From our Centennial website, utexasaccounting100.org
Opportunity by Douglas Fejer, (MPA 1982)
I showed up in Austin in January 1982 with $2,000 cash in my pocket from a student loan. I thought it would last me through the first semester and I would worry about the rest at a later time. I was meeting with Don Persons on my first day in Austin. He told me they were short of teaching assistants and since I had experience as a TA when I was an undergrad at Michigan State, they had a position for me in managerial accounting. I politely said thanks, but no thanks. Being a TA was a lot of work and I was going to see if I could manage without that extra load. Then Don proceeded to tell me the pay was $400 a month. (I made $33 a week at MSU.) I may be dumb, but I’m not stupid. I said SOLD.
Then Don said “But wait – There’s more. We will also give you in-state tuition.” I remember thinking that is nice, but no big deal. (I had no idea what that meant.)
Then I signed up for classes and got my first bill for tuition. It was around $200. I was struck with an immense euphoria because I immediately knew I had found my way financially to make it.
I have told that story for 30 years. I have always summed up UT Austin in one word. Opportunity.
Kathleen Farlow
(MPA 1983)
Advisory Council member Kathleen Farlow has moved to Austin from Houston to be the Central Texas Managing Partner for Deloitte. Kathleen is our lead relationship partner with Deloitte.
Eric Hornsten
(MPA 1993)
New Advisory Council member Eric Hornsten has moved from San Jose to be the Austin Managing Partner for PWC. Eric is a technology assurance leader, having worked since graduation in San Diego and San Jose. PWC audits Dell and several other tech companies in the Austin area.
Craig Wolcott
(BBA 1976)
After 30 rewarding years with Hays McConn in Houston, Craig Wolcott, BBA, has relocated to Rocksprings, and opened law offices in Kerrville and Rocksprings, as Craig Wolcott, PLLC Attorney at Law. He continues to practice law state-wide, handling complex business and commercial litigation, wrongful death and personal injury suits, and employment discrimination cases. Craig and his wife, Debra, also own and operate the historic Rocksprings Hotel.
Steven Sterin
(BBA 1995, MPA 1995)
Steven M. Sterin, chief financial officer of Celanese Corporation and president of the company's Advanced Fuel Technologies business, has accepted an invitation to join the McCombs School of Business Advisory Council at The University of Texas at Austin.
Rajul Kadakia
(BBA 1996)
PixyKids,co-founded by Rajul Kadakia, announced that it has secured financing of $3 million, including a $2 million investment by ATA Ventures and $1 million from other angel investors. PixyKids is an interactive social media platform where kids ages 6-12 can create, share, learn, and have fun through their personalized digital.
Aaron Susman
(BBA 2005, MPA 2006)
Aaron Susman launched his startup, TheSquareFoot, a fully web-based one-stop marketplace for commercial real estate leasing that connects prospective tenants with the full complement of providers they need for finding and setting up an office. The company is based in Houston, Texas and has just applied to the Texas Venture Labs program.
New job? New family member?
With each issue of The Accounting Times we ask to hear your stories so that we, fellow alums and friends of the Department of Accounting can share in your accomplishments. This, being our centennial year, we would also like to hear about your past accomplishments. So drop us a line at accounting.times@mccombs.utexas.edu to share your updates.
Then take a minute and share your part of our 100 years of accounting history at utexasaccounting100.org.
Read our most recent alumni stories below.