Jeff Berry

“It was my greatest life experience.”

College is a journey of unexpected expectations. As students begin each new semester, there is the expected: long hours of research, cold coffee in hand; advising sessions and professor feedback; and novel ideas ready to be realized. The halls still look the same, friends gather at the same places, the same clock tower chimes still ring through campus. All of these moments wait patiently for the student – expectedly. But it’s the unexpected that can truly make college a transformative experience.

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“What am I getting myself into,” Abbie Rivas said to herself as she slung her suitcase onto the shuttle leaving the Frankfurt Airport. She had made it; three layovers, 10 hours, one intercontinental flight and she was finally on German soil. Rivas’ final destination laid 55 miles to the south, an hour trip through the dense foliage of Bundesautobahn 5, the federal motorway connecting Frankfurt to Heidelberg. A picturesque college town, Heidelberg is the location of the European Study Center, a hub and educational partner of the University of the Incarnate Word (UIW). As Rivas approached the large wooden doors overlooked by the polished stone archway and followed by the wrought iron spiraling staircase, she began to expect the unexpected.

Rivas was not a novice to acclimating to new cultures, people and places. A Minnesota native, Rivas moved to a small town in the Rio Grand Valley after high school. This juxtaposition of sharp winters to sweltering summers and trout to tripe would help prepare her for her college career as an international business major. As part of the curriculum, Rivas would be required to spend a semester abroad. “I was nervous to spend an entire fall or spring semester in a foreign country, but the European Study Center offered a summer semester that was only 5 weeks, so I started packing.”

For the next five weeks, Rivas would spend her days absorbed in a unique blend of courses. Art and Aesthetics would focus on the renaissance architecture that envelops the city of Heidelberg, while Business in Germany would introduce her to the rules and regulations of the European business model. “It was really interesting to learn about the different practices European businesses adhere to compared to the U.S.,” said Rivas. “For instance, we met with a representative from a financial institution and learned about the role their human resource departments play in the hiring and firing of employees.”

During her tenor in Deutschland, Rivas would visit local small businesses, large firms and notably the European Central Bank located in Frankfurt. Rivas would learn about the regulations and quotas that hold the European Union’s 28 member countries together. “We spent some time learning about how to spot counterfeit currency. How to feel for certain textures and spot bogus ink, it really made the trip stand out,” said Rivas.

Studying abroad, in its essence, is not about classroom learning. It is meant to be an experience that engages students with the vibrant customs and cultures from around the world. Rivas took full advantage of her temporary home. She would spend her days exploring the city’s cobble stone streets, admiring historic statues and dining at local eateries. These adventures may seem routine to any foreign traveler, but to Rivas, the small cultural changes made the difference. “The centuries old buildings, the clothes the locals wear; forget your yoga pants and neon hoodies,” said Rivas. “Especially the dining customs, as a vegetarian I was prepared for the constant flow of meat and potatoes, but beer for breakfast? I can’t say I didn’t enjoy that a little.”

The summer of 2014 was a special time for Rivas to be in Germany. After advancing to the second stage and then pouncing Algeria, France, and most notably Brazil, the German National Football Team made it to the final round of the FIFA World Cup. “When the German team was playing, it was like nothing else mattered,” said Rivas. “Shops closed early and everyone flooded to the local hot spots to watch the matches.” After the Germans defeated Argentina to take the World Cup, Heidelberg exploded. “I’ve never witnessed so much national pride, fans running down the streets, everyone drenched in beer, they even draped the metro trains in German flags. The celebration didn’t stop until early the next morning. It was something I’ll never forget.”

College is a journey of enrichment, a time to explore the world and the self. Studying abroad gives students the opportunity to see the world from a different perspective, to immerse in something new, exciting and unexpected. “For those who are hesitant about going, just jump in. For me, Germany was timeless, every experience was like a scene out of a movie,” said Rivas.“It was my greatest life experience.”

UIW and the H-E-B School of Business & Administration support every student’s drive to find the unexpected in their college experience. Students who are interested in studying abroad should research HEBSBA faculty-led study abroad and other opportunities through the UIW Study Abroad Center.

University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) Paralegal Program graduate, Lupe Decker, uses her career experiences to relate and inspire.

The San Antonio native received her paralegal certificate in 1991 and after twenty-five years, Decker continues to return to UTSA each semester to translate the ebb and flow of her career trajectory to incoming paralegal students.

A life-long student of advocacy, Decker has found a way to use her passion for empowering others by going back to the genesis of her academic success. “As a Latina, I learned very early on that education and the right skill set would be my pathway to success,” said Decker. “I’ve overcome many obstacles professionally and in those experiences are lessons to share.”

Since her completion of the Paralegal Program, Decker has earned both a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Counseling as well as certifications in juvenile probation.

Immediately after receiving her certificate, Decker began her career in law as a paralegal for a local criminal attorney. Now as a Bexar County Juvenile Probation Officer, Decker contributes her career success to the skills she learned at UTSA, “I truly believe I would not have received the opportunities to be part of state, city and county agencies, that I am honored to have been a part of, without first starting in the Paralegal Program.” said Decker.

In the classroom, Decker shows paralegal students how to utilize their new skill set to advance academically and professionally. “The research, case management and writing skills I developed have been my most valuable tools throughout my career,” said Decker. “I want the students to understand that many doors will open if they fully commit to their education.” Although Decker’s purpose is to embolden students, each time she returns, she is humbled by the student’s daily sacrifices. “Many of the students in attendance work full-time, have children or family responsibilities, and commit long hours studying on the weekends,” said Decker. “I am honored every time I am invited to speak; their level of commitment inspires me.”

The Paralegal Certificate Program is designed and taught by local, practicing attorneys to prepare students to be knowledgeable, ethical, and effective while emphasizing legal areas where paralegals are most in demand. “The presence of Lupe strengthens our mission,” said Gloria Brownell, Paralegal Program coordinator. “She is a constant reminder to our students that success has many avenues.”

Working professionals are changing the landscape of education. A culture of workplace sustainability, technological advancements and a maturing workforce have increased a national necessity for lifelong learning. To satisfy this need, educational institutions are cultivating strategic paradigms focused on the andragogy of an information seeking workforce.

Lifelong learning has become a crucial catalyst to achieving career goals. According to a 2016 report by the Pew Research Center, 63% of working adults consider themselves ‘professional learners.’ This demographic has taken steps to improve their position in the workforce by taking courses in the past 12 months. Professional learners seek to enhance career mobility, gain a license or certification or modernize their skill sets.

The University of Texas at San Antonio’s (UTSA) continuing professional education division, Extended Education, is remaining proactive to the evolving economy and is currently satisfying workforce demands by developing contemporary programs that match the university’s unique resources with the lifelong learning needs of South Central Texas.

Extended Education offers a wide variety of innovative courses, certifications, workshops and programs designed for the knowledge economy. These programs include, but are not limited to: the Advanced Placement Summer Institute, Executive Leadership Cybersecurity Training, Lean Management and Six Sigma Programs, the Paralegal Certificate Program, Registered Behavior Technician Training, and Test Preparation Workshops.

UTSA 2020 Blueprint, the university’s newly revealed organizational strategy, details a call to action for community partnerships that span private industry, government and higher education. These partnerships will contribute to the development of economic prosperity in the populations served by UTSA and grow intellectual capital in the community. Extended Education is assisting in leading this charge through forming industry alliances and harmonizing faculty skill sets with those desired by information seekers in the community.

To learn more about professional learning through Extended Education visit: http://www.utsa.edu/ee

The English language has been transformed by the digital age. In early May, the Merriam-Webster Dictionary introduced several new terms from the online lexicon to its folds. Recognizing the evolution of twenty-first century discourse, Merriam-Webster has inscribed “hashtag”, “selfie”, and the beloved “social networking” to its hallowed pages. With the omnipresence of social media (another inductee to the dictionary hall-of-fame in 2011), “tweet”, “post”, and “hashtag” have become staples in the dialogue of many online users.

According to a 2013 report by the Pew Research Center, 73 percent of all online adults use at least one social networking site. Unsurprisingly, social media usage has increased every year over the past decade for each age category. The IACP’s Center for Social Media estimates American adults spend over three hours per day dialed into the social media matrix. For scale: 58 photos are added to Instagram each second, Twitter users send 100,000 tweets every minute, and users worldwide spend more than 20 billion minutes per day on Facebook. From tweets to posts and comments to shares, social media has forever changed interaction in the public sphere. Social media has infiltrated language, reformed relationships and developed new methods of communication not only for the individual, but also for the organization.

Engineered to connect people, social networking platforms have given businesses a network in which the bond between consumer and organization can be easily facilitated. Sites like Facebook and Twitter allow for the bilateral exchange of information, which, if cataloged correctly, provide organizations with an additional arm to reach targeted audiences. Naturally, business schools across the globe readily instruct their students on integrating social media techniques into business strategy. These courses often deliver students with theoretical approaches to optimizing online ROI, developing successful content, and targeting consumers, but rarely do students receive the practical experience that is critical to understanding the impact of a fluid social media campaign on business growth.

The H-E-B School of Business and Administration (HEBSBA), in conjunction with the San Antonio Non-Profit Council (SANPC), have found a way to assist students in filling the experience vacuum. On May 6th, HEBSBA students were on the front line in a historic event for the city of San Antonio. In its inaugural year, The Big Give San Antonio, a 24-hour online giving event hosted by the SANPC, raised $2 million for the city’s non-profits; double the initial goal set by the council. Facilitated by the relationship between the HEBSBA and the SANPC, capstone seniors were asked to take control of all social media efforts for the city’s non-profits, a critical role in maximizing the outreach and impact of the campaign. The Big Give project required students to utilize budget forecasting, integrated social media strategy and an entrepreneurial spirit to prepare for the philanthropic marathon.

Student involvement in The Big Give was not an extracurricular activity or assigned community service, but a semester project embedded in the school’s pioneering capstone course. Through partnerships with area organizations, capstone allows students to take knowledge gained in the classroom and apply it to solve real-world problems. Professor of Management and Capstone Instructor Dr. David Vequist elaborates:

“Very few business schools anywhere in the world routinely get their undergraduate students to interact with the business community the way we do in our Capstone II class at UIW. To have the opportunity to plan, manage and strategize the entire social media campaign for a multi-million dollar event is a great accomplishment for these students.”

Lead by Vequist, students were broken into five groups designated by social media platform: Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn. To prepare for the event, students dove into market research, producing analyses of online donor demographics, user demographics specific to the assigned platform, and viable implementation strategies. Eduardo Bravo, senior international business major and YouTube team member, explained the importance of the background research: “Many of these [non-profit] organizations don’t know how to utilize the tools that are available to create a successful campaign. I feel we empowered many of them by giving them resources they didn’t know existed.” Specifically, students from Team Facebook utilized platform manager AgoraPulse to deliver real-time page analytics as The Big Give was underway. This allowed the team to be strategic in their content delivery and learn from their past performance.

Students began building social advocacy for the campaign early in the spring semester. Team Instagram launched their #ILoveMyCitySA initiative in April. The contest encouraged the global community to post pictures of their favorite parts of San Antonio. The team received 63 submissions and recorded a 45 percent gain in followers to The Big Give’s Instagram feed. Subsequently, Team Instagram saw followers increase by over 180 percent from the month of April until the end of the campaign.

Instagram wasn’t the only team to receive a prolific response from the community. Team Facebook’s strategic approach to engaging the target market paid dividends, as page fans grew by 110 percent on the giving day. Engagement from the target market also rose by 76 percent, outperforming the response rate of over 88 percent of Facebook pages. Team Twitter’s methodology also peeked interest in donors. From late April until early May, The Big Give SA’s Twitter account received an average of 27 mentions per day and collected retweets from Mayor Julian Castro and actress Eva Longoria. “We are proud of the results,” said Team Facebook member Erica Castillo. “This partnership between the school of business and The Big Give really was a success.”

For capstone students, these tangible outcomes told only half the story of success. The opportunity for students to step outside of the classroom and into the fray allowed the seniors to prepare for the competitive business market. “Overall, we gained a lot of hands on experience, making this project important to our future success,” said Allison Speakmon, international business major and Twitter team member. “The skills we learned are great resume builders that we can take into the business world.” To Denis Chambers, international business major and LinkedIn team member, the opportunity to exercise the UIW tenet of service was central: “It was really great to meet and work with the non-profits. It gave me a deeper understanding of the efforts put forth by [the agencies] to help our community.”

In just it’s first year, The Big Give saw involvement from over 460 non-profit agencies, replicating and then surpassing Austin’s first year agency participation rate of 289. The Big Give SA not only shined in Texas, but also set the bar nationally, out pacing all 83 participating U.S. cities in unique donors. The giving campaign received donations from every zip code in Bexar County and the word spread beyond international borders with donors reaching out from Argentina, Australia and South Africa.

Indicative of the campaign’s success, Executive Director of the SANPC Scott McAninch has been invited to speak at The Big Give’s national organization on social media best practices, which, McAninch explained, was a result of the efforts put forth by the students: “The [Incarnate Word] will be talked about at this presentation and the partnership with the H-E-B School of Business that made this campaign such a success. The way the students approached this project gave us so many fresh ideas to implement next year.”

As these seniors prepare to don cap and gown and transition from the classroom to the boardroom, experiences like The Big Give empower them to become industry leaders. Online frontiers will continue to be forged in the digital age and HEBSBA graduates will be prepared to accept the challenge. Textbooks become outdated and new theories are proposed, but true experience will never lose its value. Like Merriam-Webster, these students can now add a new term to their portfolio: “#Ready”.

As Dean of the H-E-B School of Business and Administration (HEBSBA) at the University of the Incarnate Word, I welcome you to our website. We are committed to educational excellence in all of our endeavors: outstanding instruction, community engagement, and innovative research with regional and international significance. This is why we seek to attract high-performing students from across the globe to become part of our growing family.

At a private university nestled in the heart of the 7th largest city in the United States, San Antonio, the School of Business and Administration offers a unique atmosphere where regional charm meets a cosmopolitan culture. Students can expect a practical education that emphasizes a global reach with respect to international and cultural understanding. The HEBSBA offers high-quality undergraduate and graduate programs steeped in the UIW traditions of faith, service, innovation, truth, and education.

We are a flourishing school within the university that is committed to cultivating eager minds into dedicated professionals who are prepared for high-achieving careers. Our mission to create globally and socially aware leaders is accomplished through a combination of our faculty’s experiential research and contemporary theoretical knowledge. These tenets lay the foundation for our graduates to succeed in and beyond the classroom. HEBSBA graduates have taken many different directions in their professional careers. Graduates have gone on to become CEOs of international companies, small business owners and entrepreneurs, but one common tangible that remains between them is that their success started here.

Students that attend the HEBSBA bring with them an internal fire for achievement and our collection of international faculty understands how to stimulate those passions. Our faculty utilizes their practical experiences in the industries of study to fertilize a learning environment that is focused on creating a deeper knowledge of business acumen. Small class sizes allow students to create bonds with their instructors and peers, while programs such as Capstone, allow students to reach beyond the classroom to solve real-world problems in the community. For those students whose views stretch over the horizon, the HEBSBA offers opportunities to study-abroad at one of our sister schools in: Germany, Korea, Greece, Spain, Netherlands, Taiwan, Mexico, United Arab Emirates or China.

The H-E-B School of Business and Administration seeks to provide a learning experience that will maintain its value long after our students have graduated. The school is comprised of 10 undergraduate concentrations and 4 graduate programs that are accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools & Programs and an additional graduate program accredited by the Commission on the Accreditation of Healthcare Management Education. This gives our students confidence they will graduate from a top quality institution that prepares them to compete and succeed.

It is difficult to capture the efforts of our faculty and staff in these few pages, but whatever exhilarates, motivates, or inspires you to further your education, can be found here, with us. I encourage you to reach out and discover your future at the H-E-B School of Business and Administration.