Speaker Highlight: Bauer EMBA Alumna Turned Senator 

The Bauer College Executive MBA program recently welcomed distinguished guest and Bauer alumna Sen. Carol Alvarado (EMBA ‘08) to share with current students her journey to one of the state’s top leadership positions.  

Alvarado’s visit was part of the EMBA Speaker Series, where the program invites alumni to return to their alma mater to sit down in discussion with current students, faculty and staff to share ways their education at Bauer helped prepare them for their careers.  

“We are honored to have Sen. Carol Alvarado close out our EMBA Speaker Series for the spring,” said EMBA Program Director Cindy Tamez. “As a department, we are proud to be able to provide these types of networking events and learning experiences.”  

EMBA Faculty Director Gordon Smith, who led the conversation with Alvarado, said he was excited to talk with her about all that she’s done since graduating Bauer and hear her guidance for current EMBA students.  

“It’s always nice to have alumni come back, which is what this speaker series is all about,” Smith said.  

Alvarado said she was excited to be invited back to campus to share her story. 

“Whether you’re in business or politics, people are paying more attention to who their leaders are,” she said. “I hope to share some of those life lessons I learned here at Bauer that I have incorporated into my career.”  

After Alvarado graduated, she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives and served five terms representing District 145. In 2018, she was first elected in the Texas Senate and is now serving in her fourth term.  

A native Houstonian and longtime resident of the city's East End, Alvarado shared that her involvement in public service began when she was a teenager, when she attended city council meetings to advocate for her community. 

Earning a graduate business degree from Bauer helped not only to provide a solid foundation of leadership and finance principles that have helped in various committees but also to strengthen her as an individual, she said.