MEET MARSHALL

Name: Marshall Cowden

Hometown: Portland, Oregon
High School: Lincoln High School

Transferred from: Assumption College in Worchester, MA

Major: Finance/Business Honors

Expected graduation: May 2009

Diving Right In

I was at a small liberal arts school in New England playing Division II football. During my freshman year I was enjoying school and my athletic career, but I broke my foot twice in a four month span. I ended up having surgery and contemplating whether or not I wanted to continue the path I was on. I came to the decision that I wanted to begin my formal business education at a top notch undergraduate program. I also wanted to attend a bigger school in a new environment.

When I decided to transfer I was looking to go to a top ranked undergraduate business school. I looked at several lists compiled by various publications and the McCombs School of Business kept coming up. I also wanted to go to a bigger school to experience a different type of atmosphere from my previous institution. Eventually, I narrowed my choices to UT, Michigan, and Cal-Berkeley. All three of these schools have highly regarded business programs and large student populations. I started to weigh other factors including when I’d be able to start taking business classes, location, and student life. UT stands out in all of these areas.

At both Michigan and Berkeley, students don’t start taking business courses until their junior year. In contrast, UT students take business classes as freshmen. As someone who wanted to dive right in to the business curriculum this was a huge draw for me. I’ve learned a ton in my first year of business school and will be taking my knowledge with me into a great internship this summer. I couldn’t imagine I’d be in this position having never taken business classes.

A Future in Finance

I’ve been following the stock market since middle school, so I’ve always had an inkling that finance was something I’ve wanted to do. As I developed academically and continued to follow the markets this desire has been reinforced. I’ve always been pretty good at math and enjoyed the qualitative aspects of business. I’ve also always enjoyed the portrayal of finance professionals in the media (both good and bad), from movies like American Psycho and Wall Street to books like Barbarians at the Gate. Furthermore, the idea of a wheeler/dealer high powered dealmaker is something that appeals to me, even if that image is highly romanticized. In short, majoring in finance just sort of fell into place.

A finance degree offers opportunities to work in almost any industry and in a company with almost any type of culture. You can do something very project-oriented like investment banking or something more fast-paced like currency trading. You could work for a financial firm like Goldman Sachs and have to wear a (very expensive) suit every day or work for a tech company like Apple and come to work in flip flops.

A Student Focused Approach

All of my business professors have been incredibly helpful. They are all very supportive in helping me reach my goals. Most of my business classes are surprisingly informal, so I’m able to joke around and develop a very good rapport with the instructors. They are always available to talk about the class or anything else at almost any time. Their student focused approach is really great and makes everyone look forward to going to class.

In my ACC 312H class (Fundamentals of Managerial Accounting), for example, we do a lot of casework (i.e. break down real life business decisions made by professionals). This means that classes are basically one big long discussion. Everyone gets involved and over the course of this semester we developed several class wide jokes about the professor, cases, and various students. You have to be on top of your game or else someone will call you out; it makes class entertaining and helps everyone stay focused and on top of the material.

CNBC’s Mad Money Visits UT Austin

I had been a casual fan of the show for most of its existence because I watch CNBC a lot (I’m sort of a business news junkie). I saw a couple of episodes on Mad Money’s “Back to School Tour” and thought that UT would be a great venue for the show. I went to their web site and fired off a few emails to various addresses. A while later I got a phone call from the executive producer saying they’d like to come down. I got into contact with the administration at McCombs and they were enthusiastic. I put the two groups in touch with each other and it took off from there. I was able to stay involved with the process and help drum up student interest. It was really interesting to see all the behind the scene processes that go into making an event like this happen.

If you’ve ever seen the show, you know it’s very over the top and the atmosphere is a like a sporting event; it makes sense to come to a school with both a rich athletic tradition and business acumen. UT has a top business school and is in one of the most pro business states in the union, so there’s obviously an interest in the subject Mad Money covers. I think that Cramer’s in your face persona matches well with “Don’t mess with Texas.” Like Cramer, UT has a love of sports and a passion for business and the equity markets. It created a natural partnership and tremendous atmosphere for the show. It wasn’t too difficult to sell the school because it really sells itself. It’s a testament to the caliber of students here and the environment we have that we were one of the first half dozen or so schools to have a stop on the tour.

Work Hard, Play Hard

I’ve really enjoyed all the organizations I’ve become involved with on campus. They’ve helped me meet a lot of great people and make friendships which will last a lifetime. One particular example of this was my work with the Undergraduate Business Council this past semester when I chaired a committee to put on Engineering vs. Business Week. The event is a week of various competitions between the McCombs School of Business and the Cockrell School of Engineering. We played dodge ball, went bowling, and had a game of capture the flag at the Capitol (among other things). It was a lot of fun to put on an event like this because it helped build camaraderie between the two schools. I also enjoyed seeing my hard work pay off when everyone had a great time.

A Tough Place to Beat

Austin is an incredible city. Before I came to visit the school, I’d only been to Texas once so I didn’t really know what to expect. I arrived late on a Sunday night and was staying downtown; my stepfather and I decided to go for a quick walk to find a bite to eat. Walking down 6^th Street on a Sunday (not a good night), I was amazed by just how much activity was going on. Live music everywhere, awesome bars and clubs, interesting people; it was a neat first glimpse at Austin nightlife.

Austin also has a ton of outdoor activities around. I enjoy the occasional run on one of the many scenic trails around town, but you can find anything your heart desires including mountain biking, rock climbing, and camping.

UT also offers tons of activities right here on campus. Obviously the football games are incredible. I firmly believe that going to a college football game is probably the best experience in sports. I also try to support other Longhorn athletic teams when I have time. UT has over a half dozen top notch workout facilities, too. Also, there are always a ton of speakers and events going on all over campus. I’ve seen many business executives and political leaders in my time here.

When you combine all three of these factors, UT seems like a tough place to beat.