As a Stanford Alum, Mario Stephen Vazquez was excited to move to Austin and attend McCombs for his MBA. His MBA journey started early as a Consortium Member, which helped him land an internship prior to starting business school. Despite this, Vazquez immersed himself in learning in the classroom and connecting with his classmates. In this interview, Vazquez shared his highlights from his first year, and his advice for how prospective students can prepare for business school.
MBASchooled: What did you do prior to business school, and why did you choose to come to business school?
Prior to business school I worked as the Director of Admissions at my alma mater, Cathedral High School in El Paso, TX. For three years I had the honor of helping students, many of them low-income and first-generation, such as myself, take advantage of Cathedral’s 100% college acceptance rate. It was a joy to know that my work directly correlated to the improvement of students’ lives and the lives of their families. Unfortunately, I also worked with students for whom Cathedral could not transcend the challenges they faced outside of school, oftentimes leading to their withdrawal.
My experience with these students taught me that sometimes it requires an ecosystem of support, meeting academic and nonacademic needs, to facilitate students’ success. My decision to attend business school grew both from my passion for education and from my aspiration to be able to scale a school’s impact and influence beyond its doors through a well rounded knowledge of business that is built on academic theory and experiential learning.
MBASchooled: After you decided to attend business school, what was your timeline like leading up to business school? What did you do leading up to coming to school, and when did you arrive on campus?
I am fortunate enough to be a member of the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM). CGSM is an alliance of some of the world’s leading graduate business schools and business organizations that work to reduce the significant under representation of African Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Native Americans in both our member schools’ enrollments and the ranks of global management.
Through CGSM I, along with the other 40 incoming Consortium students at McCombs, was afforded the opportunity to recruit early for our MBA internships. Prior to interviewing through CGSM, Texas McCombs was fantastic in providing my classmates and I six weeks of interview preparation that ranged from developing our individual value propositions and to company research to mock interviews with McCombs’ career management team. Through this pre-MBA opportunity I was fortunate to secure my internship with The Coca-Cola Company.
MBASchooled: The first semester of business school can be an exciting but challenging time. How did you navigate these challenges early on, and what resources, programs, etc at McCombs were helpful in your transition?
The first semester at McCombs, which we call Core, is challenging and often referred to as “drinking from a firehose.” Having been out of school for six years, coupled with not having background in the core academic courses, I came to McCombs ready to take advantage of all the support systems available.
An indispensable resource at McCombs are the study teams that every student is assigned to prior to arriving on campus. Each team is composed of students with complementary skill sets that serve to reduce gaps of knowledge and provide the best chance for academic success. In addition to study teams, McCombs’ professors, teaching assistants, and tutors are highly accessible and excellent teachers, which makes it far more manageable to digest and understand the large amount of content you are expected to master in a short period of time.
MBASchooled: During your first year, was your favorite experience at McCombs during your first year, and why?
My favorite experience, thus far, has been participating in the McCombs Ambassador Committee (MAC) – our student ambassador group. At Cathedral, my primary role was recruiting students and serving as the face of the school. Serving on MAC affords me the opportunity to perform work similar to my pre-MBA role, which I loved, and thus help students learn what makes McCombs a great place to learn, grow, and excel both as a professional and human being.
MBASchooled: What part of McCombs has been most enjoyable to you so far?
I have most enjoyed being a student again. As an undergraduate, I did not fully appreciate the privilege of being in a classroom. One of my goals coming into business school was to be the focused learner I encouraged my students to be. It has been a great sense of pride for me to have this second chance, and more importantly, to make the most of it.
MBASchooled: What was the most important lesson that you learned in business school during your first year?
The most important lesson I have learned is that hard work is the dream. No one can guarantee success but what you can always give is an effort that merits accomplishment. For me, the biggest takeaway thus far has been my ability to accept whatever outcome occurs and being able to rest easy knowing that I did my best.
MBASchooled: Knowing what you know now, what else would you have done prior to business school to prepare for the first semester?
I would have invested time in taking at least one Finance and Accounting course, either online or through the local university. I also would have taken the time to become proficient at excel. You do not need to invest in these resources in order to be successful but given the free time I had, it would most certainly have been a worthy investment of time.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for how prospective MBA students should prepare for going to business school
Research every single thing your program has to offer. Do not leave any stone unturned because the days go by quick and the pressures of the day can cause you to overlook academic and nonacademic opportunities that are both fun and relevant. Be mindful of what extracurricular activities you apply for but once you are sure of your pursuit, do so without hesitation and with diligent effort. Be of the mindset that everything within the program belongs to you and is there for the taking.
Do not forget the people who helped you earn this opportunity. If you can visit family, friends, and mentors before you start your MBA, do so. Let them share in your success and keep them updated on your successes and your failures. There are so many people who are capable of being in the position you find yourself in, but are not able to partake or even think about an MBA. Be proud of your hard work up to this point and also be grateful that people cared enough about you to help bring your dreams to fruition.
MBASchooled: What was the academic experience like? What helped you manage the classroom experience?
The academic experience at McCombs is challenging but deeply satisfying. The first semester at McCombs is broken up into two mini semesters called Core 1 and Core 2. Core 1 is exclusively quantitative, where students take Finance, Statistics, Economics, and Accounting. The work is plenty and intense but McCombs provides a bevy of resources at your disposal. If you take advantage of them and are diligent about your work, there is no reason you will not be able to make a decent grade, and more importantly, learn a ton in the process.
Personally, I leaned heavily on my study team and the wide availability of office hours. McCombs assigns each student a five person study team once they arrive on campus. These study teams, at least throughout Core 1, are the people you submit assignments with throughout Core (homework during Core is group work). McCombs is adept at creating teams that have a variety of skill sets i.e. you’ll have people with backgrounds in finance, marketing, accounting etc. that act as experts within your team and can serve as initial points of guidance as you make your way through the assignments. Throughout the year, and especially during Core 1, McCombs also places a heavy emphasis on office hours with both professors and their teaching assistants. I vividly, and now fondly, remember spending at least 6 hours a week with Professor Clemens or Professor Shamoun, to ingrain the concepts and applications of arbitrage and game theory in my mind. If you’re worried or at all nervous about business school because of your lack of experience in “business” classes, don’t be. Acknowledge where a gap exists and take advantage of the resources your school provides so that you can become great.
MBASchooled: What tips or best practices do you have to help incoming MBA students prepare for a virtual MBA Experience?
Be even more proactive about meeting people. I’m a natural introvert so to put myself in a position where I would meet the most people, I decided to make the McCombs Program Office my personal study room and place of social gathering. Literally, I would sit myself down and read there and say hi to everyone that walked in, from staff to current and prospective students. Over time, I became a staple in that office that if I didn’t show up for more than a few hours people asked where I was. In short, recognize what your personality is and give yourself the appropriate nudge to help yourself grow and meet people.
Now, in a virtual environment, it’s important to proactively make yourself known to your classmates and the people (professors, staff, deans, career coaches etc.) who are there to help you be great. Schedule a chat just to meet people, even if you don’t have a specific agenda, attend office hours even if you don’t have questions related to the class material (say hi and ask for best practices), and make a habit of meeting a new classmate every week (it’ll be awkward at first but it gets better). You don’t have to be great right away or everyday but you can be better everyday at making connections.
MBASchooled: Even though we are still learning what the MBA Experience will be like this fall (ex: virtual, in-person, hybrid) how can incoming students prepare for first year recruiting? Is there anything different they need to be prepared for?
Absolutely get to know your program’s Career Management Team. These individuals need to know your hopes, dreams, and the types of roles/companies you’re looking for. 1) so they can best prepare you and 2) so they can nudge you when a company or role that fits you becomes available. Also, get as much information as you can about what companies will be visiting or recruiting at your campus and how you can engage with their recruiters or employees prior to any internship/full-time application deadlines.
At McCombs, companies hold office hours, which students can use to gather information about companies in a more informal manner. Learn if there are similar opportunities at your program and take advantage of them. I also suggest that you maintain focus on the industry or type of role you’re interested in, but to keep an open mind. There are plenty of cool and fascinating opportunities within business that I’ve learned about in my first year, that prior to McCombs I even knew existed. Make the time to learn about companies and speak with people whose companies and roles that don’t always, on the surface, seem to match your own passions. You might be surprised at the awesome pathways that you can unearth.
Finally, in a virtual environment you won’t have the physical presence of your classmates and career team to remind you about preparing for your interviews. Make sure to get all the resources you can from the career team about interview preparation. They will definitely have templates and guides on all the different types of interviews i.e. behavioral, case, etc. Get those resources and schedule a recurring meeting with them or your classmates to discuss your progress.
Being proactive and accountable is key, even more so when you might be in your apartment or home alone working. Finally don’t get too high or too low, regardless of what happens in recruiting. But always make sure to put in the effort. I firmly ascribe to the message conveyed in the following quote, “ ‘Tis not in mortals to command success. But we can do better, we can deserve it.” Put in the work. If you accomplish a goal, that’s great, keep working. If you didn’t. That’s great, keep working. I am 100% convinced that I was able to present my best self in my interviews and recruiting process because I prepared and knew I had put in the hard work to deserve opportunities. Whether or not I got them, I knew that I could sleep at night believing in my self-worth. Out of my entire business school experience, thus far, that’s been the most impactful lesson for me.
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