I organized the entire event pictured. Some of my tasks included: developing social media posts, penning articles for local news sources, organizing sponsors, vendors, and resources, and overseeing the creation of our puzzle wall. It was a massive event that required a lot of tenacity to ensure we, as a non-profit, were getting the closest margins we could possibly find so we could see as much return on our profits as possible. Check out the event at the link below!

Head Researcher: Katherine McCabe In this paper, I look at Disney and how it trains its Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts leadership according to the “best in class business standards.” I conducted five 30-minute interviews with Disney employees in positions of leadership within The Walt Disney World Parks and Resorts. The purpose of these interviews was to gather information on how the leaders get trained in the different leadership positions. Disney asks that its leaders act ethically, legally, with diligence, and with integrity, and prioritize safety, courtesy, show, and efficiency. The interviewees filled out a survey where they rated their experience being trained in these different categories on a scale of 1-10. I have concluded that Disney does a substantial job at training its employees according to the companies’ values. This conclusion is supported by the findings which show trainings in 7/8 of the above values, the legal concerns trainings being the exception, were rated above average by Cast Members. These trainings do not appear to cover all the topics leaders wish they did, however. Cast Members mentioned that the training they receive mostly focuses on keeping business operations running smoothly. When asked “How often do you think your trainings have fallen short?” Cast Members responded that they fell short 72.5% of the time. The trainings and tools provided to Disney Cast Members scored about average (5/10 ± 1) in their usefulness on-the-job. Overall, the trainings Disney provides leaders did a satisfactory job of enforcing the companies’ values, however Cast Members have been left feeling like there should be more to their trainings. I recommend that Disney expand its trainings to include techniques that would help leaders motivate and lead their fellow Cast Members.

Head Researcher: Madeline Maxwell, Ph.D. People regularly experience situations where they feel they have been truly listened to, but these situations have not been documented and the significance of this type of listening has not yet been considered academically. We believe that there is a form of listening called “Engaged Listening” that has yet to be explored. Knowing this, we interviewed 14 individuals and asked them to recount experiences where they felt they, as the speaker, were being completely listened to by a person or small (2- 5) group of people. We found that people were able to provide us with a wide range of stories where they felt they were listened to intently, but there were many similarities between the experiences. This study has made it clear that Engaged listening is fairly common, with the number of times the interviewees experience these types of conversations averaging at around 3 times a month. We were also able to confirm that every person feels heard in different ways, but eye contact and verbal engagement of some kind seem to be key to communicating engagement.

A work culture analysis of the City of Austin's Resource Recovery Department done over a period of four months. After conducting individual interviews, surveying the staff, and facilitating some focus groups, we delivered five potential ways leadership could improve the working environment, and a way for them to measure successful implementation of our recommendations.

An in depth market analysis completed in a graduate course for the McCombs School of Business Texas Venture Works program. We evaluated an organization's competitiveness in its market and how its products stand apart from existing software that serve the same function.

An in depth market analysis completed in a graduate course for the McCombs School of Business Texas Venture Works program. We evaluated a brand new organization's competitiveness in its market and how its products stand apart from existing medical devices that serve the same function.

I worked in a team where we developed a brochure and an informative video for the patients of the Migrant Clinicians Network. This is the final report that I put together to showcase the work we did.