Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: July 1-12

July 1: As an analyst intern at Accenture in Dallas, Jed Vick has kept himself busy this summer! Here's what Jed has been up to: "In the first few weeks, I’ve tackled some major obstacles: gaining the necessary access to websites/tools, learning everything about the process and work my team does, and beginning to add value by creating test cases. For context, I’m part of a system testing team for an enterprise cloud solution project. This means that our team tests the functionality and consistency of new deployments made by the development team."  July 2: Bumble chose The University of Texas at Austin to launch a brand-new networking community on campus—and tapped Forty Acres Scholars Program alumna Katherine Allen for its inaugural class. Read about it here. July 3: We had a great time at lunch today with incoming scholars Chris Wang, Sarah Spivey, Maria Gu, and Haley Justiz. We will see you in a few weeks at Freshman Retreat!  July 9: Shilpa Rajagopal has wrapped up her study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Over the five weeks, she completed courses toward her management degree as well as a Global Management Certificate. "Studying abroad has truly been one of the most valuable, enriching opportunities in my college career thus far. I have been able to not only learn about international business and global management in a unique cultural setting, but also engage in a meaningful level of personal growth in the process."  July 10: We had a large group join us this week for our orientation lunch! It was so great to have Arya Saksena, Joshua Martinez, Joseph Dowdall, Meredith Black, and Eliza Caton Pillsbury on campus!  July 12: Ashley Deutser, Lucious McDaniel III, and Anne Lagrange are spending five weeks in Hong Kong as part of the university's supply chain management study abroad program. The course begins stateside and tracks Target's supply chain all the way back to China. They're getting a first-hand look at the field visiting factories, stores, and quality control testing facilities while also experiencing history in the making as protests around Hong Kong against an extradition bill are happening.  Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!   

Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: July 1-12

July 1: As an analyst intern at Accenture in Dallas, Jed Vick has kept himself busy this summer! Here's what Jed has been up to: "In the first few weeks, I’ve tackled some major obstacles: gaining the necessary access to websites/tools, learning everything about the process and work my team does, and beginning to add value by creating test cases. For context, I’m part of a system testing team for an enterprise cloud solution project. This means that our team tests the functionality and consistency of new deployments made by the development team."  July 2: Bumble chose The University of Texas at Austin to launch a brand-new networking community on campus—and tapped Forty Acres Scholars Program alumna Katherine Allen for its inaugural class. Read about it here. July 3: We had a great time at lunch today with incoming scholars Chris Wang, Sarah Spivey, Maria Gu, and Haley Justiz. We will see you in a few weeks at Freshman Retreat!  July 9: Shilpa Rajagopal has wrapped up her study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Over the five weeks, she completed courses toward her management degree as well as a Global Management Certificate. "Studying abroad has truly been one of the most valuable, enriching opportunities in my college career thus far. I have been able to not only learn about international business and global management in a unique cultural setting, but also engage in a meaningful level of personal growth in the process."  July 10: We had a large group join us this week for our orientation lunch! It was so great to have Arya Saksena, Joshua Martinez, Joseph Dowdall, Meredith Black, and Eliza Caton Pillsbury on campus!  July 12: Ashley Deutser, Lucious McDaniel III, and Anne Lagrange are spending five weeks in Hong Kong as part of the university's supply chain management study abroad program. The course begins stateside and tracks Target's supply chain all the way back to China. They're getting a first-hand look at the field visiting factories, stores, and quality control testing facilities while also experiencing history in the making as protests around Hong Kong against an extradition bill are happening.  Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!   

Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: July 1-12

July 1: As an analyst intern at Accenture in Dallas, Jed Vick has kept himself busy this summer! Here's what Jed has been up to: "In the first few weeks, I’ve tackled some major obstacles: gaining the necessary access to websites/tools, learning everything about the process and work my team does, and beginning to add value by creating test cases. For context, I’m part of a system testing team for an enterprise cloud solution project. This means that our team tests the functionality and consistency of new deployments made by the development team."  July 2: Bumble chose The University of Texas at Austin to launch a brand-new networking community on campus—and tapped Forty Acres Scholars Program alumna Katherine Allen for its inaugural class. Read about it here. July 3: We had a great time at lunch today with incoming scholars Chris Wang, Sarah Spivey, Maria Gu, and Haley Justiz. We will see you in a few weeks at Freshman Retreat!  July 9: Shilpa Rajagopal has wrapped up her study abroad in Prague, Czech Republic. Over the five weeks, she completed courses toward her management degree as well as a Global Management Certificate. "Studying abroad has truly been one of the most valuable, enriching opportunities in my college career thus far. I have been able to not only learn about international business and global management in a unique cultural setting, but also engage in a meaningful level of personal growth in the process."  July 10: We had a large group join us this week for our orientation lunch! It was so great to have Arya Saksena, Joshua Martinez, Joseph Dowdall, Meredith Black, and Eliza Caton Pillsbury on campus!  July 12: Ashley Deutser, Lucious McDaniel III, and Anne Lagrange are spending five weeks in Hong Kong as part of the university's supply chain management study abroad program. The course begins stateside and tracks Target's supply chain all the way back to China. They're getting a first-hand look at the field visiting factories, stores, and quality control testing facilities while also experiencing history in the making as protests around Hong Kong against an extradition bill are happening.  Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!   

Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: June 24-28

Rising sophomores Marshall Comeaux and Michael Smith are currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the Canfield Business Honors Program. They are enrolled in business courses taught by a McCombs professor and a professor from the University of San Andres that will help them strengthen their Spanish language skills as well as gaining a strong understanding of international business.        Alicia Crespin is interning at ExxonMobil in Houston alongside scholar alumna Alejandra Flores. For her internship as a financial analyst, she has been charged with identifying challenges within the company and working to find a creative solution. Through this work she is strengthening her Excel skills and learning how to work with various stakeholders.        On June 27, scholars Jed Vick, Manjula Andukuri, and Holland Wiles spent the evening networking and socializing with Texas Exes. Thanks to the Dallas Forty Acres Society for having us!        Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!

Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: June 24-28

Rising sophomores Marshall Comeaux and Michael Smith are currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the Canfield Business Honors Program. They are enrolled in business courses taught by a McCombs professor and a professor from the University of San Andres that will help them strengthen their Spanish language skills as well as gaining a strong understanding of international business.        Alicia Crespin is interning at ExxonMobil in Houston alongside scholar alumna Alejandra Flores. For her internship as a financial analyst, she has been charged with identifying challenges within the company and working to find a creative solution. Through this work she is strengthening her Excel skills and learning how to work with various stakeholders.        On June 27, scholars Jed Vick, Manjula Andukuri, and Holland Wiles spent the evening networking and socializing with Texas Exes. Thanks to the Dallas Forty Acres Society for having us!        Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!

Forty Acres Scholars News Feed: June 24-28

Rising sophomores Marshall Comeaux and Michael Smith are currently in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with the Canfield Business Honors Program. They are enrolled in business courses taught by a McCombs professor and a professor from the University of San Andres that will help them strengthen their Spanish language skills as well as gaining a strong understanding of international business.        Alicia Crespin is interning at ExxonMobil in Houston alongside scholar alumna Alejandra Flores. For her internship as a financial analyst, she has been charged with identifying challenges within the company and working to find a creative solution. Through this work she is strengthening her Excel skills and learning how to work with various stakeholders.        On June 27, scholars Jed Vick, Manjula Andukuri, and Holland Wiles spent the evening networking and socializing with Texas Exes. Thanks to the Dallas Forty Acres Society for having us!        Make sure to follow along on Facebook to stay up to date on everything our Forty Acres Scholars are up to!

How to Balance Work and Play 

Work hard. Play hard.  Work hard. Play when I have some time.  Work hard. Play during the three weeks out of the year I have vacation.  Work hard. Work during some or most of my vacation.  The scenarios above are how many people today view work and time away from work. But how do vacation time and work exist together? Should they exist together? This is an important question, especially with smart phones giving our employers a direct line to us during vacation.  There was a time when vacation meant you were unreachable and couldn’t connect to the office. Times have changed. So how can we recharge our batteries and relax in the 21st century? It’s all a matter of balance.   External Factors to Balancing Work and Vacation  Before you leave on vacation, make sure you do the following:  Give your boss, co-workers, and clients as much notice as possible.  Set expectations with your boss, co-workers. and clients. For example, will you be checking email daily, not at all, or once every three days? Will you be checking your voicemail? If there is an urgent client issue while you are away, what should happen? Will you be traveling with a computer? Will you have internet access? Will you have access to your company emails through your phone? What software will you have access to?  Set appropriate out-of-office messages on your email and voicemail. Leave a back-up number, if possible, for a co-worker or your boss so they can respond to questions while you are out.  It may be clear in your mind how much you intend to work during vacation; but others may have a different idea. Have those conversations before you leave.  Internal Factors  With all that said, many individuals will log in and see what is happening, even if they aren’t expected to. You need to set expectations with yourself on how you are going to handle work while you are away.  Will you check your email?  If so, for what purpose? Some individuals want to stay on top of what is happening and can easily tune out what isn’t critical. Others want to process non-essential emails while they are gone so they don’t return to 1000 emails to sort through at the end of vacation. Others do not want to read any work email. Whatever makes sense for you and your situation, make sure to follow through on it. Set guidelines for yourself. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies on vacation.  Monitor your guilt.  Some people feel guilty leaving on vacation during the middle of a big project, even if they have given enough notice and set expectations with everyone. To be a productive worker, you need some time away to clear your mind. If you are a person who tends to feel guilty on vacation, give yourself permission to relax. You will return as a more productive employee.  Some individuals have no trouble taking vacation, while others struggle. Setting the correct expectations with others as well as yourself can help ease you into vacation. Will setting the correct expectations ensure you are not bothered over your vacation? No. Our work environment doesn’t operate that way all the time.  Even if you set extremely clear expectations and don’t have access to your work email, you may still get urgent phone calls and requests over your vacation. However, being thoughtful and setting boundaries in advance will help you enjoy that well-deserved nap on the beach.   Wolfgang Career Coaching is a full-service career transition and career development firm that works with clients across the country to find fulfillment in their careers. Texas Exes members have access to resources and discounts on Wolfgang Career Coaching services. Learn more about Wolfgang Career Coaching here.  

How to Balance Work and Play 

Work hard. Play hard.  Work hard. Play when I have some time.  Work hard. Play during the three weeks out of the year I have vacation.  Work hard. Work during some or most of my vacation.  The scenarios above are how many people today view work and time away from work. But how do vacation time and work exist together? Should they exist together? This is an important question, especially with smart phones giving our employers a direct line to us during vacation.  There was a time when vacation meant you were unreachable and couldn’t connect to the office. Times have changed. So how can we recharge our batteries and relax in the 21st century? It’s all a matter of balance.   External Factors to Balancing Work and Vacation  Before you leave on vacation, make sure you do the following:  Give your boss, co-workers, and clients as much notice as possible.  Set expectations with your boss, co-workers. and clients. For example, will you be checking email daily, not at all, or once every three days? Will you be checking your voicemail? If there is an urgent client issue while you are away, what should happen? Will you be traveling with a computer? Will you have internet access? Will you have access to your company emails through your phone? What software will you have access to?  Set appropriate out-of-office messages on your email and voicemail. Leave a back-up number, if possible, for a co-worker or your boss so they can respond to questions while you are out.  It may be clear in your mind how much you intend to work during vacation; but others may have a different idea. Have those conversations before you leave.  Internal Factors  With all that said, many individuals will log in and see what is happening, even if they aren’t expected to. You need to set expectations with yourself on how you are going to handle work while you are away.  Will you check your email?  If so, for what purpose? Some individuals want to stay on top of what is happening and can easily tune out what isn’t critical. Others want to process non-essential emails while they are gone so they don’t return to 1000 emails to sort through at the end of vacation. Others do not want to read any work email. Whatever makes sense for you and your situation, make sure to follow through on it. Set guidelines for yourself. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies on vacation.  Monitor your guilt.  Some people feel guilty leaving on vacation during the middle of a big project, even if they have given enough notice and set expectations with everyone. To be a productive worker, you need some time away to clear your mind. If you are a person who tends to feel guilty on vacation, give yourself permission to relax. You will return as a more productive employee.  Some individuals have no trouble taking vacation, while others struggle. Setting the correct expectations with others as well as yourself can help ease you into vacation. Will setting the correct expectations ensure you are not bothered over your vacation? No. Our work environment doesn’t operate that way all the time.  Even if you set extremely clear expectations and don’t have access to your work email, you may still get urgent phone calls and requests over your vacation. However, being thoughtful and setting boundaries in advance will help you enjoy that well-deserved nap on the beach.   Wolfgang Career Coaching is a full-service career transition and career development firm that works with clients across the country to find fulfillment in their careers. Texas Exes members have access to resources and discounts on Wolfgang Career Coaching services. Learn more about Wolfgang Career Coaching here.  

How to Balance Work and Play 

Work hard. Play hard.  Work hard. Play when I have some time.  Work hard. Play during the three weeks out of the year I have vacation.  Work hard. Work during some or most of my vacation.  The scenarios above are how many people today view work and time away from work. But how do vacation time and work exist together? Should they exist together? This is an important question, especially with smart phones giving our employers a direct line to us during vacation.  There was a time when vacation meant you were unreachable and couldn’t connect to the office. Times have changed. So how can we recharge our batteries and relax in the 21st century? It’s all a matter of balance.   External Factors to Balancing Work and Vacation  Before you leave on vacation, make sure you do the following:  Give your boss, co-workers, and clients as much notice as possible.  Set expectations with your boss, co-workers. and clients. For example, will you be checking email daily, not at all, or once every three days? Will you be checking your voicemail? If there is an urgent client issue while you are away, what should happen? Will you be traveling with a computer? Will you have internet access? Will you have access to your company emails through your phone? What software will you have access to?  Set appropriate out-of-office messages on your email and voicemail. Leave a back-up number, if possible, for a co-worker or your boss so they can respond to questions while you are out.  It may be clear in your mind how much you intend to work during vacation; but others may have a different idea. Have those conversations before you leave.  Internal Factors  With all that said, many individuals will log in and see what is happening, even if they aren’t expected to. You need to set expectations with yourself on how you are going to handle work while you are away.  Will you check your email?  If so, for what purpose? Some individuals want to stay on top of what is happening and can easily tune out what isn’t critical. Others want to process non-essential emails while they are gone so they don’t return to 1000 emails to sort through at the end of vacation. Others do not want to read any work email. Whatever makes sense for you and your situation, make sure to follow through on it. Set guidelines for yourself. Sometimes we are our own worst enemies on vacation.  Monitor your guilt.  Some people feel guilty leaving on vacation during the middle of a big project, even if they have given enough notice and set expectations with everyone. To be a productive worker, you need some time away to clear your mind. If you are a person who tends to feel guilty on vacation, give yourself permission to relax. You will return as a more productive employee.  Some individuals have no trouble taking vacation, while others struggle. Setting the correct expectations with others as well as yourself can help ease you into vacation. Will setting the correct expectations ensure you are not bothered over your vacation? No. Our work environment doesn’t operate that way all the time.  Even if you set extremely clear expectations and don’t have access to your work email, you may still get urgent phone calls and requests over your vacation. However, being thoughtful and setting boundaries in advance will help you enjoy that well-deserved nap on the beach.   Wolfgang Career Coaching is a full-service career transition and career development firm that works with clients across the country to find fulfillment in their careers. Texas Exes members have access to resources and discounts on Wolfgang Career Coaching services. Learn more about Wolfgang Career Coaching here.  

Supporter Spotlight: Sam L. Susser

Tell us about yourself:  I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and our children now represent the sixth generation to live in this community. I completed a BBA in Finance in 1985 and had the privilege of playing on the UT golf team for three years. I was surrounded by athletes with far more talent and focused on business after caddying for Jack Nicklaus when he opened The Hills of Lakeway in Austin during my junior year. It was crystal clear I would never make a living playing against Mark Brooks, Brandel Chamblee, or Jack Nicklaus!  I am married to Catherine Gilbert Susser who graduated with an MPA from UT in 1991 before starting her career at Price Waterhouse. We are truly blessed by our three children, two of whom are presently students at McCombs and one who is entering his junior year at W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi.  Our kids are the fourth generation to attend UT.  How and why did you become involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program?  We initially became involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program because John Adams and Dean Gilligan asked to use our home for an alumni outreach event about five years ago and we were inspired by John’s generosity and vision.  We have been retailers and built a company that had 12,000 employees across Texas and the surrounding states and were keenly aware of the need to improve access to higher education for first generation students and those from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds. However, John and Dean Gilligan helped bring clarity the importance for Texas’ long-term success to also be able to recruit and retain the very best and brightest students here in our state.  As the years rolled by and we saw our own grown children and some of their high-powered peers be actively recruited to attend Ivy League West Coast schools with generous scholarship offers, we began to really appreciate the need to help the University of Texas be competitive in its recruiting efforts for the very best students. When our top kids go out of state, there is a much smaller chance they will come back and innovate, start businesses, teach or practice medicine or help build the future that we need here in Texas. Therefore, we decided to prioritize some of our philanthropic efforts towards helping UT achieve this goal.  Why do you continue to stay involved?  We were so impressed to get to know Scott Kennedy, the initial recipient of our first Forty Acres Scholarship award. He is a rock star, a natural leader and kind to everyone he meets. With benefit of hindsight, we feel great about the decision to invest in the future for kids like Scott.     When the Canfields endowed the Business Honors Program and brought additional resources to help ensure its continued success and a matching challenge grant, we thought that it was appropriate to show our appreciation to the Canfield Family and our appreciation to Dean Hartzell for the great education that our first two children are now receiving at UT by committing to a second Forty Acres Scholarship.  Is there anything else you want people to know about the program?  Like many businesspeople we end up contributing to several great organizations, but the joy that we have received from being part of the campus life at The University of Texas is unmatched. An investment into UT is an investment in our children and in the future of Texas. 

Supporter Spotlight: Sam L. Susser

Tell us about yourself:  I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and our children now represent the sixth generation to live in this community. I completed a BBA in Finance in 1985 and had the privilege of playing on the UT golf team for three years. I was surrounded by athletes with far more talent and focused on business after caddying for Jack Nicklaus when he opened The Hills of Lakeway in Austin during my junior year. It was crystal clear I would never make a living playing against Mark Brooks, Brandel Chamblee, or Jack Nicklaus!  I am married to Catherine Gilbert Susser who graduated with an MPA from UT in 1991 before starting her career at Price Waterhouse. We are truly blessed by our three children, two of whom are presently students at McCombs and one who is entering his junior year at W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi.  Our kids are the fourth generation to attend UT.  How and why did you become involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program?  We initially became involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program because John Adams and Dean Gilligan asked to use our home for an alumni outreach event about five years ago and we were inspired by John’s generosity and vision.  We have been retailers and built a company that had 12,000 employees across Texas and the surrounding states and were keenly aware of the need to improve access to higher education for first generation students and those from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds. However, John and Dean Gilligan helped bring clarity the importance for Texas’ long-term success to also be able to recruit and retain the very best and brightest students here in our state.  As the years rolled by and we saw our own grown children and some of their high-powered peers be actively recruited to attend Ivy League West Coast schools with generous scholarship offers, we began to really appreciate the need to help the University of Texas be competitive in its recruiting efforts for the very best students. When our top kids go out of state, there is a much smaller chance they will come back and innovate, start businesses, teach or practice medicine or help build the future that we need here in Texas. Therefore, we decided to prioritize some of our philanthropic efforts towards helping UT achieve this goal.  Why do you continue to stay involved?  We were so impressed to get to know Scott Kennedy, the initial recipient of our first Forty Acres Scholarship award. He is a rock star, a natural leader and kind to everyone he meets. With benefit of hindsight, we feel great about the decision to invest in the future for kids like Scott.     When the Canfields endowed the Business Honors Program and brought additional resources to help ensure its continued success and a matching challenge grant, we thought that it was appropriate to show our appreciation to the Canfield Family and our appreciation to Dean Hartzell for the great education that our first two children are now receiving at UT by committing to a second Forty Acres Scholarship.  Is there anything else you want people to know about the program?  Like many businesspeople we end up contributing to several great organizations, but the joy that we have received from being part of the campus life at The University of Texas is unmatched. An investment into UT is an investment in our children and in the future of Texas. 

Supporter Spotlight: Sam L. Susser

Tell us about yourself:  I was born and raised in Corpus Christi, Texas and our children now represent the sixth generation to live in this community. I completed a BBA in Finance in 1985 and had the privilege of playing on the UT golf team for three years. I was surrounded by athletes with far more talent and focused on business after caddying for Jack Nicklaus when he opened The Hills of Lakeway in Austin during my junior year. It was crystal clear I would never make a living playing against Mark Brooks, Brandel Chamblee, or Jack Nicklaus!  I am married to Catherine Gilbert Susser who graduated with an MPA from UT in 1991 before starting her career at Price Waterhouse. We are truly blessed by our three children, two of whom are presently students at McCombs and one who is entering his junior year at W.B. Ray High School in Corpus Christi.  Our kids are the fourth generation to attend UT.  How and why did you become involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program?  We initially became involved in the Forty Acres Scholars Program because John Adams and Dean Gilligan asked to use our home for an alumni outreach event about five years ago and we were inspired by John’s generosity and vision.  We have been retailers and built a company that had 12,000 employees across Texas and the surrounding states and were keenly aware of the need to improve access to higher education for first generation students and those from the lowest socioeconomic backgrounds. However, John and Dean Gilligan helped bring clarity the importance for Texas’ long-term success to also be able to recruit and retain the very best and brightest students here in our state.  As the years rolled by and we saw our own grown children and some of their high-powered peers be actively recruited to attend Ivy League West Coast schools with generous scholarship offers, we began to really appreciate the need to help the University of Texas be competitive in its recruiting efforts for the very best students. When our top kids go out of state, there is a much smaller chance they will come back and innovate, start businesses, teach or practice medicine or help build the future that we need here in Texas. Therefore, we decided to prioritize some of our philanthropic efforts towards helping UT achieve this goal.  Why do you continue to stay involved?  We were so impressed to get to know Scott Kennedy, the initial recipient of our first Forty Acres Scholarship award. He is a rock star, a natural leader and kind to everyone he meets. With benefit of hindsight, we feel great about the decision to invest in the future for kids like Scott.     When the Canfields endowed the Business Honors Program and brought additional resources to help ensure its continued success and a matching challenge grant, we thought that it was appropriate to show our appreciation to the Canfield Family and our appreciation to Dean Hartzell for the great education that our first two children are now receiving at UT by committing to a second Forty Acres Scholarship.  Is there anything else you want people to know about the program?  Like many businesspeople we end up contributing to several great organizations, but the joy that we have received from being part of the campus life at The University of Texas is unmatched. An investment into UT is an investment in our children and in the future of Texas.