2021 Master of Professional Accounting Spring Commencement | McCombs School of Business
(energetic upbeat music) (calm upbeat music) - Hello, I'm Michael Clement, Chair of the Department of Accounting at the University of Texas at Austin. We're here today to celebrate the achievements of our students who've completed the requirements for the MPA degree. We'd like to welcome all family and friends who've joined us today. You are the indispensable partners who've helped our students cross the finish line in this COVID-19 environment.
15 months ago, we had no idea that we'd be standing here in this situation today. Who would have thought there would have been a COVID-19 virus? Everybody lost something through this process. Our students weren't able to be with some of their friends, faculty wasn't able to be with the students and maybe most of all we won't be able to celebrate this graduation ceremony together. But there were some positives; we did come together as a team and we did some pretty impressive things.
Who would think that over such a short period of time we could transform the University of Texas and McCombs in particular from an all in-person institution to one with significant online capability? In the case of McComb's required significant coordination. We had 6,500 students, 330 staff members, 250 faculty members and 528 courses that we had to move to an online environment. I hope at a minimum, we can take pride in what we did together. That was a very big accomplishment.
I hope our MPA graduates will also take pride in the tradition that they are continuing. Our MPA program celebrates its 74th anniversary this year. The Department of Accounting celebrates this 110th anniversary.
The UT pass rate on the CPA exam is one of the highest in the country. In most years, we have at least one student who's won the Elijah Watt Sells Award. That's a very special award. In order to win that award, you have to pass all four parts of your CPA exam in one sitting, with an average score of better than 95%. And 10 of the last 11 years we've had at least one student win the Elijah Watt Sells Award. And in 2019, we had 12 out of 137 winners from the University of Texas, that was more than any other school in the country.
Not surprisingly, our program is ranked number one in many ways. U.S. News & World Report has ranked us number one for the last 15 years consecutively, and the Public Accounting Report has ranked us number one in 15 of the last 18 surveys that they've administered. For our graduates, perhaps the most important tradition that they are continuing is a tradition of strong placement. 93% of our May and August graduates have either accepted or received offers.
Not surprisingly, 73% of those students will be here in Texas, Texas is a great state after all. The remainder will be scattered across the country, and some will be in other parts of the world. So, what's next for these graduates you ask? First, graduates, we ask that you stay connected to McCombs and to the accounting department in particular. We ask that you pay it forward. We hope that someone has paid it forward for you, and we hope that you'll feel comfortable paying it forward for students that come behind you. The one thing I've come to realize about having a degree is, it's only as valuable as its reputation at that point in time.
So for example, in 2041 people won't remember what degree was worth, what your reputation was back in 2021, they're going to value your degree based on what it looks like in 2041. So, it really is incumbent upon all of us to try to keep this degree as strong, as long as possible and make sure we maintain that number one ranking. I'd like to say for the faculty we do congratulate you on your significant achievement. We know the MPA program is hard and we know you had to work hard to do what you've done and to get here today, we're so proud of you. We enjoyed teaching you and we wish you great happiness. We also ask that you stay in touch.
We ask that you stay in touch via email or social media, LinkedIn or even come to campus to visit us. That's the best way for you to see us. But we will miss you and we do want you to come back and we do want to keep that relationship going. Let me close by saying this, soon, the world will know about you, what your faculty already knows. And that is, that you're a great group of students but maybe more importantly you're great people with a lot of resilience.
You've been tested by the COVID-19 virus and you came through like champs. And now I'd like to introduce the interim dean of the McCombs School and accounting professor, Dean Lil Mills. - As an accounting professor and your interim dean, congratulations on earning your Master of Professional Accounting degree, and graduating from the top ranked accounting program in the nation.
And now I would like to introduce our guest speaker and my friend, Tammy Romo. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Southwest Airlines. We are so excited to welcome Tammy back to her alma mater, as our 2021 MPA commencement speaker.
Tammy received her bachelor's in accounting from the McCombs School of Business. Tammy is currently a member of the Texas McCombs Dean's Advisory Council and is an emeritus member of the Department of Accounting Advisory Council. Tammy is a 30 year Southwest Airlines veteran who has held many positions with the company including Senior Director of Investor Relations, Comptroller, Treasurer, and Senior Vice President of Planning before being promoted to her current role as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to joining Southwest, she was an audit manager at Coopers & Lybrand in Dallas.
In 2014, Tammy was named as an outstanding CFO for a public company by DCEO magazine and was named CFO of the year by the Dallas Business Journal. Without further ado, Tammy Romo. - Welcome fellow Longhorns and proud family and friends of the graduates today. And a huge congratulations to you, the graduating class of 2021. While I wish we could all be together in person, it is my honor to be with you, even if only virtually. As we continue to live and work in these unprecedented times, the reason we are gathered is no different than if we were face-to-face.
Today's celebration is all about your incredible accomplishments. You are graduating from a top accounting program, and have demonstrated you have what it takes to be successful as you begin your professional careers. In addition to the normal grueling challenges of being an MPA student, you have had to overcome the hardships endured during this painful pandemic. I am so proud of you.
As a parent of a daughter who just graduated last week from the University of Georgia, I know how emotionally difficult it has been to stay focused and motivated at times in an online world. The amount of change and uncertainty you have had to manage on top of your heavy school load has been extraordinary. No doubt your emotions have run high at times but you made it. And you should be so proud of your hard work and talents that got you this far.
And while we all have our individual talents and come from different walks of life, there is something we all have in common, and that's the need for human connection. From this day forward, I encourage you to reach out and stay in touch with family and friends, regardless of how busy you become. Show gratitude to those who are there for you both personally and professionally. A genuine thank you and a smile can make all the difference in the world. While it's been 37 years, I can vividly remember being where you are today.
I had all kinds of mixed thoughts swirling in my mind. Relief that there would be no more exhausting all-nighters studying for exams, stress over how I was going to pay off school loans. Admiration and gratitude to my mom who taught me to never give up as she earned her GED as an adult raising three children.
Gratitude to the amazing professors and faculty at UT who helped shape my life. And sadness over how much I was going to miss my best friend I met as a potluck roommate my first year at Kinsolving. All these emotions consumed me while at the same time being so excited about moving to Dallas to work for a big eight accounting firm. Not to mention, very happy my boyfriend I met in the CBA building following a really tough intermediate accounting exam was also going to be working in Dallas for a big eight accounting firm. I've been married to that boy now for 36 years.
I have so much to be grateful for, and so much of it started at UT. I share all of this because I want you to soak in this moment. Reflect on everything you have done to get to where you are today. And if you take away anything from the last year and a half in the midst of a worldwide pandemic, always remember that life can throw you a curve ball at any moment. Remember how that didn't stop you from achieving what you set out to do, earning your master's degree.
As I look back on my life and all those who have influenced me the most, several of them Longhorns by the way, the key to crushing those curve balls is having the combination of a strong mind and a strong heart. As a wife, mother and a financial executive of the 14th ranked most admired company by Fortune, I believe you must have a strong mind. Your incredible achievement today tells me you have the work ethic, accountability, adaptability, preparedness and professional competencies to be successful.
But having a strong mind is so much more. It's mental toughness that you develop by investing in yourself every single day in a way that is impactful uniquely to you to maintain a positive attitude. It could be reading, exercising, meditating, giving back to your community, whatever works for you. I walk almost every day to unwind, often reflecting on what I could have done better.
I've heard from my children over the years, "Life is not always fair." I tell them that's true. Life can be stressful and you will have disappointments. But it's how you get out of bed every morning and approach those challenges that matter. Just get up, do your best and never give up. I have found that those challenges often lead to the next opportunity.
In addition to continually developing your strong mind, I urge you to always listen to your heart. Let it lead you to always do what's right, and to treat others with kindness and respect. Let it give you the confidence to inform and make those tough decisions. Let it remind you that your smile and positivity can brighten someone's day in ways you can't imagine. Let it remind you to not take yourself too seriously and to have fun and freely share your knowledge to help those around you.
A strong heart enriches your life by enriching the lives of others. And it's the consistency of having both a strong heart and a strong mind that will help lead you to a life rich with love, peacefulness and success. Stay strong and healthy everyone. Congratulations again, Hook 'em. - Congratulations to each of you.
You've accomplished so much and I'm very proud of you. A special congratulations to my nephew, Wilson Vick, who is graduating with his MPA this Spring. Well done Will.
Commencement is a time for celebration and recognition. Maybe it's even more important in this environment to take time to reflect on all that you've accomplished. To say you've persevered is an understatement.
As part of this celebration, I'm fortunate because I have the honor of recognizing some of our outstanding graduates. Each year, the CPA Accounting Education Foundation sponsors an award for an MPA student who has demonstrated outstanding accounting knowledge. This year, the CPA Accounting Education Foundation Award goes to Evan Anixter. According to one of his instructors, Evan was a great guy, very, very smart too, hugely considered a fellow as well. Another instructor added that he was a serious and dedicated student.
He always put in extra effort and took learning the material very seriously, as well as sitting on the front row carefully taking notes, asking relevant questions, he was very engaged in every class. He was a leader in his group project, handled himself well in a technical presentation and was well respected by his peers. Evan we appreciate all your hard work and congratulations. Each year, the Federation of Schools of Accountancy sponsors an award for an MPA student who has excelled academically and shows promise as an outstanding professional. As always, we had a number of excellent candidates but can only choose one. This year's winner is Joel Binwa.
Here are a few comments from his MPA professors. "Joel was the top student across all sections of my class. He had a great attitude and interacted well with his classmates. He impressed me as being very mature and well-rounded. People are naturally drawn to him.
I wouldn't be surprised if he is the first among his peers to be promoted to partner. He is the best TA I've had in the 11 years I've worked at UT Austin. He's professional friendly and has a bright career ahead of him. Joel will soon join EY's office as an assurance associate." Joel congratulations. Each year, the MPA council acknowledges a member of the traditional MPA class who has made an outstanding contribution to the program through personal character, class spirit and campus involvement.
I am pleased to present the Outstanding Traditional MPA Award to a student who has a great personality and is a friend to all. Here are just a few of the comments from his fellow classmates. "He is naturally curious and always asks good questions. He is very patient and is willing to explain confusing material. He is great to work with in a group too, responsible and someone you can always rely on.
He will become a boss people are happy to work for. He's in nearly all my classes, ask great questions that promote my own learning. He went out of his way to always help explain topics to me during study sessions and would even follow up with emails to make sure he explained everything correctly.
He also took the initiative to create multiple study groups in the fall to allow for MPAs to socialize and study in groups as much as possible during such a socially isolated time. He is a great student and more importantly a great person. He actively organized study groups to help students meet and coordinate at the beginning of the semester. He is, he regularly takes a leadership role in class and on group projects. He is one of the most kind, brilliant and hardworking people I've ever met."
The Outstanding Traditional MPA Award goes to Daniyal Qassam. Daniyal congratulations and we're going to miss you. Next I'd like to recognize a group of students that exemplify the MPA community, our MPA ambassadors. A group of 10 current students who volunteer their time to help with student panels, give virtual tours of McCombs, connect with prospective students and so much more. Thank you ambassadors for your time and dedication in supporting the MPA office and engaging with future MPAs. Well done and congratulations to you.
Each year, the MPA program office recognizes one MPA student who has gone above and beyond in supporting the program. This award recognizes an MPA student who demonstrates leadership and service that not only advances the causes of the MPA student body, but the mission of the MPA program. This year's award goes to Jeremy Green. Jeremy has worked as a student assistant for the MPA office for a majority of his time in the program. He is always first to volunteer to help out with panels or events, he goes above and beyond to help out not only the office but his fellow students.
We can always count on Jeremy for outstanding work and a positive attitude. In addition, Jeremy has served as a TA and a tutor to us fellow classmates. Jeremy our office is going to miss you, congratulations.
Each year, the James W. Deitrick Outstanding Faculty Award is given to a faculty member recognized as an outstanding professor by the graduating class. This year's winner has been described as by no means an easy professor. She's also achieved an amazing feat, she made an extremely abnormal academic year seem normal.
And this incredible passion cares to challenge her students to get the most out of each course. One of her students said, "Every student I know that has taken her courses including myself have loved not only her humor, but her ability to motivate students to be the best versions of themselves. She inspires me." Today I'm honored to present the Outstanding Professor Award to Kristina Zvinakis. Congratulations Kristina.
- This year we have an additional announcement with respect to our faculty award. Not one, but two James W. Deitrick Outstanding Faculty Award winners were chosen by the MPA students. The second winner is a faculty member who is extremely dedicated both to the MPA program and to all of the students in his courses. In their nominations students noted that, "He is the reason I decided to apply to the MPA program.
He is very accommodating and cares that his students learn, and he takes a genuine interest in the success of his students and catches up with them on a regular basis years after he has had them in class." The staff who work with him also added that, "He has a genuine passion for teaching and cares about each and every student. And, it doesn't matter the day or time he will make time for his students to come in and chat or get help. Around midterms and finals, it is not uncommon to see 10 or more students in his office at a time for review."
We appreciate his dedication to the MPA program and to all of our students. I am honored to present the Outstanding Faculty Award to Steve Smith. Congratulations Steve. - Each year representatives from the MPA graduating class address the assembly. This year the graduating student speakers are Jeremy Greene and Tara Mehta.
First up, we have Jeremy Greene. Jeremy is an integrated MPA student from Austin, Texas. During his years as an MPA, he interned at VMware, KPMG, and PwC before signing full-time with PwC's New York City office. As mentioned earlier, Jeremy has been heavily involved in the MPA program working as a student assistant, teaching assistant, and a research assistant for the Department of Accounting.
Jeremy bleeds burnt orange and even had a UT-themed bar mitzvah. On a typical day, you can find Jeremy talking to someone about Marvel or movie and TV trivia. Following Jeremy, we have Tara Mehta. Tara is an integrated MPA from Montgomery, Texas where she was the valedictorian at her high school. During her time at UT, she was actively involved in campus events and entertainment and worked as a resident assistant for four years in the San Jacinto dorm. Tara interned with a french fry company in New Zealand, Dell Technologies, and PwC.
And she will be starting her career at Dell in their Accounting Development Program. In her free time, Tara enjoys playing pickleball, and she was an eight-time intermural champion at UT. Lastly, congratulations again to each and every one of our graduates. I know all of you will do great things and make the world a better place.
Hook 'em! - Thank you, Steve. Good evening to the faculty, staff, the administration at the McCombs School of Business and the Master in Professional Accounting Program, to the family and friends viewing online and to the graduates for the class of 2021. Congratulations to my fellow graduates from the MPA program. We made it! We are now graduates from the most prestigious accounting program in the country, which has held that distinction for 11 straight years. I'm proud to be a part of this legacy and to join the strong MPA alumni network of 20,000. Being in this program has been a highlight of my university experience.
Entering the program, I think all of us were a bit nervous about the concepts class. And now in our last year, with senioritis fully in place, we can casually roll out a bed to log into our last couple of classes. At this point, Excel has become second nature to us, and it is always satisfying to see a well-formatted spreadsheet.
I remember in my audit class I spent hours on an Excel spreadsheet, and I was so proud to show my friends. I thought I was Tony Stark when I was showing it off, but my friends thought of me more as a Sheldon Cooper. Through all the late nights, difficult exams, or going to Abel's after a taxing week, what I enjoyed most was the shared experience of it all. Not only did we juggle the demands of the program, recruiting season, and enjoying a life outside of school, but we accomplished all three in the midst of a global pandemic and a once-in-a-century ice storm in Texas.
This past year has been almost straight out of the pages of the history textbook. During the winter storm in February, I was living alone, and my family and friends were scared of what might happen. It was especially hard for those who could not rely on their families out of the area or anyone not in walking distance. But what struck me most was how our community responded. Students relied on each other to bring food and water while still studying for the upcoming CPA exam.
Professors changed gears a few weeks into the start of classes. This semester has especially proven it's not just our determination to finally get that degree, but our success is dependent upon the people who support us along the way. I would like to take a moment to fully appreciate and recognize the faculty and staff. The opportunities, learning, and career development they brought the students was unparalleled. Despite our professors' busy schedules, they always seem to make time for us.
They're a role model of leadership and take pride in our success. I truly felt prepared for my internships and for my CPA exams. Even outside of accounting, they took an individual interest in our lives, which illustrated why they are considered world-renowned. And despite the amount of material they were required to teach, they adjusted the curriculum without compromising the integrity of the program. Thank you for everything you do and continue to do is to support us.
The support we received from our family and friends is an integral component in this journey as well. Sometimes that support can look like when you tell your parents over the phone about how complex deferred taxes can be, and they would tell me that's what TurboTax is for. Although you may not be familiar with the very riveting topic of deferred taxes, thank you regardless for just being there unconditionally and supporting us as we complained about it. I think I speak for everyone when I say our families are our biggest support groups and our biggest cheerleaders. After today, many of us will go our separate ways whether it's public accounting, industry, or still searching for the right fit. Although many of us in our first job will say a work-life balance is considered out of scope, I implore you to keep it as a priority as much as possible and to stay connected with your fellow graduates.
Even after 10 years, you can reconnect with someone from this class, and you can both say, "Remember the time that the investment banker told us "that we would have to work 180 hours a week "and we would enjoy every minute of it? "Yeah. Good times." Congratulations to the graduates celebrating today. And remember, your world started here. Now go change the world. Hook 'em, horns! - Hello, fellow graduates, family, friends, professors, and of course, pets.
It is indeed an honor to be in front of you today, delivering the commencement speech. Now I have to start this speech in the only way there is to begin every Zoom call, by first asking, can everyone hear me okay? Who would of thought that we'd become so accustomed to hearing phrases such as, "Can everyone see my screen?" or "I think you're muted"? You know, growing up my parents always told me that I wouldn't accomplish anything by lying in bed all day. But look at me now. After a year of taking online classes in my pajamas, I have a whole master's degree. To some, it may seem like the I in IMPA should now stand for Internet.
But I think that impeccable is much more accurate. And for our TMPAs, tenacious has a nice ring to it. We all know that we are entering uncertain, and yes, of course, unprecedented times, but there is something that I know is certain. The class of 2021 is resilient. Graduates, after today, we aren't just masters in professional accounting but also masters in prevailing over adversity.
Now, when I told my family and friends that I would be delivering the commencement speech, they gave me some advice about calming my nerves when speaking to a large audience. In particular someone said, just imagine everyone in their underwear. While that advice may have been helpful pre-COVID, I can't help but think that that imagination has turned into a reality. Last year when this pandemic first started, Corona became more than just a beer that we consumed during spring break. Instead, it consumed our spring break.
Within a few weeks, things got ugly when all the hair, nail, waxing, and tanning salons all shut down. Even after a year of quarantining, I'm still not sure why they call it a novel coronavirus. It's basically a long, never ending movie whose main character keeps changing.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that during my last year of college my hands would consume more alcohol than my mouth. In fact, I washed my hands so much that my notes from high school resurfaced. This past year has been a true learning experience. COVID taught us how to turn our homes into a gym, a restaurant, office, bar, classroom, movie theater, and so much more. We also learned how to properly wash our hands, make whipped coffee, and the importance of keeping a good supply of toilet paper in our homes. Now no graduation speech would be complete without some words of wisdom from the speaker.
These pieces of advice are specifically tailored to my fellow accountants and those that have to deal with us. First, while your parents may have taken a tax deduction for your college expenses, I don't think the IRS recognize gifts to their graduates as contributions to charity. Second, you can count on your accountant to be calm, composed, and methodical.
"Why?", you ask. 'Cause they have strong internal controls. Third, being an accountant has taught me that there are three kinds of people in this world, those that say, "2 plus 2 equals 4," those that say, "I'm not sure," and accountants who say, "What would you like it to be?" Fourth, even if your pooch does his business in your backyard, you can't deduct the backyard as a home office.
Lastly, if you can't fall asleep at night, ask your accountant about their day at work. And I'm sure many people in the audience may not have gotten some of my coronavirus jokes, but if they wait for two weeks, we'll know if they got it. On behalf of the graduating class of 2021, I would like to end my speech by saying that we're thankful to our professors, academic advisors, and career coaches for their support and guidance; TikTok and Tiger King for their endless quarantine entertainment; Peter Olinto and Tom Garrity for their continued education on the path to becoming CPAs for so many of us; and lastly to our loved ones, some of whom we saw way too much of, while others we unfortunately didn't get to see much of at all. Congratulations, class of 2021.
You did it. Be proud of yourself. You got your masters. Now get your horns up. Thank you, and hook 'em.
(light music) - Emily Aguiar. Shabad Singh Ahluwalia. Danyal Ali. Jay Anand. Evan Anixter. Sheiva Ansary.
Gabriela Consuelo Arredondo. Brian Austin. Morgan Emma Baer. Allison Bao. Paulina Barron. Ashley Bartels.
Danielle Beaulieu. Mark Bejemino. Sam Benjamin. Joel Benoit. Matthew J. Berkowitz.
Radhika Kirtikumar Bhakta. Amanda Lynn Blevins. Philip Matthew Block.
Eddy Boche. Sam Bragg. - Adam Bressler. Vanessa Brinson.
Joseph Buehler. Mariana Caldas. Ulissa Abigail Calix Maradiaga. Jewels Campbell. Evan Canright.
Natalia Capetillo. Samuel Carson. Ryan Castorena. Vlad Cazacu. Naomi Chao.
Noah Charnas. Jessie Chen. Winnie Chen. Yimei Chen.
Joseph Cherrin. - Jack Chessmore. Marley Claire Chilton. Adrianna Chukwuma. Jennifer Clark. Aaron Cole.
Kennedy Cook. Wade Cope. Syd Criswell. Jing Cui. John Culbertson.
Sandra Rose DalBello. Rachael DeDominicis. Margie Deleon. Katherine Grace Dodge. Allan Dontsis.
William Douglass. Kristin Downs. Shirley Duan. Matthew Alex Duensing.
Gage Edblom. - Julia Elder. Jay Patrick Emerson. Biwen Fang. Matthew David Fawks. Kelsey Feinberg.
Connor L. Ferguson. Michael Foster. Dylan Frankl. Mace Austin Galliete.
Peter Gao. Arabella Garcia. Daniela Garcia. Javier Garcia. Tyler Gary.
William Ross Ginsburg. Sierra Gonzales. Thianny Gonzalez. Julia Grace Gosselink. Alexis Grana.
Trevor Gray. - Jeremy Greene. Alaina Gregory.
Jiaqi Guo. Karina Hanzlik. Maha Haque. Jackson Harris.
Fumie Hayashi. Sihan He. Victoria He. Griffin P. Henkel. Bianca Yvette Hernandez. Megan Heytens.
Tony Ho. William Hogan III. Payton Holden. Steven Holko.
Jackson David Holland II. Charlie Howell. Annie Hu.
Emily Huang. - Dayyana Ibragimova. Arnold Angelo Marana Icaro.
Grayson Ryan Jackson. Carolyn James. Andrew Jaynes. Eric Jew. Alex Jiang.
Andrew Jones. Kathleen Kaiser. Hana Kang. John McNeil Kemmerly. Matt Keys.
Nashrah Khan. CJ Kight. Hyewon Kim. Lena Kim. Nicole Kim.
Austin Kirkpatrick. Gabriella Knox. Stephen Kofos. - Hassaan Kradiya. Grant Krumholz.
Jessica Nicole Laster. Edward Hicks Layton. Audrey Lee.
David Dabin Lee. Jae Hyun Lee. Devin Lemaster. Nathan Levine. Billy Li. Grace Linesch.
Richard Liu. Run Liu. Wei Liu.
Brett Loeffler. Lana Lovell. Xinyi Lu. Derek Lutz. Michael Lyon.
Courtney Kelly Madden. - Chapman Jennings Malone. Bansri Mangarolia. Michael Mangum. Jacob Mani.
Faizan Manji. Mianquin Mao. Jack Mason. Riley Mata. Karyn May.
McKanie McNamara. Sawyer Means. Rahul Mehta. Tara Mehta.
Blase Andrew Mesle. Riley Blake Miller. Elizabeth Moczygemba. Tara Molavi.
Nash Moore. Andrea Mora. Riana Moreno. - Colton Morrison. Karolis Motiejunas. Aamir Motiwala.
Brenda Munoz Saldana. Sung Na. Grace Isabella Nash.
Benjamin Joseph Naylor. Jack E. Neblett. Davionne Needom. Rachel Nguyen. Daniel Nourafshan. Anisha Pushkar Ogale.
John Oh. Valerie Odeara Oliobi. Arturo C. Olivarez.
Sonia Oommen. Rebecca Ortiz. Joseph Ross Overman. Jean Pacheco-Mercado.
Eli Padilla. - Kyung Hun Paek. Rachel Paholek. Ben-Tien Pan. Zijie Pang.
Soyoung Park. Kyle Parrott. Daniella Peinovich. Siyu Peng. Matthew Pennartz. Matthew John Alan Perrine.
Teal Phebus. Hanna Jane Platter. Caroline Elaine Pritchett.
Yujin Pyun. Daniyal Im Qassam. Jaclyn Nan Quinn. Ryan Quinn. Olivia Rabalais.
Zoey Catherine Rasch. Rachel Read. - Connor Joseph Rennick. Maurice Rissman. Trey Roach.
Max Rosenthal. Melissa Rudd. Tyler Gunnar Scheck. Catherine Shell. Ethan Scher. Patricia Brin Schmidt.
Harrison Schroeder. Will Schulze. Eric Allen Sengelmann. Alexander Michael Serafini.
Aris Sevastianos. Benjamin Sevening. Orilla Shen. Samuel James Sherman. David Han Shi. Barton Showalter Jeremy Shu.
- Jaladhi Shukla. Peter Joseph Siminski. Connor Simione. Nathan Sippel. Madeline Berdo Sipple.
Alejandra Solis Zavala. Peter Spangler. Matthew Cooper St. Claire. Zachary Still. Dylan Carlos Stone.
Marina Strader. Owen Strickland. Andrea Subias.
Jessica Sureck. Jennie Lynne Tai. Christopher Yam Tan. Sydney Nicole Tanner. Jake Taylor.
Seyoun Avriana Taylor. Sophie Marie Taylor. - Emily Ann Terry. Yu Chen Tien.
Jacob Train. Nhu Tran. Mario Trujillo.
Connor Turley. Greyson Turner. Matthew Uprichard.
Andrew Alan van Norman. Gavin Van Someren. Grant Curtis Vazin. Wilson Cyrus Vick. Serena Wadhwani.
Ben Walker. Payton Walker. Kelly Walsh. Michael David Walsh. Nia Wang.
Rongrong Wang. Tony Wang. - Blake Wardy. Trey Dan Watson.
Hannah Watts. Elliot Webb. Parkes Pelchat Winder. Max Worobow.
Kelly Zhou Xac. Edward Xie. Anning Xu. Tianyin Xu. Katherine Ann Yager.
Ashleigh Yan. Fengyu Yang. Jiayue Yao. Ziwei Ye. Maggie Yu.
Abdulrahman Zahed. Maham Zaidi. Alishah Zaveri. Claire Zehentner.
- Liz Zenchenko. Yuwei Zhang. Becky Zhao.
Julia Zhao. Karen Zhou. Sharon Zhou. Boyan Zhu. Hallie Zieselman. Elena Zurek.
- Hello students, this is Lil Mills. I'm your intern dean this year, but I am a tax professor in your department always. I missed teaching this year. I think I got to teach a lot of you in the last year or two. I wish you just the greatest success and you can pivot from your accounting degree anywhere you want. And we want you to stay in touch with us.
Email your professors. Tell us stories. We want to hear about your families, your pets, your career successes, and be part of your support system if you have some career stumbles. we're always proud of you every second.
And so stay in touch, best wishes and hook 'em horns. - Internal Audit students, MPA graduates, congratulations on your accomplishment. Hook 'em horns. - Congratulations MPAs. We can't wait to see you change the world.
Hook 'em. - Congratulations MPA class 2021. I wish you all good luck.
- Hi everyone, congratulations. I miss many of you already. Best of luck. And I look forward to hearing about all the great things you guys do in the future. - Congratulations class of 2021.
Go forth and do great things. Hook 'em. - Congratulations, MPA class of 2021.
You have been amazing during this challenging year. We're so proud of you. Best of luck with all your future endeavors. I hope you will come back to visit. We will be missing you.
- Class of 2021, congratulations on earning your MPA degree. We're very proud of you and we wish you the best in your career and beyond. - Congratulations, MPA graduates. We are so proud of all you have accomplished and we look forward to seeing how you change the world. Hook 'em.
- Congratulations. You did it. - Hello MPA class of 2021. I wanted to take a moment to congratulate you on your graduation.
It's certainly been a tough year, but you've pushed through and made it to this point. So congratulations, absolutely well done. If I've had the pleasure of teaching you in the classroom I truly thank you for that opportunity. And for all of you, I look forward to your future successes and I wish each of you the best in your careers. Stay in touch. We welcome you back when you can.
And we look forward to all of your future success. Take care. - Congratulations to all of our MPA graduates. We're so proud of you and can't wait to see all that you accomplish. Hook 'em.
- MPA grads of 2021, this is Professor Williams. For my short message, I was very tempted to give you a quiz and see how well you remember some of the basics from my class. See if you remember the basic tax equation that any tax is equal to a rate times a base. I was going to see if you remember a general rule that we want to defer income and accelerate deductions. I wanted to see if you can remember that we evaluate taxes in terms of sufficiency, efficiency, convenience, fairness, but I'm sure this is not what you're hoping for right now.
So in lieu of that quiz, I just want to offer my congratulations to each of you for a job well done. This has been a rigorous program in a challenging time. And collectively you have weathered it with grace and dedication and poise, and I wish you the best. - We are so proud of all of you, the MPA class of 2021. We admire and recognize your strength and perseverance over the past year and know that you all will go on to do great things. Congratulations.
- Fellow MPAs, this has been a tough year, but what really impressed me the most about you was that you did not compromise quality. You showed up with your Zoom class camera on, you were prepared, you did the work, you engaged online, you studied hard for those exams and you've made the top grades. And that is why I'm so proud to teach you and wear my MPA t-shirt. Hook 'em. - Congratulations, MPA graduates of 2021. What a year it has been.
I want to commend you for your perseverance, commitment and adaptability, fighting off so many distractions in this past year. And now you're graduating from one of the best and most rigorous accounting programs in the world. All of us faculty are so proud of you and you should be proud of all that you've accomplished here. Now, go out there and go change the world.
Hook 'em. ("Pomp and Circumstance")
2021-05-23 08:25
