HornsLink contains 1,040 registered student organizations, with new groups joining every year, holding the potential to blossom into something that will last.

Texas Marketrics permanently established its place on the Forty Acres after two semesters of activity. During the annual Swing-Outs Awards, the Office of the Dean of Students recognized Texas Marketrics as the “Best New Organization.” Focusing on a project-based approach to financial topics, Marketrics allows students to gain experience and learn skills not covered in class. The organization comprises two divisions: quantitative finance and equity research. In the first year of its existence, Texas Marketrics hosted multiple pitch competitions as well as project presentations.

“I was really impressed with (the students in Texas Marketrics),” said Mark Zyla, finance lecturer and faculty sponsor for the organization. “What they’ve taught themselves, … particularly for first and second year students, it’s really impressive.”

Finance junior Dev Arora created the organization last semester, with the desire to create opportunities for students to learn about topics outside the classroom, spurring his efforts.

“The idea was to build a quantitative finance club because of limited opportunities (at) UT-Austin for quantitative finance,” Arora said. “The main idea of the club was, ‘we want to give more opportunities to students.’”

Texas Marketrics accepts students of any major, and Arora said that around 30% of members pursue degrees outside McCombs. Soham Kulkarni, statistics and data science freshman, joined the organization’s equity research branch to learn financial skills not taught in his classes.

“I’m grateful for the very inclusive environment they have,” Kulkarni said. “They were able to (be) just, like, ‘Whoever you are, we are going to teach you, and we’re gonna give you that equal opportunity that any other person would get at UT.’”

Texas Marketrics welcomed many members this year, with the current roster sitting at 60 students. Economics freshman Andrew Ullman joined the organization as a team member in the quantitative finance branch.

“My most fond memory I have through my involvement with this org was just hanging out, staying up late working on these projects with friends,” Ullman said. “You’re working on something, but you’re also hanging out and really getting to know other people.”

The organization recently became affiliated with McCombs, further boosting its credibility on campus. McCombs professors, including Zyla, sit in on stock pitch presentations, aiding the organization’s professionalism.

“For a group of first and second-year students, they’ve created an organization that teaches students pretty sophisticated financial analysis,” Zyla said. “I think that probably was something that … distinguished themselves from the other (award finalists).”

The Forty Acres offers numerous opportunities for Longhorns to take their education into their own hands, and student organizations aid in this process. No matter the interest, students have the power to find, or create, groups that enrich their college experience.

“(Texas Marketrics) brought this community that really enforced the idea that, no matter what major you are, whatever you’re a part of, you can join us, and we’ll teach you all the stuff,” Kulkarni said. “That was really important for me.”