Students at the University of Texas San Antonio College of Public Policy got to meet and talk to local community leaders at the school's annual Conversation Starters event.
Community leaders attending were San Antonio Water System President and CEO Robert R. Puente; CPS Energy Executive Vice President & Chief Delivery Officer Jelynne L. Burley, Bexar County Manager David L. Smith, and San Antonio Police Chief William McManus, who is stepping down as Chief of Police at the end of this year to join CPS Energy as senior director of security.
San Antonio Mayor Ivy Taylor, who teaches Public Administration at UTSA, intruduced the guests and explained the process that she compared to "speed dating."
Each guest stood at a different table talking to a group of students for about 15 minutes. Then Taylor announced it was time to switch, and students moved to a different table with a different community leader.
The event was a chance for both undergraduates and master's level students "to have really great one-on-one converations with the guests and to get some career advice," said Francine Romero, PhD, Associate Dean for the College of Public Policy at UTSA. Romero has attended Conversation Starters since its beginning four years ago.
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