Topics of Interest: Applying to business school, how to apply to Canfield BHP, our admissions process, Texas CSB/Texas ECB/Plan II application guidance, what we’re looking for, why Canfield BHP

Editor’s note: Be sure to watch the admissions Q&A on our Instagram highlights featuring Canfield BHP Recruitment Coordinator, Kelly Georgestone, for more information!

Welcome prospective students and families to the Canfield BHP community! We often receive inquires on how to apply, what Canfield BHP Admissions is looking for in applicants, and what unique opportunities we offer students.

First, and foremost, the BEST way to learn more about Canfield BHP, our joint programs, and what it is like to be a student is to attend one of our Information Sessions. These are hosted during the school year every Monday and Friday afternoon (excluding holidays). Our Canfield BHP student recruiters are excited to share information with you regarding the program and answer your questions in real time. For Fall 2021 we will offer a mix of in-person and virtual sessions, so check out the UT Admissions website for details! Before we begin, please take note of the following application deadlines:

• Priority Deadline: November 1, 2021
• Regular Deadline: December 1, 2021

Note: Priority Deadline students will be notified earlier than Regular Deadline applicants. Applying by Priority does not influence admission decisions and is non-binding.

How to Apply to Canfield BHP

Most of our applicants will be traditional business students. Students who are admitted to Canfield BHP are admitted to the Business Honors major directly. After their first year if students would like to add an additional business major (Finance, Accounting, Marketing, etc.) they may do so via their academic advisor. In the application you will still apply as “Unspecified Business”, however if you know what area of business you would like to study you are welcome to discuss this in the essay portion of your application, short answer 1.

Canfield BHP Admissions has access to your entire UT Austin application for review.

To apply to the Canfield Business Honors Program, you must:

Apply via ApplyTX or the Coalition application.

• Select the McCombs School of Business as your first-choice college.
• List “Unspecified Business” (200400) as your first choice major.
• After you start your Apply TX or Coalition application, you will be able to select that you are interested in honors. This is towards the end of the application.
• Answer the “Canfield Business Honors Program” essay prompt.
• Once your application is complete, you will have access to your MyStatus page after about 24 hours. Use this page to upload your expanded resume.
• Submit a required letter of recommendation from an academic source (teacher, professor, etc.). Please note that you must use the Document Upload System in MyStatus, which will email your recommender a request to submit their recommendation to us directly.
• Complete all steps of the UT Austin application checklist.

You can always verify via MyStatus if your Honors Application is complete.

How to Apply to Canfield BHP + Joint Programs

Texas Honors Computer Science and Business (Texas CSB) is an integrated honors degree program between the Canfield Business Honors Program (Canfield BHP) and the Department of Computer Science. Texas CSB provides a rigorous four-year undergraduate curriculum aimed at preparing students for top technology careers.

To apply to Texas CSB, you must:

• Complete the general application requirements listed above.
• Select Unspecified Business and Computer Science as your first and second choice majors (first choice major should be the one you are most interested in). The department of Computer Science is within the College of Natural Sciences.
• After you submit your application having listed Unspecified Business and Computer Science for admission to UT Austin, you will be able to access the honors essay prompts. These are towards the end of the application.
• Designate Texas CSB as one of your honors choices. Students must select a combination of Unspecified Business and Computer Science for their major choices to be considered for Texas CSB.
  • Students may also apply to either Canfield BHP or Turing Scholars, depending on which major is their first choice.
  • Students must select Unspecified Business as their first choice major to be reviewed for Canfield BHP in addition to Texas CSB.
• Once your application is complete, you will have access to your MyStatus page after about 24 hours. Use this page to upload your expanded resume.
• Submit a required letter of recommendation from an academic source (teacher, professor, etc.). Please note that you must use the Document Upload System in MyStatus, which will email your recommender a request to submit their recommendation to us directly.
  • Please note it is recommended to request your letter from a CS/Math/STEM teacher. If you are also applying to Turing Scholars it is a requirement that this letter come from a math or science teacher.

Texas Honors Electrical and Computer Engineering and Business (Texas ECB) is our newest integrated honors degree program between the Canfield Business Honors Program (Canfield BHP) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE). Texas ECB provides a rigorous four-year undergraduate engineering and business curriculum complete with a senior capstone project.

To apply to Texas ECB, you must:

• Complete the general application requirements listed above.
• Select Unspecified Business and ECE as your first and second choice majors (first choice major should be the one you are most interested in). The department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is in the Cockrell School of Engineering.
• After you submit your application having listed Unspecified Business and ECE for admission to UT Austin, you will be able to access the honors essay prompts. These are towards the end of the application.

• Designate Texas ECB as one of your choices. Students must select a combination of Unspecified Business and ECE for their major choices to be considered for Texas ECB. Students may also apply to either Canfield BHP or ECE Honors, depending on which major is their first choice.
  1. Students must select Unspecified Business as their first choice major to be reviewed for Canfield BHP in addition to Texas ECB.

• Once your application is complete, you will have access to your MyStatus page after about 24 hours. Use this page to upload your expanded resume.
• Submit a required letter of recommendation from an academic source (teacher, professor, etc.). Please note that you must use the Document Upload System in MyStatus, which will email your recommender a request to submit their recommendation to us directly.
  1. Please note it is recommended to request your letter from a CS/Math/STEM teacher. If you are also applying to ECE Honors it is a requirement that this letter come from a math or science teacher.

Canfield BHP + Plan II Honors

Plan II Honors is the oldest honors program in the nation and offers students a place where they can explore the issues and questions that shape the human experience. Plan II students graduate with exceptional writing, communication, and analytical skills that can be applied to virtually any career path.

To apply to Plan II, you must:

• Complete the general application requirements listed above.
• Select Unspecified Business and a Liberal Arts major as your first and second choice majors (first choice major should be Unspecified Business). The Plan II Honors program will review all students who have first/second choice within Liberal Arts and complete application requirements.
• After you submit your application having listed Unspecified Business and a Liberal Arts major for admission to UT Austin, you will be able to access the honors essay prompts. These are towards the end of the application.
• Designate Plan II as one of your honors choices.
  • Students may also apply to Canfield BHP.
  • Students must select Unspecified Business as their first choice major to be reviewed for Canfield BHP in addition to Texas CSB.
• Once your application is complete, you will have access to your MyStatus page after about 24 hours. Use this page to upload your expanded resume.
• Submit a required letter of recommendation from an academic source (teacher, professor, etc.). Please note that you must use the Document Upload System in MyStatus, which will email your recommender a request to submit their recommendation to us directly.

What We are Looking for in Applicants

This is one of our most common questions!

We do not have minimum GPA, score, or rank requirements to be admitted to Canfield BHP or our joint programs. We are looking for community leaders who take academics seriously. The Canfield BHP Admissions committee reviews each application submitted an in a holistic manner.

Students are encouraged to submit test scores (SAT/ACT/AP/IB) if they think they are representative of their academic skills. Students who do not submit scores will not be viewed negatively by the admissions committee.

Leadership can be shown in several ways in your community. This could be volunteering, holding titled leadership positions at your high school, or helping support your family. While our application process is very competitive every year, we pride ourselves in not having a homogeneous admitted class; students come from a variety of backgrounds, hometowns, and experiences.

What Makes Canfield BHP Unique

Our community.

Students are encouraged to be leaders on campus while in Canfield BHP. This could be leadership within Canfield BHP, UT Austin, or the Austin community. One of the first ways students get to know our leadership community is through our Peer Mentoring Program. These small groups meet once a week their first semester to get to know their upperclassman mentor, their peers, and what resources are available to them while in the program.

After the first-year, students are then paired up with an alumni mentor to help guide them through their career development, no matter what their goals are for the future. It is not uncommon to see an alumnus in the Canfield BHP offices simply stopping by to say hello or hosting a coffee chat for current students.

Speaking of career development, students are paired with their personal Career Coach in their first semester who will help build their interviewing skills, networking, and resume while in the program. Canfield BHP students have unique opportunities to hear from our corporate partners directly while on campus via dinners, HBA events, and coffee chats.

And finally, our Canfield BHP staff are always here to support our students and their academic goals. Our academic advising team works with students one on one, every semester until graduation, to help with course selection, graduation planning, and majors in addition to Business Honors.

We look forward to reading your application this Fall!

We’re pleased to announce the addition of three new team members to the Canfield BHP staff! Hannah Johnson, Catherine Campbell, and Sahil Maherali have joined the Canfield BHP team and will be filling important roles to support the program’s goals and objectives. All three team members come to us with extensive experience in their fields and we’re incredibly ecstatic to have them on board. Please join us in welcoming them to the team!

Read on to learn more about Hannah, Catherine, and Sahil.

Hannah Johnson

Hannah received her degree in business with a minor in linguistics in 2017 from Covenant College. She comes to us from the BBA Program Office where she was pivotal in establishing the Office of Student Life (OSL) operations and procedures that currently support McCombs Affiliated Student Organizations (MASOs) and the McCombs Leadership Program. Notably, Hannah was instrumental in the execution of OSL’s large student-facing events such as Commencement, Gone to Business, and more. We’re happy Hannah has joined our team where she’ll be taking on the vital role of Senior Administrative Associate.

Catherine Campbell

Even in an online setting, Dr. Steven Gray has experienced lively debate, insightful questions, and endless curiosity in his classes. As a new MAN 336H professor whose research is rooted in analyzing relationships within new venture teams, Dr. Gray seeks to use the already-founded relationships within Canfield BHP students to enrich the (virtual) learning experience. 

Dr. Gray is in his fourth year as a professor within McCombs, but this is his first year teaching Canfield BHP students. Prior to UT, he earned his B.A. in Psychology from Yale, Master’s in Organizational Psychology from Columbia, and Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior from Washington University. In between degrees, Dr. Gray worked at IMB as a consultant, advising Fortune 100 pharmaceutical and telecommunications clients. He was drawn to McCombs and Austin because of the unique nature of the city, research opportunities, and students. 

“(In my research) I study startup teams, so being in an ecosystem as vibrant as Austin is a big draw for me and a unique chance to go out and see entrepreneurs and hear their stories and learn about what they’re doing. That was kind of what initially drew me here,” Dr. Gray said. “I study how new venture teams come together. What are the traps that founders fall into as they’re trying to assemble their team and then what can they do to make that better? I try to incorporate teams into my teaching– teams in general, not just the formation process. I do take the perspective of introducing team selection and team formation and to some of the classwork.”

Because of the nature of management and the various theoretical principles that need to be taught, Dr. Gray works to incorporate real-life, complicated scenarios into his class. Some of these scenarios are business cases, but some are as unique as the example of Ernest Shackleton, an Arctic Explorer who attempted to reach the South Pole alongside a team he put together.

“My class is very much focused on the application of something that’s relatively abstract– not all that complicated of an idea, but when you try to actually put it into practice it often gets pretty messy,” he said. “What I really like to do is contextualize these ideas so that (students) are not just memorizing concepts, but rather trying to take an idea and make use of it in a complicated situation.”

One thing Dr. Gray has enjoyed is the energetic nature of Canfield BHP students. Even in a virtual environment, his Zoom classroom is no stranger to animated discussion and honest debate between students. 

“The most noticeable thing that stands out in teaching students in the honors program is just the vibrant, active discussion that flows forth readily, which is great. It requires me to rebalance the time allocation because we can get really rolling down a path, but it has been a fun adjustment because I love the active, vigorous debate,” he said. “My students are a lot of really smart, opinionated, strong-willed people who are not shy about confronting someone else’s thought on any matter in good taste.  It’s a fantastic learning environment that invites a healthy dialogue.”

Because Canfield BHP students travel from class to class in a cohort, the relationships that develop over time support the very dialogue that Dr. Gray appreciates. In this way, the tight-knit nature of the program contributes to an improved learning experience. 

“It really does matter that everybody knows each other already,” he said. “You can see that create a learning experience and environment that I think helps everybody.”

For students looking forward to Dr. Gray’s class, he invites them to come prepared to debate and discuss topics each class day. Given the case-based nature of the class, students will have the opportunity to use their backgrounds, experiences, and intuition throughout.

“The exciting thing about teaching (Organizational Business) is that there is no set objective or clear, concrete answer to anything,” he said. “Part of what we do in the class is work to not provide simple, clear solutions to every problem, but rather to help people see the complexity that’s there. The ability (of students) to debate, discuss and think critically about all the things that are at play in any particular situation is the engine of the learning.”

What’s more, Dr. Gray says that his class serves as an opportunity for students to hone their self-awareness and critical thinking beyond the classroom. As a student of Psychology himself. Dr. Gray applies his own host of experiences and knowledge to the development of his students. 

“In this class, every person brings their own intuition about psychology. We’re all people and we’ve all interacted with people our whole lives. We have an intuition about people– how they think and act. That intuition isn’t always very refined or accurate, so it’s fun to poke holes in our own intuition and show that reality is messy and complicated. I want to teach students to appreciate that and handle that through this class,” he said. 

A new professor at the Univerity of Texas at Austin, Dr. Bukky Akinsanmi has had a constant stream of new experiences thrown at her since stepping foot on the Forty Acres. Dr. Akinsanmi, who asks that her students call her Bukky, began her time in July of last year and now teaches the Canfield BHP capstone course, MAN 374H. 

Self-proclaimed architect-turned-scholar, Bukky has earned a Ph.D in Strategic Management and Entrepreneurship, a Master of Architecture, a Master of Environmental Design since 2002. With all this experience under her belt, Bukky is an incredible asset to the Canfield BHP faculty. 

“Prior to coming to (UT) I got my Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin Madison and before that, I had substantial experience in the architecture and construction industry,” Bukky said. “Texas has a very special place in my heart because when I finished my graduate degree in architecture, I worked in Dallas first and had a younger sister who worked with Dell in Austin. I used to come to Austin for the weekend and go dancing and it was always really fun– I’m really glad to be back in Texas and I hope it becomes my hometown in the U.S.”

For Bukky, she’s spent the year adapting to Austin both inside and outside the (virtual) classroom. She said she’s had a wonderful time getting to know the city, but of course had some bumps on the road, like the winter storm that hit this semester. All considered, Bukky said she appreciates that McCombs and Canfield BHP have welcomed her with open arms.

“Austin has been wonderful in the sense that even with COVID there are still tons of activities that my family can do safely. We’ve been going to trails, parks, and just spending a lot of time outdoors. One thing we weren’t expecting though when we left the East Coast, was the snowstorm– we had sold all our snow-related items before moving down (to Texas) so that was interesting” Bukky said. “In terms of becoming a part of McCombs so far, it has been wonderful. I have really kind colleagues and faculty here– the various faculty within my department and even the few that I’ve gotten to meet outside of my department, including the Dean, have been so gracious, so friendly and so helpful.”

Further, Bukky said she loves working with Canfield BHP students. From actively participating in class to asking important, thought-provoking questions outside of class, she has been thoroughly impressed with the caliber of Canfield BHPers. 

“Working with the (Canfield) Business Honors Program students has been just a huge delight. They are very hardworking. They prepare for class and have really thoughtful questions,” Bukky said. “For me, that’s an amazing experience because I’m getting the opportunity to teach students who really do want to learn and who want to be able to apply what they’re learning in real-life scenarios.”

When it comes to Canfield BHP students looking forward to taking MAN 374H with Bukky, she encourages them to come prepared for not only rigor but fun. 

“It’s not a class that you’re going to float through– it will be rigorous, but reasonable because the focus is on learning. We’ll bring in current events going on and real-life activities and students should come prepared for both work and silliness, because learning new things is not mutually exclusive to having fun,” Bukky said. “I’m excited, because Canfield BHP students are smart, dedicated, interested students. I feel lucky to teach those sorts of students, honestly.”

Roommates Nivva Emmi, Lexi Thorson, Amy Cox, and Andrea Ocañas traveled to Port Aransas for the majority of the week where they’ve been enjoying the beach and quality time together. As seniors ready to graduate, they wanted to do something outside of Austin but stay COVID-safe in the process. 

“We’ve been staying in an Airbnb and cooking all of our food because even though we’re vaccinated we want to be completely self-sufficient for the safety of people around us,” Nivva said. “The beach has been super nice and we were originally concerned with how many people might be out, but there’s basically a silent understanding between everyone that everyone will get their own little patch of the beach.”

Similar to Nivva and her roommates, Canfield BHP seniors Riley Steward, Denver Baumgartner, and Ronen Melloul wanted to experience their last spring break outside of Austin with their closest friends. The trio traveled to Florida together and spent their time exploring new spaces. 

In addition to spending a few days in Florida, Riley and other Canfield BHP seniors in Texas 4000 for Cancer, Celesia Smith and Morgan Grosch, spent three days training for their bike ride to Alaska and practicing strict public health guidelines. From Saturday to Monday, these three students and their 2021 team rode over 170 miles and camped each night– an experience that served as a sneak peek to the 70-day, 4,500-mile ride to come this upcoming summer. 

Whether it be visiting the beach, exploring a new state, or training for a 4,500-mile bike ride, Canfield BHP students certainly made the best of a covid-stricken spring break. The pandemic won’t last forever– as crazy as that might seem– and in future semesters students will hopefully be able to put thoughts of COVID-bubbles, double masking, and PCT testing far behind them. 

Name: Kisara Dang

Major: Canfield BHP, Sustainability Studies, Geography, Humanities 

Topics of Interest: social impact, sustainability, agriculture, economic development

In addition to her traditional studies and organizations, Canfield Business Honors sophomore Kisara Dang has spent hours upon hours working on a project with the President’s Award for Global Learning, an accolade that prepares UT Austin students to conduct research and innovate internationally. As a Canfield BHP, Sustainability Studies, Geography, and Humanities quadruple major, Kisara has made a point to devote her time towards impact initiatives on and outside the Forty Acres.

When Kisara came to UT, she wanted to explore opportunities in social justice and equity, the campus community, and environmentalism. She joined the Sustainability Investment Group (SIG), The Daily Texan, Liberal Arts Council, SELL Fellowship, and more in an attempt to find her home at UT. 

“My freshman year was like more of an exploratory experience. (I was) trying to better understand myself and what I wanted to do, because I always knew I wanted to do something that was intersectional and that was connected to environmentalism,” Kisara said. “Saying yes to so many different things freshman year just really benefited me because it allowed me to meet so many people and pursue many different things.”

It’s because of this agglomeration of organizations that Kisara found her President’s Award for Global Learning team: Sumaya Daghestani, Abby Partridge, and Tanya Raghu. 

“Saying yes to SELL allowed me to meet Tanya and Abby and I also knew Abby through SIG as well,” she said. “They asked me to join their team and we all agreed that we wanted to do something related to environmentalism.” 

As a group, they developed their research focus and decided to work with the University of Jordan to compare water conservation efforts and technology between Texas and Jordan. Now, it’s titled Fostering Green Entrepreneurialism: A Comparison of Water Conservation Practices and Behaviors in Jordan and Texas. 

“The project is two-fold. One is to better understand the attitudes towards sustainability both abroad and at home. The second is to foster and encourage sustainability in higher education institutions at UT and the University of Jordan,” Kisara said. 

Kisara and her team are working towards these two goals in four main ways: beneficiary research, a written technical report on cultural exchange, the development of a Green Fund in Jordan, and the creation of interactive media content that includes a podcast and website. 

“The (surveys and focus groups in Jordan) are being translated into Arabic and disseminated to the student body there (so they can) understand their attitudes towards climate change, water usage, and sustainability. This is being paired with the data the Office of Sustainability is collecting from UT,” Kisara said. “Then we’re writing a comparative report (about cultural exchange) that Abby is in charge of and then (creating) a Green Fund at the University of Jordan based on the one we have at UT. Our main focus now is finding funding for this Green Fund. We currently have $15,000 to give to students in Jordan so they can pursue creative environmental projects through the university.”

Kisara is in charge of the logistics and rules behind the development of the University of Jordan Green Fund, as well as the post-project work with the multimedia content. Her goal with the podcast and website is to foster an interdisciplinary dialogue about sustainability both at and beyond UT.

Throughout all this, Kisara said Canfield BHP has served as an important aspect of her interdisciplinary goals. When it comes to her non-business classes and work with the President’s Award for Global Learning, her Canfield BHP classes and background have proven useful.

“I came to UT and specifically (chose) Canfield BHP because it had flexibility within the degree plan. I always knew I wanted to get a dual degree with something environmentalism-related. Initially, this was just a sustainability studies major and since (last year) it flowered out to other majors,” Kisara said. “My dual curriculum allows me to better understand corporate sustainability. It has also taught me so many technical skills that are transferable to other settings that you wouldn’t even think they would, like developing a budget for a project in my (non-business) national parks class. (Canfield BHP) has made me a better, more well-rounded asset and team member.”

Name: Diavione Williams

Major: Canfield BHP, Finance + Minor in Sociology

Previous Internship: Texas Education Agency

Position: Grant Compliance and Administration Intern

Topics of Interest: social impact, early childhood education, studying to lofi beats

While some students searched Recruit McCombs for internships in supply chain management, investment banking, consulting, and more, Canfield BHP junior Diavione Williams searched for opportunities in education, whether it be social enterprise or government-related. Diavione ended up interning at the Texas Education Agency as a Grant Compliance and Administration Intern. In addition, Diavione is currently building her own education-based nonprofit, working to help close the opportunity gap throughout her time at UT. 

Diavione’s passion for education stems from her own classroom experiences as being labeled a “gifted student” from an early age, something she says in-part is simply due to her parents’ high expectations. As she got older, Diavione said she realized that intelligence didn’t set her apart from non-gifted students, but rather environmental factors and opportunity. 

“When I was super young, like in preschool, my family instilled in me the importance of education. My parents weren’t really involved in my academic life. It was simply an expectation that I was going to work hard– and I did,” Diavione said. “When you approach education from that standpoint, especially being really young, you’re seen as a gifted student, and then the myth of the gifted student (is formed). As I got older and older I started thinking, ‘What about the kids that aren’t considered gifted students? What makes them so different from me?’ and I realized there’s no difference at all. I realized that there’s just a really big disparity in the amount of education, opportunity, and classroom attention that lower-income or underprivileged students are given compared to their counterparts, so I’ve always made it a personal mission to do something about that.”

Throughout her college experience, Diavione has spent time working towards that personal mission. In the fall of her sophomore year, she joined the Social Entrepreneurship Learning Lab (SELL) Fellowship as a fellow candidate. Through SELL, Diavione began conducting research on educational equity in the hopes of founding a social enterprise that supports underprivileged youth. 

“In the SELL Ideator Fellowship, I ideated a venture in which low-income, K-12 aged students would interact with a creative thinking and problem-solving curriculum that is built to help improve their confidence, classroom engagement, and peer engagement,” Diavione said. “It’s important to me that I do something with this where I can see a direct impact and right now my team and I are working on launching our first pilot study for this curriculum.”

This social enterprise, Wiggle Workshop, is a large part of Diavione’s life now, but she also wants to work in social impact beyond building this program. Her internship at the Texas Education Agency was one facet to learn about those types of opportunities. 

“Even after Wiggle Workshop, I always want to be doing something where I’m creating some type of impact in the educational space and creating opportunities for underprivileged kids,” Diavione said. “As a Grant Compliance and Administration Intern, I looked over (Texas Education Agency) budgets for spending CARES Act grants and negotiated the disbursement of those grants. It was a really good experience– I can’t imagine there are many other internships as great as this one and I would love to work for the agency again, specifically in their financial department.”

Of course, the Canfield BHP community has played a role in supporting Diavione throughout the development of Wiggle Workshop and the search for her internship. When it comes to setting expectations and supporting her goals, Diavione said Canfield BHP was with her the entire way. 

“Canfield BHP has been beneficial to me in terms of personal exploration,” Diavione said. “I think back on my one-on-one with Greta and how I came in really scared about how I didn’t know if my business aspirations were like everyone else’s, but BA 101H and Greta put an emphasis on doing what aligns with your interests and something that fulfills you. I think that’s perfect– for me, in every facet of my life, I try to only do things that really enrich me.”

From equity research to portfolio management to owning his own hedge fund, since graduating from UT with degrees in Canfield BHP and Finance in 2000, Ashish Gupta has become a pro in the investment and startup sectors. Today, he continues to give back to the university. 

In addition to serving as an advisor for Canfield BHP, the Herb Kelleher Center for Entrepreneurship, and the Sustainability Investment Group, Ashish works for 4Told FinTech, a microlending technology company, as the Chief Financial Officer. He also runs his own family practice that exclusively invests in impact-oriented, early-stage companies. Prior to this, Ashish worked in various roles within the financial sector.

“For about 15 years, I spent my life in the area of finance. Initially, (I worked) as an investment banker and equity researcher primarily focusing on the energy sector. Then, I transitioned from the sell-side to the buy-side, working at a couple of hedge funds and (later) was a partner at a startup hedge fund in New York and helped grow that to nearly a billion dollars (of assets) under management,” Ashish said.

After growing the startup hedge fund, Ashish went on to found his own hedge fund that invested in publicly traded equities within the energy sector. Throughout his career, Ashish said non-profit work and giving back to his communities was also incredibly important to him. Ultimately, this led him to combine his passions for finance and social impact.

“All along that time, whether I was doing investment banking or working in the hedge fund world, the personal aspect of my life was focused on philanthropy and impact, largely in the area of education and access to capital,” he said. “When I strung together a few good years in the hedge fund world, I wasn’t feeling personally fulfilled and wanted to focus more of my time exclusively on areas of impact. In 2018 I sold my hedge fund and, for the last three years, I’ve been focused on impact investing.”

Looking back, Ashish said Canfield BHP shaped his perspective in various ways over the past 20 years he’s been involved in the program, both as a student and an advisory board member. 

“There’s two aspects of (Canfield) BHP that have informed and influenced me. One is just the four years I was involved with (Canfield) BHP, but then there’s also the 20 years since then and my interactions with the program as a board member and with alumni,” he said.

Ashish said that on the student side the environment and opportunities at UT and within the Canfield Business Honors Program are nonpareil. 

“As a student, you get the best of every world, with being part of a large university, access to amazing resources and sports and extracurricular activities, at least in a non-COVID world. Just the benefit of being a part of an organization that has so many motivated individuals that have high intellectual curiosity is incredible,” he said. “From a curriculum standpoint, I also loved the group-based approach. Much of what I did in life afterward involved decisions being made as part of a group, from high-level executive decisions or just things that needed to be executed upon. It’s important to be taught to work with others effectively.”

Ashish also said he loves the Canfield BHP faculty– from the positive attitude they have to the values in which they instill in Canfield BHP students each year. 

“The faculty was fantastic. I look at Dr. Cox and Dr. Prentice and what I love about both of those previous directors was that they didn’t care so much about trying to make a ton of money, but rather finding purpose, seeking excellence, trying to make a difference in the world,” he said. “UT’s motto is ‘what starts here changes the world’ and they were true believers in that. As I think over my life, I focused so much on financial gains and monetary gains and making money and then transitioned back towards purpose, joy, and finding meaning. I actually do credit (Canfield) BHP for a lot of that happiness.”

Carlyn and Josh as Drake and Josh

Carlyn Crow, a Canfield BHP, Plan II senior, and Josh Jones, a Canfield BHP, Computational Engineering senior, showed out on October 31st as the iconic duo of Drake and Josh. As one of the last classes to have 90s babies, it only makes sense that this Canfield BHPair chose to dress as the main characters of a beloved Nickelodeon sitcom released in the early 2000s. 

Bernardo and Lindsey as Bunnies

No Halloween is complete without a couple of animal costumes and the Canfield BHP community certainly did not disappoint. Canfield BHP, Finance senior Bernardo Barron, and Canfield BHP, Accounting senior Lindsey Hoyer hopped into Halloween last year in full bunny suits. 

Lexi and Henry as Lesley Knope and Kris Jenner

While this pair might have dressed as an iconic pop culture duo for Halloween, they’re certainly an iconic Canfield BHPeer duo. In their sophomore year, Canfield BHP and Finance seniors Lexi Thorton and Henry Howard dressed up as Lesley Knope, the protagonist of NBC sitcom Park and Recreation, and Kris Jenner, the famous matriarch of the Kardashian family.

Alessandra, Nivva, and Urvi as a The Rock, a Toucan, and Winnie the Pooh

While some duos and trios go for a traditional pair, these three Canfield BHP gals each went for a unique Halloween look! Canfield BHP, Finance senior Nivva, and Canfield BHP and Management Information Systems seniors, Alessandra and Urvi rocked an array of costumes their sophomore year. Alessandra flexed as Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, Nivva showed off her colors as a Toucan, and Urvi brought Canfield BHPeers back to their childhoods with her Winnie the Pooh costume!

As Halloween approaches this semester and Canfield BHP and UT students alike prepare for their spooky nights, it’s important to think of it as an opportunity to get creative. Although the pandemic might prevent traditional events from happening, some might even consider starting a new tradition with roommates or CBHPeers. No matter what, Canfield BHP students have each other, a community that makes it easy to have a safe and happy Halloween despite the circumstances. 

Major: Canfield BHP, Plan II Honors, Management Information Systems

Previous internship: Indirect Procurement Intern at Whole Foods

Topics of Interest: Country music, music production, appreciating the outdoors, sustainability

When the pandemic hit, various students with internships and study abroad plans for the summer were thrown for a loop. With the economy in disarray, many Canfield BHP students had to find other ways to make their summer a productive one. Lauren Johnson, a Canfield BHP, Plan II Honors, and Management Information Systems senior, is a perfect example of one of those students. 

After her plans to study abroad over the summer were canceled due to the pandemic, Lauren began to search for an internship. Eventually, she landed a position as an Indirect Procurement Intern at Whole Foods. In the midst of everything going on, these last-minute internships were incredibly competitive; Lauren said certain experiences in McCombs made her more confident about the possibility of receiving an offer. 

“Like everyone else, I felt like I was just scrambling for an internship and I found (the Whole Foods opportunity) on LinkedIn,” Lauren said, “I think something that set me apart was an event put on like through (the Undergraduate Business Council– UBC) where we hosted the CEO of Whole Foods. I actually got to see him after the event and talk to him, so in my interview, I was able to provide insight into the values of the company because I’d had a conversation with the CEO, which was really cool.” 

Lauren completed her internship remotely from Denver, Colorado, where she spent her summer. While she said working in-person certainly would have been a good opportunity to, she still had an incredible experience. From working with a small, passionate team to handling a variety of projects throughout the summer.

“I was working with two teams: the Quality Standards team and the Indirect Procurement team. In quality standards I did a lot of ad hoc projects in different areas, like researching developments in a form of agriculture or completing an analysis on survey results about seafood sustainability or even managing the team’s internal website,” Lauren said. “On the Indirect Procurement team, we handled all of the hand sanitizers and PPE and stuff like that. Related to that, I worked on a recycling project consolidating information about packaging materials. It was a great opportunity to be a part of a bigger mission for sustainability and Whole Foods.”

In addition to loving her work, Lauren said she enjoyed Whole Foods culture, even virtually, because of the passion of the individuals she worked with. 

“It was the coolest group of people I’ve ever met in a workplace setting,” Lauren said. “And it was really fascinating, as there were only 17 people actually– all women– on the team. It was just a group of people who were so passionate and driven and so dedicated to making, decisions that benefit everyone. They wanted to benefit the customer, the company, but also all the farmers and suppliers.” 

When it came to working with all these individuals, Lauren said Canfield BHP classes and culture prepared her well.

“(Canfield) BHP prepared me for this internship by equipping me to work in a professional setting in general. Being in BHP, you’re around such driven people and such intelligent people that it really drives you,” Lauren said. “I think when (Canfield BHP students) enter a workplace, people really notice that work ethic. Being in the program has taught me to work really well on teams as well, which helped this summer since I worked on team projects at Whole Foods.”