Meet Omar
Name: Omar Ochoa
Hometown: Edinburg, TX
Major: Business Honors/PPA/Economics
Minor: Management Information Systems
Expected Graduation: May 2007
Are You Ready?
Sometimes the key to making good decisions is asking the right question. And according to Omar Ochoa the right question is: “Are you ready to make your life your own?”
Omar believes that the University of Texas at Austin offers him and other students the opportunities for personal development and the resources needed to do just about anything. But he also understands that having opportunities and resources available isn’t the only thing that matters.
For Omar, the key to success on a campus the size of UT Austin is having the initiative to do it on your own. His advice: “If you’re ready for a challenge and if you’re disciplined enough to stay focused, you will be ready to succeed. The university really does embody the spirit of Texas in that there are many opportunities but you have to make the most of them on your own.”
Taking Responsibility
Omar has taken steps on campus to make his life his own. And in the process, he’s made a name and a place for himself on campus. On April, 3, 2005, Omar was sworn in as Student Government president.
According to Omar, “Taking responsibility for my education, for the role I play on campus has been the difference that has enriched my experience here.”
Omar decided to attend the university because he believes it is the best in the state and one of the best in the nation. “I’ve always liked to challenge myself, and what better place to do it in than at UT? The city of Austin is amazing and has something for everyone.”
Omar also appreciates the added benefits of the university—the shared pride of the student body, the exciting student life, and the best athletics program in the country. “The accounting program is #1 in the country; why wouldn’t anyone want to come to UT?” Omar asks.
Making Connections
Despite the fact that success requires initiative and personal dedication, Omar also understands the value of personal interaction with faculty, staff, and other students. He begins each semester by visiting his professors. “It’s a huge benefit to me to understand professors as individuals in addition to listening to them lecture in class. It helps me to relate to them and makes learning from them easier.”
“The MIC has truly created leaders in communities of color.”
Omar also praises the help he has received from the staff of his academic department, those who have helped him to plan ahead and make good decisions about class selections and his future career, helping him to sharpen his focus on what he should be doing with his time on campus.
One thing he spends his valuable time doing is getting to know other students. “The friendships I’ve made here with other students will last me my entire life. Through student organizations, mutual classes, campaigns, etc. I’ve made some extraordinary friends who have impacted the person I am today.”
Omar credits much of his success on campus to the people he’s met and the responsibilities he’s been given at the university’s Multicultural Information Center (MIC). About the MIC, Omar says, “The MIC has truly created leaders in communities of color.”
He thinks of the people at MIC as his family on campus. “My MIC family has been there for me in bad times (difficulties with projects, other campus groups, etc) and good times (campaigns, going out),” Omar said.
Once a Longhorn…
Omar also retains strong ties to the community in which he grew up. After graduation he wants to go to law school, learn about business law, and then return to the Rio Grande Valley in hopes of expanding the economic development of the region.
But Omar’s ties to the university will not disappear when he graduates. “I am forever grateful to the university for all it’s done for me and so will always stay connected to it.”
Questions?
Contact Omar by e-mail.