. “Both companies are really great at what they do, but they needed help understanding how to run their businesses more efficiently,” explained Murphy. “It was really great that I had ideas to offer them.”

He said he chose Singapore for two reasons: The country’s reputation as one of the largest economic and business hubs in the world and his desire to experience something new and different. Murphy described Singapore as a “melting pot of cultures” and said his favorite cultural experience was sampling the wide variety of food. During his seven weeks abroad, he also took weekend trips to Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

Now that he is back, Murphy’s immediate career goal is to obtain an internship in investment banking. He is part of the Horizons Program, which introduces students to new career opportunities through regular meetings and a mentorship program. Murphy said he became interested in investment banking in particular because “it is a great place to start, and you can really learn a lot in this field.”

Murphy is a student leader at Mays, joining the Business Student Council his freshman year and becoming vice president of finance this year. “It has been a really cool experience going from a freshman who knew nothing and looked up to other people to becoming a leader who now mentors other students,” said Murphy. He said being vice president has provided him with many hands-on opportunities to learn practical business and managerial skills.

Murphy considers his acceptance into the business honors program a significant factor in his decision to attend Texas A&M. He graduated high school with several offers to play college baseball, and initially struggled with the decision to choose a university.

In the end, Murphy chose Texas A&M and the business honors program because of its great reputation and the many services it provides its students. “The program introduces you to new opportunities you didn’t even know existed,” said Murphy. He cites guest speakers, small class sizes and networking events as just a few benefits of being in the business honors program. “Most importantly, you are surrounded by successful people,” he said.

Murphy’s personal interests include sports, outdoor activities and attending Aggie football games.

BUSINESS HONORS Out-of-school experiences underscore value of building rapport Kelly Albright '14 Senior supply chain management and business honors double major Kelly Albright spoke with excitement as she talked about her study abroad experience in Valparaiso, Chile. Albright spent six weeks in the summer of 2012 taking Spanish classes in what she described as a truly fascinating seaside city dotted with colorful hilltop houses.

She described her experience with enthusiasm and noted her longtime desire to travel to Chile ever since she first learned about the country in high school. “I loved the environment there,” said Albright. “My favorite part of the experience was the sense of independence I felt exploring a new place on my own.”

One challenge Albright recalled was the communication barrier. Even with a few preparatory Spanish classes under her belt, Albright said it was still a challenge communicating with locals and her host family. However, she had nothing but positive things to say about her time in Chile. Outside of attending classes, Albright took several weekend excursions, including a trip to Argentina. She kept a blog detailing her experiences abroad. Even as the end of the six weeks approached, Albright had no plans to slow down.

After arriving back in the U.S. on a Friday, she began an internship at Mary Kay in Dallas the following Monday in the company’s Global Inventory Control Group. As the only summer intern, Albright was responsible for analyzing problematic discrepancies between the company’s inventory control system, which builds global shipments, and actual truck capacity.

She described the broad project scope as challenging, but said she appreciated the great opportunities it provided to collaborate with and learn from more senior employees in the company.

“I really had to act independently and seek out information on my own to understand the problem,” said Albright.

She eventually determined the problems stemmed from inaccurate product dimensions in the inventory system, and she presented her research and findings to company leaders. Albright highly values the skills she learned from her internship with Mary Kay. “This project enabled me to learn a lot about the business world,” she said.

Albright took a step in a different direction in the summer of 2013 and interned with Sendero Business Services in Dallas. “I was looking to get a different experience, and consulting sounded like it could be a good fit for me,” she explained. “My project at Mary Kay had been very consulting-like.” She was assigned to a client project involving a supply chain software implementation. Albright gained exposure to several aspects of the project, enabling her to develop multiple consulting-related skills, such as project management and change management. She also helped create technical training materials for future Sendero employees.

“My project at Sendero gave me a chance to see what consulting is really like,” said Albright. “One important thing I learned is the extent to which consulting revolves around building and managing client relationships.” She plans to stay in the consulting field after graduation and will be assuming a full-time position with Deloitte Consulting in their business technology service line.

Albright mentioned some of her most memorable experiences at Texas A&M come from being part of the business honors program. She was an active member of Business Fellows, a one-semester professional development program that hosts guest speakers and provides leadership opportunities such as team case study presentations.

What she will remember most, she said, are the friendships she has made and the intangible benefits she has received through the program. “Business honors gives our big school a small-school feel,” she said. “It really offers it all.”

BUSINESS HONORS Business honors’ extra opportunities attracted supply chain management senior Sherwin Chiu ’14 Senior business honors and supply chain management major Sherwin Chiu said choosing Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School was an easy decision. He praised the extensive Aggie network and said he ultimately chose Texas A&M because it is the “best school with the most support.”

Chiu has clearly demonstrated a desire to learn that transcends the classroom. After hearing about research opportunities through Texas A&M’s Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, Chiu approached supply chain management associate professor Antonio Arreola-Risa about a possible research collaboration. “I had read Dr. Tony’s research and thought he would be a great professor to learn from and collaborate with,” Chiu stated.

The two conducted extensive research on supply chain optimization in a stochastic, or random, environment. Chiu described their research as focusing on how supply chains are affected by the random environment. “Supply chains are typically studied in a controlled environment, but that’s not how it is in reality,” explained Chiu. “Many different factors can influence their effectiveness.”

During his research, Chiu simulated 1,944 cases in which different supply chain-related variables were changed, such as demand rate, holding costs and utilization levels. After conducting these experiments, he graphed the results and was able to identify trends among the variables. Chiu’s thesis is published in the Texas Digital Repository.

Chiu is actively involved in several extracurricular activities on campus. He currently serves as a student representative and an ambassador for the Department of Multicultural Services (DMS). By speaking to outside organizations and prospective students on behalf of the DMS, Chiu said he has been able to work toward increasing the presence of underrepresented groups at Texas A&M. He also serves as president of the Asian Presidents’ Council, an umbrella organization for more than 20 Asian organizations across campus. Housed under the DMS, the Asian Presidents’ Council aims to unify these organizations through social and educational events as well as through Asian Heritage Month every April.

Chiu has held leadership positions in the council since he joined his freshman year.

Before assuming the role of president, Chiu served as marketing director, programming director, and vice president. Chiu said his time with the organization has helped him develop his leadership skills and has provided him experience in high-responsibility roles.

Chiu credits his success as a student leader to his experience in the Mays business honors program. “The business competencies and communications classes, as well as all the group projects in my curriculum, gave me many of the leadership and team skills I use on a daily basis,” he said.

He described his experience in the business honors program as very positive and influential. “I’ve been very fortunate and thankful to have received financial support through scholarships and to be part of the business honors program,” said Chiu. “It’s a great tool offered to students to help them get where they want to be.”

After graduation, Chiu plans on entering medical school. He said although he has enjoyed learning about supply chain management, he has ultimately realized his deep desire to help others in a more direct kind of way. “I feel the greatest sense of fulfillment when I give my time to help other people,” said Chiu.

In preparation for medical school, he has been involved in the business honors Medical Guild, an organization for business honors students interested medical careers. The guild helps prepare students for medical school by providing advice and information on the application process and by hosting speakers who discuss current topics in the medical field.

Once in medical school, Chiu is interested in specializing in surgery or radiology. In the end, Chiu explains, medicine is not as different from supply chain management as one might expect. “I enjoy studying processes and how things work,” he explained, “and the human body is one big process – just like a supply chain.”

BUSINESS HONORS Business Honors student represents Texas A&M at national conferences Erika Arthur ’15 The business honors program looks for talented and motivated students, and there is no doubt that Erika Arthur is a high achiever: She recently took the initiative to participate in two prestigious national conferences for college students.

This past summer, she was selected to take part in KPMG’s Future Diversity Leaders Conference in Hollywood, Calif. The three-day conference aimed to equip high-achieving minority students entering their sophomore or junior year with tools for success through various team-building and personal branding exercises. As a participant, Arthur was provided face time and networking opportunities with KPMG professionals. Through her participation in this conference, she landed the upcoming role of audit intern at KPMG’s Houston office in summer 2014.

In the same summer, Arthur was also chosen to be part of a select group of U.S. college students who attended Deloitte’s four-day National Leadership Conference at Deloitte University in Westlake, Texas. The purpose of the program was to help transform exceptional college students into future business leaders through career development workshops and activities. She gained valuable knowledge on team building and leadership skills and learned helpful ways to market herself as a professional. Notably, her participation in this event played a significant role in her receiving a second internship offer with Deloitte in spring 2015.

Arthur credits her participation in these conferences to the business honors program, which first brought the events to her attention. She praises the efforts of the program to involve its students and to help them grow personally and professionally. She says business honors students are very fortunate to be provided with so many great opportunities to meet with industry professionals. “At first, it’s intimidating not knowing what to expect,” says Arthur. “However, everyone is very down to earth and focused on helping us achieve our potential.”

In addition to networking opportunities, she cites the intimate size of Mays’ honors classes as a key benefit of business honors and a factor that initially attracted her to the program. “We get plenty of one-on-one attention and are able to make personal connections with the professor,” says Arthur. “This class setting gives us a definite advantage.” Arthur also appreciates the book clubs, speaker events and service opportunities that help business honors students get plugged in and build relationships.

Arthur notes that much is expected from business honors students in return for their participation in the program, such as maintaining above a 3.5 GPA and attending professional development events throughout the year. “Balancing the program requirements along with extracurricular activities, participation in organizations and work can be tricky and speaks heavily to the commitment, work ethic and organization of business honors students.”

Ultimately, Arthur says students get out of the program what they put into it. “Business honors presents so many great opportunities for us,” she says. “It’s up to us to take advantage of them.”

In the near future, Arthur hopes to be accepted into the Professional Program, which would allow her to complete both an undergraduate degree and a master’s degree by 2016.

BUSINESS HONORS Going Away Again and Again Tyler Wigington ‘14 Tyler Wigington ’14 took Texas A&M University’s advice to “go away” very seriously. After volunteering in Costa Rica with his freshman leadership organization and studying abroad three different times, Wigington returned to College Station to encourage fellow Aggies to take advantage of the opportunities to gain valuable experiences abroad.

As a junior finance and business honors major with an international business certificate and Spanish minor, Wigington enrolled at Texas A&M not knowing how he would fund his wanderlust.

“As a freshman business honors student, I was required to read Thomas Friedman’s The World is Flat, a book about globalization and the increasingly international nature of business,” Wigington said. “This book further piqued my interest in pursuing global opportunities during my time in business honors and at Texas A&M.” With the help of the study abroad office, Wigington found scholarships to fulfill his desire to explore the world. He also credits the business honors program as a major source of support as he worked to choose study abroad programs. “The business honors program encouraged me to follow my international passion and worked with me to find programs abroad, both through the business school and through outside organizations.”

The summer after his freshman year, Wigington travelled to China with twenty other students through Mays Business School. He visited different historical sites in Beijing, Si An and Tianjin. “I was fascinated by the people and the culture,” Wigington said. “I grew a much stronger appreciation for the world outside of Texas A&M through this learning experience partly funded by the International Education Fee Scholarship.”After his trip to China, Wigington knew that he wanted more. He spent the spring semester of his sophomore year in Spain with Academic Programs International. While staying with a host family in Madrid, Wigington perfected the Spanish language and navigated through different cities like Amsterdam, Paris, Rome and London.

“While abroad, I got to apply what I learned through my ‘other education’ because of my interaction with other cultures,” he said. “I even got to travel to London by myself to experience Aggie Muster abroad. We did roll call and sang the war hymn. It was amazing to be with Aggies halfway across the world.”

Wigington recently spent two weeks of winter vacation travelling in India with Mays.

After visiting the cultural cities of Bangalore and Mysore, his group also witnessed the beauty of the Taj Mahal near New Delhi.

“With the monetary support from the scholarships provided through Texas A&M, I was able to pursue my passion to travel. I grew a greater perspective of the world and I learned more about myself,” Wigington said. “I grew accustomed to adapting to unpredictable situations and embracing different cultures.”

He said the business honors program has helped teach him how to apply what he has learned abroad to his future professional career. “Business honors has helped me understand how these experiences translate over into the business world and life after graduation,” said Tyler. The program brings in business professionals every week to speak to the students, and I have had the pleasure of hearing from some of the biggest names in global business, including Steve Lovejoy, the Starbucks SVP in charge of Asian markets.”

Wigington looks forward to going to Panama with the Global Business Brigades of Texas A&M University and Africa with Operation Crossroads this upcoming summer.