Futures Initiative
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The College of Liberal Arts is excited to launch The Futures Initiative, an alumni series highlighting how studying the humanities prepares students for public and professional lives of purpose. Join us for live Q&As with Liberal Arts Longhorns working in a variety of industries where they’ll share their career journeys and offer advice to current students.
Upcoming Futures Events
Liberal Arts in Writing & Editing: A Conversation with Lauren Woods
Novemeber 4th, 2025 4-5pm, RLP 1.302B
Lauren D. Woods, originally from the Dallas area, now lives and writes in Washington, DC, where she was a 2024-25 Washington, DC Arts and Humanities Fellow for Fiction. Her debut short story collection, The Great Grown-Up Game of Make-Believe, won the 2024 Autumn House Press Fiction Prize, judged by Kristen Arnett. Her writing has appeared as a spotlighted story in The Best Small Fictions, as well as in The Antioch Review, The Normal School, Passages North, Hayden’s Ferry Review, Red Rock Review, Southern Humanities Review, and Lunch Ticket, among others. Lauren works in consulting and lives with her husband, four children, two cats, and a guinea pig. While at the University of Texas, Lauren studied in the Liberal Arts Honors program, served on the Liberal Arts Council, and wrote for The Daily Texan.
Register for the event here.
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Liberal Arts in Finance: a Conversation with Andre Kovensky
Tuesday, February 3, 3:30-4:30pm, Virtual
Andre Kovensky has worked in finance for over 25 years. He founded Octavia Investments in 2007 to manage his personal investments. In 2013, he registered Octavia as an investment advisory firm so that clients could participate in the same investments that Andre makes for himself. Andre has invested a substantial portion of his personal net worth in the investment strategies of the firm, resulting in a natural alignment of Octavia's and its client’s financial interests.
Prior to focusing exclusively on Octavia, Andre was the Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Tokyo Japan-based PGM Holdings (TSE:2466), a Tokyo Stock Exchange publicly traded company, where he ran all aspects of operations as well as the finance organization. He also spent three years leading corporate buyouts in Tokyo for Lone Star Funds (PGM's largest shareholder). Previously, he spent 10 years as an investment banker, the majority of which with Citigroup based in Silicon Valley focused on technology companies, as well as with Credit Suisse based in Houston, Texas focused on energy companies.
Andre received his MBA from UCLA's Anderson School of Management and a BA in the Humanities from the University of Texas at Austin.
Register and find the Zoom link here.
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Liberal Arts in Journalism & Law: A Conversation with Hema Mullur
Wednesday, February 11, 4-5pm, RLP 1.302B
Hema Mullur is a journalist and attorney in Austin, Texas. She is a proud graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, where she received undergraduate degrees in Plan II Honors and Journalism, as well as a Juris Doctor from The University of Texas School of Law. Hema began her broadcast journalism career in Midland, TX, then continued anchoring and reporting in El Paso, TX and Denver, CO before returning to Austin in 2014, serving as the primary evening news anchor at CBS Austin for nine years. Throughout her journalism career, Hema has been honored with a Lone Star Emmy Award and the Best News Anchor award from the Texas Associated Press Broadcasters.
The opportunity to tell meaningful stories and shine a light on injustice led Hema to journalism, and she has now taken that goal to the legal field as an associate at Ross Scalise Beeler and Pillischer, a plaintiff-side employment law firm based in Austin. Hema is deeply involved in the local community and serves on the board of directors for the Austin Public Library Foundation, Girl Scouts of Central Texas, and the Plan II Honors Board of Visitors.
Register here.
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Liberal Arts in Private Equity: a Conversation with Dax T.S. Mitchell
Thursday, March 5, 4-5pm, GEB 3.312
Dax T.S. Mitchell brings a wealth of experience with a successful track record spanning 25 years in commercial real estate development and middle market private equity. A 7th generation Texan, he maintains a strong connection to his community and its values. Mr. Mitchell holds an active California Broker's License, is an engaged alumnus of both the Culver Military Academy in Culver, IN, and The University of Texas at Austin where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in History. He also serves on the board of the Bradley Nowell Family Foundation, the Advisory Counsel of The University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts and 5 corporate boards.
Register here.
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Liberal Arts in Public Policy: a Conversation with Karyme Alejos
Thursday, April 2, 3:30-4:30pm, FAC 2nd Floor Classroom
Karyme Alejos is a 2023 graduate of the University of Texas at Austin with degrees in Government and Sociology, whose work centers on global human rights. She recently served in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) Public Policy Fellow, working on the legislative teams of Congresswoman Delia Ramirez and Ranking Member Joaquin Castro on the Western Hemisphere Subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In these roles, she drafted legislation, supported congressional hearings, and worked on issues related to global migration, human rights, and Latin American foreign policy.
Karyme is also the co-founder and President of the Latina Empowerment Alliance (LEA), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that fosters cross-cultural mentorship and empowerment between U.S. female professionals and marginalized young women in Latin America. She was also named a Harvard Law School Future Leader in Law Fellow and a NextGen Fellow at Foreign Policy for America.
Karyme looks forward to sharing her experience at the intersection of nonprofit leadership, political and social science research, and law and policy.
Register here.
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Spring 2026 Speakers and Dates TBA
Have an industry or alum you’d like to see featured in an upcoming Futures Initiative event? Email Tatem Oldham to share your idea!