David Murphy
PMBA '24
Hometown: Buffalo
Home State: New York
Home Country: United States
Undergraduate Institution: The University of Texas at Austin
Undergraduate Degree and Major: Bachelor of Business Administration - Finance and History
Current Industry: Education
Current Company: Pansophic Learning
Current Title: Director, Financial Planning and Analysis
Desired industry post-MBA: Technology
Desired job function post-MBA: VP of Finance
Student Organization Membership:
- Beer Club
- Rice Business Board Fellows
What has been the most surprising part of your Rice MBA experience?
The positive interactions and personal interest that the professors offer. Unlike undergrad, where I feel like there was an element of standoff-ishness, the Rice MBA professors are of course eager to help by answering course-related questions outside of classtime, but also I have found that they enjoy interacting with us students even when academics are not the topic at hand. Multiple times our professors have joined our table during our lunch break; Ajay partook in an end-of-semester toast/wine happy hour; and Tarik took time to learn all of our names and backgrounds even before the semester started.
What has been your favorite thing about your MBA experience so far?
The people and friendships that I am making within my cohort and across the MBA program.
What do you LOVE most about Houston?
Houston has a great food and drink scene (especially the breweries). Every type of food is represented and represented well! And I have never been anywhere else with as many unique and cool breweries as here.
What is one piece of advice you would share with a prospective student?
Forge connections early and stay on top of classwork!