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Category Archives: OwenBloggers
There and Ba[n]k Again: An Accountant’s Tale by Paul Whitmire
[my apologies to J.R.R. Tolkien for the punny title]
It had to be a Chick-Fil-A sandwich… it only seemed fitting that the call about my first “big boy” MBA job would come while I was eating the same sandwich that I was making during my first real job as a “chicken maker” at Chick-Fil-A ten years ago while in high school.
Okay… that’s a lie… I was eating the new spicy chicken sandwich which wasn’t around when I worked at Chick-Fil-A in high school, but it was still delicious nonetheless. If you haven’t tried it yet, I highly recommend the new spicy chic… wait, we’re getting off topic. Back to the story!
Coming to business school, I had set my career goal to work for an investment bank. Before Owen, I worked for a public accounting firm in their audit practice focusing on Energy companies in Houston, TX. Given my experience working with financial statements, especially companies that had to consistently raise money to build new rigs, buy new barges, or acquire new pipelines, I felt like I had a good background for joining an investment bank. My job as an auditor involved reviewing supporting documents to ensure that balances in a company’s financial statements were properly stated in all materi…
Posted in Guest & Alumni Bloggers, Job Search, OwenBloggers Tagged banking, finance, internship, Recruiting 1 Comment
Don’t Waste Your Life
On [a rainy] Easter Sunday, it is particularly relevant to write a few thoughts about the past few years of my life here in Nashville. Today is about meaning and significance. It begs remembrance, reverence, and purpose. I feel that I must call myself to account for my time in this city; and as it has revolved much around business school, I will try to especially hone in on that context.
The title of this writing is borrowed from the reverend John Piper, who wrote a book by the same name that was given to me by my church community upon graduating from high school near Charleston, South Carolina. I had absolutely no idea nor conviction as to why I should have read it at the time, because I was 18 and ruled the world. But its message was as relevant then as it is today, will be tomorrow, and I suspect in the last minutes of my life. It’s also a great title because I figure that 97% of anyone glancing at this only wanting the twitter version, or executive summary, can already walk away with it.
Posted in Graduate Life, Guest & Alumni Bloggers, OwenBloggers Tagged business school, International Experience, project pyramid Leave a comment
Interview with Owen professor Tim Vogus
Tim Vogus recently sat down with OwenBloggers to discuss his teaching approach, Owen community, and his burgeoning rap career:
Posted in Owen Podcast Series, OwenBloggers, Stephanie Dozier '13, Why Owen? Tagged healthcare, hop, human organizational performance, negotiation, owen podcast series, professors Leave a comment
Learning from the Oracle: Another Perspective from the Warren Buffett Trip
I almost didn’t make it. The week of our planned trip to meet with Warren Buffett, a snowstorm went through the northern US. Twelve inches of snow was expected the evening we were supposed to arrive in Omaha, and so everyone in our group of 20 who could got excused from class on Thursday (the final day of Mod 3) to fly out early in the morning instead of late afternoon. However, about ten of us had to do final presentations and were stuck with the original flight plan. On the way to the airport we were anxiously checking flight updates and making contingency plans for flying from Minneapolis to Omaha in the morning if we happened to get stuck there overnight. When we arrived in Minneapolis and our second flight was already boarding, I think it was the first time it really hit us that we were actually getting to do this. We were really going to meet Warren Buffett.
Posted in Graduate Life, OwenBloggers, Stephanie Dozier '13 Tagged mba, tips, travel, Warren Buffett 1 Comment
Learning from the Oracle: Owen visits with Warren Buffett
Business school is bursting with unique forums in which students have access to some of the greatest and brightest minds in modern industry. These standout moments can be pivotal points in shaping the next generation of business creativity and innovation. Prior to Spring Break, 20 Owen students were treated to just such an opportunity—the rare chance to sit down for a Q&A with one of the world’s greatest investors, philanthropists, and public figures, Mr. Warren Buffett. The lucky group traveled to Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, arriving in tact despite a major snowstorm that threatened the event (and precluded other chosen schools from making the journey).
The trip was a brainchild of Owen finance professor Philip Woodlief, who had reached out to Buffett through a personal connection to convey Vanderbilt’s interest in visiting the investor. With the meeting arranged, preparations began months in advance, with students doing their research by reading up on Buffett’s philosophies on investing, politics, and life. The group convened on multiple occasions to formulate a list of poignant questions to pose to the “Oracle of Omaha”, trying to focus on themes that had not been addressed in the litany of Buffett materials already available.
Posted in Brock Hardisty, Graduate Life, Industry Insights, OwenBloggers Tagged travel, Warren Buffett 1 Comment