It started out with IQ. Business schools expected grads to master discounted cash flows and comparable company analysis. Back then, MBAs just needed to be modeling ninjas for the doors to open and cash to rain. No more. Now, employers are seeking more “complete” talent. Call it bean splicer meets team builder. Like yin and yang, business schools are focusing on pairing the IQ with the EQ – the ability to listen, adapt, and resolve conflicts.
Now, Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business is demanding something a little extra from its students. Dean Bill Boulding calls it DQ – an acronym that’s associated with everything from data quality to Dairy Queen. Long hand, DQ stands for “Decency Quotient.” For Boulding, it is the truly transformational part of the Duke MBA experience – a program long-regaled for its “Team Fuqua” dynamic. While the intellectual horsepower (IQ) and social skills (EQ) are still fundamental to long-term success in Boulding’s view, the DQ will be what ultimately sets leaders apart.
“To be the kind of leader the world needs today, you have to be someone who actually cares about others and who wants to make a difference in the lives of others,” Boulding tells P&Q in a 2018 interview.
THE DQ DIFFERENCE
Shari Hubert, associate dean of admissions at Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, expanded on Boulding’s point at a 2018 CentreCourt Festival from P&Q. “There’s this decency quotient that we talk about and that’s really important to us,” she notes. “And I think at that is at the core of Team Fuqua. It’s not just about how smart are you or, you know, how articulate or communicative are you, but it’s also about how decent, how much empathy do you have for others? Do you care about and support your teammates and your classmates as you’re going through this transformation together? As an individual gets stronger, that will make your team stronger, the class stronger, and the school stronger. It adds value to your brand and to your degree.”
Broll at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in Durham, NC on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. (Alex Boerner)
The Duke DQ was immediately apparent to full-time MBAs, past and present. Collaborative, ambitious, supportive, open, growth-driven – Fuqua is home to a diverse and fervent group who are always on the lookout for #2 – their peers.
“Fuqua is truly a happy place,” writes Julian Gordon, a 2018 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA. “Fuqua students have a strong commitment to helping one another achieve their personal and professional goals. The administration and faculty are also equally yoked in ensuring that we collectively achieve a greater good for all. Those commitments resonated deeply with me. From the first time I walked through our school, it felt like home to me. It was for those reasons that I felt compelled to run for co-president of this school. As a student who has received so much support, it felt like it was my opportunity to pay those gifts forward.”
A PLACE WHERE EVERYONE IS INCLUDED
For Mary Fernandez, an incoming first-year, Fuqua classmates distinguished themselves by what they didn’t do. A blind woman, Fernandez has endured well-meaning peers always looking to jump in and help, assuming she couldn’t make it on her own because of her disability. At Fuqua, the DQ DNA fosters an opposite reaction. Here, she is given space to make mistakes, all while Team Fuqua significantly involves her in the community – a combination she hasn’t experienced anywhere else.
“I think that somehow the community at Fuqua understands that inclusion is not just asking under-represented minorities to show up, but to truly include them in a meaningful way into the fabric of the community,” she writes. “And I think that’s what is special about the students here… I find that I constantly must make an extreme effort to put others at ease because they simply do not know how to deal with individuals who are different from them. I never felt that way at Fuqua. I feel like I found a community that may have questions, and wants to help in whatever way they can, but which also understands that I am not just my disability. In short, there are few precious places I have felt so comfortable to be myself outside of non-disabled circles. And that is something that is extremely meaningful to me.”
This egalitarian spirit is a hallmark of the Class of 2020. Take Alexandra Herrera Flores. She grew up in Peru, where women were prohibited from playing soccer. She was told that “it was not for a girl” and “soccer is too rude for a delicate little girl.” Her parents agreed – even grounding her when she snuck out to play. That didn’t stop Herrera Flores. As an adult, she founded a social enterprise that became Ligas Femeninas Futbol 7 (LF7) – Peru largest women’s soccer league. Boasting 3,500 players and 52,000 followers on its fan page, LF7 hosts the nation’s largest women’s soccer tournament, all while funneling profits into social academies to help underprivileged girls.
DUSANAPUDI SCOURS INDIA TO PROMOTE ENTREPRENEURESHIP
Egalitarian – and diverse too. Before departing for Durham, Anthony Solesi was a vice president of strategy at the Bank of New York Mellon. Anna Sturkey served as a consultant at Bain & Company, where she helped the Women at Bain (WAB) group set the bar for the other offices to meet. Tanvie Vinayak worked as a senior analyst for the Clinton Health Access Initiative after a stint at PwC. Vinayak’s claim to fame? She re-designed models for education, employment and support for people with autism, cerebral palsy, and other disabilities that were implemented by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India.
“It was an extraordinary feeling to know that our thought process and contribution had been formalized into policy that would benefit millions.”
At the same time, Anurag Dusanapudi has devoted his career to social sector in India, even traveling to 150 rural villages to promote entrepreneurship and fight poverty. “When I started in the social impact space, I had no formal education or experience,” he admits. “In two years’ time, I built and streamlined a model that was selected by the Ministry of Rural Development (Indian Govt.) as a national best-practice. I supported the Ministry in designing and implementing a national policy across 16 states in India to impact 370,000 direct beneficiaries. When I quit my corporate job to explore social impact, I never imagined that I could accomplish anything on this scale.”
FIRST YEAR MASTERS A 75 STRING INSTRUMENT
Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business
Looking for real responsibilities? How about Tala Kayyali? She ran a $54 million Enterprise Resource Planning upgrade, where she led 23 people and developed six contingency plans. Oh, and she was the youngest and only female lead too! Then there’s Alexander Wilson, a senior Special Forces medical sergeant. In 2017, he faced his worst nightmare: a terrorist attack in a village that was 100 miles away from a hospital. The tragedy also turned out to be Wilson’s finest hour.
“Our team of twelve (only two of us formally trained in medicine) had the desperate responsibility of treating more critical patients than we had the human resources to handle. But the medical cross-training I had done with my teammates over the years kicked in and we worked together to treat every patient quickly enough so that all lives were saved. Seeing the effect of uncounted hours spent teaching my teammates field surgical skills and witnessing them employ those skills in such a meaningful way to directly save innocent lives was the proudest moment of my life.”
The class is equally fascinating outside their careers. Evan Lau calls himself a “Skydiver, finance professional and wild animal conservationist.” How serious is he about the latter? “Elephants visited my tent once-in-a-while on starry nights when I joined the Masai Mara National Conservancy Program in Kenya. There, I lived in the bush with six international volunteers, tutored a local refugee tribe under the boiling sun, and monitored cheetahs through smashing rain.”
By the same token, Tala Kayyali balances “a scientific brain with a musician’s heart.” Her unique talent is playing a 75-string instrument called the qanun – and she has played in an all-female ensemble in Jordan called “Nashmiyyat.” Then again, Alexander Wilson envies such balance.
“I’ve spent over 18 cumulative years of my life overseas in more than 30 different countries. I grew up having to speak several languages and I attended six different international schools. Every member of my family was born in a different country. Typically innocuous questions like, ‘Where are you from?’ can trigger a minor internal identity crisis for me.”
FUQUA CRACKS 40% MARK FOR WOMEN
By the numbers, the Class of 2020 may rank as Fuqua’s most diverse yet. Notably, the class features 42% women – up eight points over the previous year. In context, this represents the highest proportion of women at Fuqua since the Class of 2011, where the total stood at 38%. In a year where American MBA programs reported steep declines in international students, Fuqua posted a 38% share, just a point down from the previous year.
Braeden Hall
The program is equally diverse in terms of American students. The Northeast and South account for just 26% and 23% respectively, with the remaining four regions (Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Southwest and West) each composing 10% or more of the class. The percentage of underrepresented American minorities also held steady at 16%, with married students making up 18% of the class.
“I am excited about the progress we are making in adding to the diversity in our community – from our student body to faculty and even advisory boards,” Russ Morgan notes. “We have lots of initiatives in place to increase diversity and it’s nice to see those efforts continuing to pay off. We are a community that strongly believes in learning from difference – so truly these efforts are core to our DNA and will continue to make our community even more interesting for future students.”
GMATs CONTINUE TO CLIMB
Academically, the 2020 Class also ranks among the school’s best ever. Average GMATs continue their steady climb. This year’s 704 average is two points better than the previous year – and eight points above the 2017 Class. Even more, its 3.5 undergraduate GPA average is a 0.1 of a point bump over the past three years as well.
In recent years, Fuqua has also trended towards accepting more business and accounting majors. Two years ago, these students represented 29% of the class. This year, that share is 37%. This number has come at the expense of engineering and natural sciences majors, which fell from 26% to 22% over the past year. Liberal arts held steady at 19%, as economics majors hold 17% of the class’ seats.
In terms of professional backgrounds, Fuqua segments them into very small slices. Translation: there are three industries with larger blocs followed by 16 more with 5% or fewer members of the class. Not surprisingly, consulting ranks as the largest segment of the class at 24%. Financial services (22%) and healthcare (7%) also make strong showings in the class.
Go to next page for in-depth profiles of incoming Duke Fuqua students.
Incoming MBA students in the Class of 2020 at Duke Fuzua
EMPLOYERS BUY INTO TEAM FUQUA
On a sour note, applications to Fuqua fell by 6.2% during the 2017-2018 cycle. Still, the acceptance rate also held steady at a demanding 22%. Even more, the arrow is trending up at Fuqua, particularly in terms of outcomes. The program ranked 6th-best in the Bloomberg Businessweek employers survey. Better yet, median pay packages for the 2017 Class rose by $5,500, with 96% of the class landing jobs within 90 days of graduation.
What’s behind the success? Russ Morgan, senior associate dean for full-time programs at Fuqua, in a 2018 interview with P&Q, attributes it to the essence of Team Fuqua. In his conversations with recruiters, he has been struck by a theme: Fuqua candidates invest the time to learn about their peers and put them in positions to succeed.
“Our students want to be energized by people around them,” Morgan tells P&Q. “They are supportive in the sense that they are more than willing to help each student not only get the best out of themselves, but the best out of others. For us, Team Fuqua is a way of working that’s embedded in our culture. That’s relevant when you’re a student, but it’s exceptionally relevant after you leave here.”
TEAM FUQUA MAKES STUDENTS ACCOUNTABLE TO EACH OTHER
What exactly is Team Fuqua? Think of it as collective purpose, a code where no one is successful unless everyone is. The heart of Team Fuqua is the “Paired Principles,” a framework of six values that include Authentic Engagement, Supportive Ambition, Collective Diversity, Impactful Stewardship, Loyal Community, and Uncompromising Integrity. In a nutshell, the Paired Principles demand a higher level of engagement and selflessness from students – a vision of professional etiquette where the sum is always greater than the individual parts.
Broll at The Fuqua School of Business at Duke University in Durham, NC on Tuesday, April 18, 2017. (Alex Boerner)
A marketing ploy? Well, Team Fuqua is very, very real. Just ask Julian Gordon, who experienced the Duke difference for two years. “We really believe in supporting one another, whether in school or outside of it. Whether it’s an open door policy by classmates for interview preparation, pep talks in the hallway, or just a warm smile, we care passionately about lifting as we climb. Beyond any one experience, Team Fuqua really means thinking more about others than about your own personal interests.”
Poll the 440 members of the 2020 Class and you’ll find the Team Fuqua ethos was the school’s biggest draw – an intangible where the mission, means, and motivation all converge to create a like-minded student body. “Becoming a leader of consequence, or a leader with a higher purpose than just business results, was something that I valued,” asserts Anthony Solesi. “In today’s world, teamwork is a key to success – Fuqua understands this and develops leaders to be able to not only manage a team, but become consequential leaders who invest in professional relationships, promote cohesion, and communicate easily and effectively.”
TEAM PLAYERS WHO GO THE EXTRA MILE
Soccer lover Alexandra Herrera Flores also appreciated how “Fuqua breathes sports from its curricula.” That comes as no surprise given the prominence of Coach Mike Krzyzewski – and his focus on a culture of communication and character in the basketball program. In many respects, Fuqua MBAs resemble Blue Devil ballplayers, she says, particularly when it comes to buying into being team players.
“They are the “extra mile” team players,” Herrera Flores says about her classmates. “I am aware that Fuqua is known for having a team player vision and that’s totally true, but I think the way everyone lives that is what really matters. It is not only that people just help each other and listen to the group ideas; it is that they are passionate about doing it and always looking out for new opportunities for getting things done. More important, they are always working as a family. Everyone is actively proposing activities, helping each other, listening to new ideas, and collectively enforcing them.”
Like Krzyzewski’s vision, Team Fuqua is designed to spread across business as a model for how to think, act, live, and lead. “There is this idea that business has a responsibility to contribute to society,” Russ Morgan observes. “That is a latent part of Team Fuqua – this idea of making the teams you’re on better and the individuals you work with better and make yourself better. Increasingly, society is looking for business to lead – that’s a key element of what we’re providing.”
A LEADER IN SOCIAL IMPACT
That’s not all that Fuqua is providing. It is ranked as a top three research program by the Financial Times with Top 10 programs in marketing, management, and nonprofits according to Bloomberg Businessweek. Not surprisingly, the Team Fuqua spirit naturally channels the program towards social entrepreneurship too. Anurag Dusanapudi, for one, plans to pursue poverty eradication after graduation. To prepare for that, he plans to devote extensive time in the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE) – a place where students can network with practitioners; engage in discussions, webinars, treks, and conferences; take part in social impact projects; and gain experience in areas like impact investing.
Duke Fuqua MBAs at their orientation week
“Fuqua offers the best of both worlds to me.” Dusanapudi notes. “With CASE’s world-class faculty, its extension into Africa and India, and the numerous support systems on offer, Fuqua was an obvious choice for me.”
Fuqua’s location is another underrated aspect of the Fuqua experience. For one, the school is just 15 minutes from Research Triangle Park (RTP). The nation’s largest research park, RTP is home to 250 companies ranging from early stage biotech and information technology firms to large players like IBM and Fidelity Investments. For students like Tali Keyyali, this makes the possibilities limitless in Durham.
“I am doing the Health Sector Management certificate which is a highlight at Fuqua. Being in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area gives us a unique perspective on health care because we are surrounded by several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and nestled within some of the country’s leading research organizations and medical centers. I also love the proximity to an international airport since I love to travel.”
BIG-TIME FACULTY GEARING UP BIG-TIME COURSES
The weather isn’t bad either, averaging just four inches of snow a year. Then, there’s Durham itself, an upbeat and entrepreneurial city whose values closely mirror Fuqua itself. “There’s such an intersection between what Durham is and what Duke Fuqua is,” Russ Morgan points out in his 2018 interview. “It’s reinforcing. It’s easy to live in Durham, which means you can get together with classmates. You get this benefit of a lot of connection between students – the trust that comes with spending time together. Everyone lives within this network in the community and it facilitates a lot of organic interaction. It builds this trust which leads to, “I will allow you to give me strong feedback. I understand why we are in this together.’”
Looking ahead, what can the Class of 2020 expect? Morgan points to a new certificate in Management Science and Technology Management, which he says focuses on how analytics and technology impact every facet of business. In addition, the MBA program has added several new courses over the past year. One example: Professor Ronnie Chatterji has developed a course that looks at the intersection between politics and business, including the perils and opportunities that exist for leaders who weigh in on the issues. “The feedback we’ve gotten has been that it’s one of the best courses many students have ever taken in their academic careers,” Morgan notes.
That’s just the start. According to Morgan, Professor Campbell Harvey, a Fuqua legend and blockchain expert, continues to broaden his acclaimed Blockchain Technology course. General Martin Dempsey, a retired Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is a marquee attraction with his ever-popular courses in leadership. At the same time, Hot off the press, Professor Ashleigh Rosette has developed a new course on challenges facing women in leadership.
“Ashleigh is one of the top diversity and gender experts in the world and is much sought-after by companies looking to meaningfully initiate change,” Morgan notes. “We are thrilled she’s developing this new offering and we’ve been clear that this is a course for both women and men – as we strongly believe it’s important for all future business leaders to talk through gender issues.”
Portraits and B Roll images at Duke University Fuqua School of Business in Durham, NC Monday, April 23, 2018. (Justin Cook for Rotarian Magazine)
COMING SOON: FUQUA IDOL
Even with the world-class coursework, Morgan adds, the biggest surprise involves just how much students learn from each other. “We are very intentional about creating the conditions for students to engage with each other through collaborative teamwork and facilitating entrepreneurial activity among students around co-curricular development. This type of organic activity is authentic and becomes driven by student interest and passion, naturally fostering relationships across a wide array of diverse backgrounds in our cohorts – which doesn’t just mean geographical locations, but gender, industries, functions, and personal experiences.”
Two months in, the Class of 2020 is falling into the rhythms of students past. They certainly don’t mind being free from classes on Wednesdays, though most use that time to work on club activities, case competitions, and pet projects. The end of the week brings Fuqua Fridays, where students and their family join faculty and staff for food and drink in the Fox Center before capping off the night with skits and talent show.
“To me, it is such a feel good night,” Morgan observes. “It is a way for us, internally, to celebrate. Not only do we have this academically gifted talent, but look at this person in terms of vocal performance or piano or guitar talent. The quality that you see there makes me feel like it is such a special community.”
That includes Tala Kayyali, who is expected to wow her Team Fuqua peers at Fuqua Idol. “I am really excited to share my 75-string instrument with my classmates!”
What led these professionals to enter business schools? Which programs did they also consider? What strategies did they use to choose their MBA program? What was the major event that defined them? Find the answers to these questions and many more in the in-depth profiles of these incoming MBA candidates.
| Student | Hometown | Alma Mater | Previous Employer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shezanne Cassim | Dubai, UAE | University of Minnesota | American Airlines |
| Anurag Dusanapudi | Tadepalligudem, India | BITS Pilani, India | Impact Micro Ventures |
| Mary Fernandez | Woodbridge, NJ | Emory University | National Federation of the Blind |
| Alexandra Herrera Flores | Lima, Peru | Universidad del Pacifico | Etex Group Peru |
| Tala Kayyali | Amman, Jordan | Tufts University | Biogen |
| Evan Luo | Guangzhou, China | Guangdong University of Foreign Studies | PwC |
| Anthony Solesi | Bel Air, MD | Lehigh University | The Bank of New York Mellon |
| Anna Sturkey | Charlotte, NC | University of North Carolina | Bain & Company |
| Tanvie Vinayak | New Delhi, India | Hans Raj College | Clinton Health Access Initiative |
| Alexander Wilson | Buenos Aires, Argentina | University of Texas at Austin | United States Army |
Shezanne Cassim
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Someone who would choose an interesting life over an easy life, any day.”
Hometown: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Fun Fact About Yourself: When I was a kid, I wanted to be a fighter pilot. Even to this day, I dream about buying a decommissioned fighter jet so I can fly it around for fun.
Undergraduate School and Major: University of Minnesota, B.A. Political Science
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: American Airlines; Manager, Business Development
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While working at Emirates Airline in Dubai, I was selected to help implement and manage a new inventory distribution system across three regions in our global network – Asia-Pacific, the Middle East, and West Africa. The role gave me my first experiences leading cross-functional teams around the world and together we enjoyed success in markets as varied as Senegal, Syria, Iraq, China, Indonesia, and Thailand.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Diverse and full of energy. In only the few days leading up to the start of the program, I’ve seen my classmates take the initiative to organize multiple social and educational events. It is amazing to see how enthusiastic everyone is to share their experiences, expertise, and time.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The quality of post-graduate career opportunities was a key factor in me choosing Fuqua. There are many career pathways now open to me that I would not have had access to had I not opted to attend Fuqua. Additionally, the Career Management Center’s expertise in helping match students with careers made me optimistic that I could even find an interesting career opportunity that I might not have thought about before. Having a broad set of quality career options is so important to me because my ultimate goal is to find fulfilling and impactful work that I am both extremely passionate about and well-suited for.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am most looking forward to joining the Fuqua2Duke program, where I can help mentor undergraduates. When I was an undergraduate, I had little-to-no guidance and I made many mistakes. I hope that by offering guidance to undergraduates, I can help them avoid making the same mistakes I made. Essentially, I hope to help them understand the immensity of all the opportunities that Duke University offers and help them progress through their college careers in ways that open up as many doors as possible.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? When I graduated from college, I was looking forward to never having to return to school. I thought that when I joined the workforce, I would learn everything I needed to know on the job. But over the years, while I might have learned some valuable hard skills, I found out that I had severely underestimated the importance of leadership in the world of business. Having thought that “leadership” was merely a wishy-washy concept and not the kind of driving force that underpins successful organizations, I ignored actively developing my leadership skills almost entirely in my early career. The humbling realization that I had gotten it so wrong and that I had much to learn led me on a pathway towards pursuing an MBA.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? After looking at the post-graduate employment and salary reports, the return on investment was clear to me. But more importantly, because I value learning as much as I now do, I felt the chance to be a full-time student again was priceless.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? The Ross School of Business, University of Michigan
How did you determine your fit at various schools? Based on my personality, my belief in teamwork, my personal development goals, and my career goals, there were three primary factors I was looking for in a school. Firstly, I wanted to attend a school which attracted students who were collaborative and not hyper-competitive. Secondly, I was looking for a school which offered a range of experiential learning opportunities. And lastly, I was looking for a school with strong career management resources and where top companies actively come to recruit.
After studying Fuqua’s employment reports, evaluating rankings, looking through online MBA-related information resources such as Poets & Quants, reading Fuqua’s blogs, and speaking to colleagues who had graduated from Fuqua, I saw that Fuqua ticked off all three of those factors, at least on paper. But it was not until I visited the school during my interview and had the chance to spend an entire day chatting with current and prospective students that I really felt that intangible connection to the school.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? When I moved to the US from the UAE while I was in high school, I found it extremely difficult to leave behind my friends and the life I had known. I struggled with severe homesickness even well into my college years. After eventually adapting, however, I became confident that I could face and overcome greater challenges. Over time, I developed a receptiveness to taking on challenges and now consider resilience to be my single greatest strength.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? I am currently exploring several options which include returning to the airline industry (hopefully in a role that would involve launching customer-facing products), management consulting, and perhaps even a niche role in an early stage tech company. While I haven’t yet committed to a career in a specific industry, I do know that I would like to be involved in strategy, product development, or marketing.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I see myself leading a team as we research, conceptualize, build, and deploy a product – whether it be a new aircraft seat design, a jet engine component, computer application, or a video game.
Anurag Dusanapudi
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“A passionate, fun-loving, practical entrepreneur who wants to synergise business and society.”
Hometown: Tadepalligudem, India
Fun Fact About Yourself: I traveled to 500+ villages and delivered public speeches in more than 150 villages, as part of a campaign to promote entrepreneurship in rural India.
Undergraduate School and Major: BITS Pilani, India
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Impact Micro Ventures, Co-founder/COO
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment is designing a last-mile entrepreneurship promotion model from scratch, to fight poverty. When I started in the social impact space, I had no formal education or experience. In 2-years’ time, I built and streamlined a model that was selected by the Ministry of Rural Development (Indian Govt.) as a national best-practice. I supported the Ministry in designing and implementing a national policy across 16 states in India to impact 370,000 direct beneficiaries. When I quit my corporate job to explore social impact, I never imagined that I could accomplish anything on this scale.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? One quality that is strikingly evident in my classmates is humility. It is amazing to see how humble and down-to-earth everyone has been, despite all their accomplishments. Although it’s been only a week, I really am able to make a connection with them, and we talk as if we grew up together! As for me, I can already see ‘Team Fuqua’ spirit brewing among us.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? A key factor that led me to Duke is Fuqua’s focus on social entrepreneurship (next only to the contagious Team Fuqua spirit!).
Personally, I am very passionate about poverty eradication. Through my experience of working in India, I realized that entrepreneurship is essential to create impact sustainably. I wanted to attend a school that would equip me with strong core business skills, while also letting me pursue my interest in social impact. Through the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship (CASE), Fuqua offers the best of both worlds to me.
With CASE’s world-class faculty, its extension into Africa and India, and the numerous support systems on offer, Fuqua was an obvious choice for me.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am looking most forward to joining Net Impact, and I am very thrilled about the Sustainable Business and Social Impact (SBSI) conference.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I have worked in the social impact sector for close to 5.5 years. During this phase, I worked with non-profits, for-profits, governments, founded a start-up, and spent a significant time living in poverty-stricken villages. These experiences put me in a great position to understand the ground-reality of the social sector in India.
Through an MBA, I want to gain a global outlook and network, in addition to mastering the business fundamentals. I want to inject a strong dose of business innovation to the social sector in the coming years, leveraging my MBA and business experience.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I think it boils down to how one sees it! In my case, I never had a doubt that an MBA’s worth (especially one from Duke!) was debatable at all. Although it is a significant investment financially, an MBA propels you to a global stage. I believe that, with Fuqua’s world-class education, relentless alumni, and the brand recall, it sets up an amazing platform to go big from wherever you are and whatever you do!
What other MBA programs did you apply to? I also applied to Yale SOM and UVA Darden.
How did you determine your fit at various schools? One of the most important things to look for while selecting schools is fit. I cannot emphasize it enough. One piece of advice (especially for internationals) is not to have blind faith in rankings. Schools should be selected based on a unique and individual context – yours. My priority was to go to a school with two benefits: a strong focus on social entrepreneurship and a tight-knit student culture.
I started very early. Being in India, I could not visit the schools but made up for it by attending all the schools’ information events – a great way to directly interact with admissions teams and students/alumni. Then I reached out to people from my undergrad alma mater who went to these schools (a quick search on LinkedIn was good enough). I tried to connect with as many students and alumni of the school as I could. I ensured that I spoke to people from similar interest areas – clubs, post-MBA plans, pre-MBA backgrounds etc. This has given me a great sense of the school’s focus on my interest areas and how good the culture was. The best way is to find people who have gone down the road that you intend to take.
Poets and Quants and GMAT Club were great resources all along the way. MBAMission school guides give good insight even before you talk to people.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I might not have a defining ‘moment’ that shaped me.
My father – a social activist – shaped my professional passions and career choices. Watching him work with poor laborers sensitized me to poverty at a very young age. Throughout my undergrad and corporate stint, I was involved with non-profits in some capacity. After working for over a year in the corporate world, I decided to take up social impact full-time and quit the job. My parents offered immense support and confidence that helped me to transition into the social sector and become who I am today.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? Immediately after graduation, I want to work at a social entrepreneurship incubator or a fund, which would allow me to work at the intersection of social impact and business world. With this experience and networks in other developing markets, I want to return to my startup in India.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years from graduation, I see myself running a social enterprise promoting grassroots entrepreneurship and financial inclusion in developing countries. I want to create an ecosystem to impart self-reliance among the poor, through entrepreneurship.
Mary Fernandez
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Sassy, classy, driven and quirky.”
Hometown: Woodbridge, New Jersey
Fun Fact About Yourself: As a child, I was convinced real people lived inside the television. I often marveled at how they got such big houses in such a small box.
Undergraduate School and Major: Emory University, Psychology and Music
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Project Coordinator, National Federation of the Blind
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: The career accomplishment I’m most proud of was writing a guide on inclusion of students with disabilities for a law school as a contractor. Though this may not be the most impressive product to many, my passion for disability rights and insuring that students with disabilities in higher education have the access they are guaranteed by law meant that this wasn’t just a professional undertaking, but also a personal one. Furthermore, I was asked to collaborate on this project by two women who are my mentors and whose opinions are extremely important to me. So being asked to take on the largest part of that project was all at once intimidating and exciting, and the fact that I was able to deliver something they approved of made all the work I put into it worth it.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? The classmates I’ve met so far are truly quality human beings. Of course, they are incredibly intelligent, extremely accomplished, and all seem to have a talent. But most of all they care about communities and the world around them. Meeting the current students at Fuqua and potential classmates influenced my decision to attend this program.
As a person with a visible disability I’m used to feeling like my every move is being closely watched, and as if I make anything that resembles a mistake someone will jump in and try to help, without asking if I need help, just because I’m blind. During my time at Fuqua, I have never encountered that. I think that somehow the community at Fuqua understands that inclusion is not just asking under-represented minorities to show up, but to truly include them in a meaningful way into the fabric of the community. And I think that’s what is special about the students here.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I think that the sense of inclusion I got when I visited made up my mind. Of course, Fuqua is a top program, great academics, great career outcomes, etc. Living with a visible disability means that often we are treated not as people who happen to have a disability but are reduced to just that characteristic. I find that I constantly must make an extreme effort to put others at ease because they simply do not know how to deal with individuals who are different from them. I never felt that way at Fuqua. I feel like I found a community that may have questions, and wants to help in whatever way they can, but which also understands that I am not just my disability. In short, there are few precious places I have felt so comfortable to be myself outside of non-disabled circles. And that is something that is extremely meaningful to me.
Furthermore, an institution’s commitment to inclusion is not simply measured by their marketing materials, but also by their policies and the way those policies are implemented. Though it is federal law that students with disabilities have the right to equal access in education, most of the time that does not actually happen. When I visited during the admitted students’ weekend, I met with the liaison for the students with disabilities office at Fuqua. It is extremely rare to find someone who isn’t disabled who truly gets that equal access to educational materials means that a student has a fair chance at succeeding. Speaking to her, I realized that Fuqua has a real commitment to equal access and supporting a diverse student body. She did not blink when I said that I preferred Braille for quantitative classes, or that I would need to use a laptop during class to take notes, even though Fuqua does not allow electronics in the classroom as a policy. And since I officially accepted the offer of admissions, the administration at Fuqua has truly taken the responsibility of equal access seriously to insure I have an equal academic experience as my peers. This may all sound logical, but it is rare.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’m looking forward to being part of the consulting club, and to take the opportunity to learn another foreign language while I’m here.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Since graduating from college, I’ve worked as a paralegal for a civil rights litigation law firm, as a program coordinator, and as a contractor. All these jobs have had something to do with disability rights and inclusion in some form. However, I’ve always found that in most jobs I started to feel bored after a while, because I yearn to constantly learn and be challenged. In addition, I always knew I wanted a graduate degree; it was deciding which graduate degree that was the real issue. As I started doing independent consulting work in 2017, I discovered that I loved it. I loved being given a problem or asked to produce a work product which would fit the client’s expectations. Figuring out how to best develop a solution that plays to the client’s strengths was my favorite part. And so, I wondered if this was something I could do for a living. I discovered the world of management consulting, and quickly decided that if I wanted to enter this field at this point in my life, I should get an MBA. So, I started researching last summer, took the GRE, applied, and here I am a year later.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I always knew I wanted a graduate degree for several reasons. First, as a Latinx disabled woman, education is important if I want to pursue the type of career I want. Second, it took a while to figure out what I wanted to do when I grew up, but I feel that consulting is the next step in my life’s adventure. I don’t know if I will stay in it forever, but it’s what I want to do in the foreseeable future. Third, an MBA will give me the tools and skills I don’t have right now. I don’t know much about accounting; my knowledge of economics has been mostly acquired by reading newspapers and magazines. So, even though I am slightly terrified of all things quantitative, I feel that the best way to get over fear is to face it head on.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? Yale School of Management, Harvard Business School, Stanford School of Business, Georgetown McDonough, University of Virginia Darden
How did you determine your fit at various schools? When researching MBA programs, I used broad criteria at first, such as ranking, employment outcomes, and geographic location. Once I had a list of about twenty programs I started to read about the school culture and values. To make my final decisions, I attended quite a number of coffee chats with students. I wound up deciding based on community values, the type of students I met, international and study abroad opportunities, the program’s demonstrated efforts in recruiting, and retaining minority students, and finally, the weather.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I think that a moment that defined and changed the course of my life was immigrating to the United States. My mother immigrated to the U.S. when I was two, and it took five years for her to bring me and my brother to this country. As a blind child in Colombia, I did not attend school, and there was no expectation that I would ever do anything with my life. Blind people simply do not have careers, don’t get married, and don’t raise families. Having a mother who believed in me and who was determined that my disability would not stop me, and who instilled the value of an education into me changed the course of my life. I went from living in a place where all doors were closed to me, to coming to a place where – even though my mother worked doing housekeeping, and even though the only way I could afford the college education I received was through scholarships – I am now able to pursue an MBA at a top university. Being an immigrant child with a disability has meant that I don’t take the opportunities I’ve been given for granted. It has meant that I am constantly working to redefine how society views people with disabilities, particularly women.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? After graduation, I hope to work in a major management consulting firm.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I hope to have grown as a professional and worked my way up wherever I land after graduation. I also have an ambition of building a school for blind children in Colombia. I hope that by attaining an MBA, building a strong network, and learning best practices for business, I will be able to fulfill this dream in a sustainable way.
Alexandra Herrera Flores
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Passionate economist and soccer player, highly energetic on gender equality and making things happen”
Hometown: Lima, Peru
Fun Fact About Yourself: I love being surrounded by people since I highly recharge from people’s energy and good vibes. That is the reason why, each birthday, I throw a huge party and sing a couple of catchy fast-paced Latin songs. Everyone has a great time and cheers me on even though I am a terrible singer.
Undergraduate School and Major: Universidad del Pacifico, Economics (Lima, Peru)
Most Recent Employer and Job Title:
- Etex Group Peru (Eternit) – Product Manager, and
- Ligas Femeninas Futbol 7 – Co-Founder and Director
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Having worked five years in strategic consulting, I gained experience solving all kinds of problems and seeking for opportunities in various fields, ranging from telecommunication and energy projects to go-to-market and marketing strategies. That is how, along with a friend, we solved a huge problem in Peruvian society that had affected us all our lives: women were not able to play amateur soccer in Peru because of gender inequality and violence towards women (For example, my parents grounded me whenever I played soccer because “It is not for a girl”). This situation happened even though it is the most popular sport in Peru and almost a religion (after our World Cup classification after 36 years, the President gave a national holiday)!
Using all my consulting experience, I set up a plan to encourage women to play soccer, create a women’s soccer market, and set up a social enterprise (now on its way to becoming an NGO). This has produced an all-around women’s soccer value proposition that fights gender inequality and boosts women empowerment: Ligas Femeninas Futbol 7 (LF7). Nowadays, LF7 is the biggest women’s soccer circuit in Peru, with more than 3,500 players (one of our biggest tournaments unite more than a thousand women playing, even bigger than the National Soccer Federation)! We even have programs with Telefonica and the United States and Australia Embassies in Peru. Moreover, LF7’s profits fund “Social Academies” for unprivileged girls that boost their self-esteem and confidence through a self-designed coaching and soccer methodology. For that matter, we are UN ambassadors for gender equality in Peru. Finally, in LF7 we also invest part of the income in non-stop communicational campaigns that boost the players’ confidence and change social paradigms through our fan page with 52,000 fans.
I am very proud on having set up a social enterprise model that is sustainable, efficient, and helps to eliminate gender inequality and limiting paradigms regarding women’s roles in society, both on and off the soccer field.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? I would say their real passion is to be a team player. They are the “extra mile” team players. I am aware that Fuqua is known for having a team player vision and that’s totally true, but I think the way everyone lives that is what really matters. It is not only that people just help each other and listen to the group ideas; it is that they are passionate about doing it and always looking out for new opportunities for getting things done. More important, they are always working as a family. Everyone is actively proposing activities, helping each other, listening to new ideas, and collectively enforcing them.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Duke’s sports spirit was one of my main drivers. I am a true believer that sports (especially collective sports) give you a different vision of the world. You have to learn to win and to lose; you have to listen to your teammates; and (most important) you have to help each other. Fuqua breathes sports from its curricula (highly intensive in group assignments) to its motto #TeamFuqua.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Association of Women in Business club, Consulting Club and, last but not least, the Soccer Club.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I worked five years in consulting and then worked 2 years as a product manager in a construction materials distribution company, all in Peru and, mostly, at a local level. However, I decided I wanted not only to move forward in my career, but play in the big leagues. My plan is to either get a consulting job abroad with regional projects or work in a big transnational in the strategy area. So, if I really wanted to play in the “big leagues”, I needed to go back to school to learn new concepts and analyze more business cases outside the Peruvian ones. Also, I wanted to keep pushing myself out of my comfort zone and learn how to make the best out of every business opportunity. For that matter, I knew the only way to push myself beyond my boundaries and pursue my dreams was to get into a top business school and learn from both exceptional teachers and brilliant classmates.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Besides the experience of living abroad with a diverse class and having updated business education, I looked up the employment report of every business school I applied to and calculated if it was a clever investment-return decision. Also, I looked-up to the top-employers and found out if the MBA was going to be a springboard to my dream job.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? London Business School, Kellogg (Northwestern) and Anderson (UCLA).
How did you determine your fit at various schools? The first and most important was to talk to as many as alumni from different MBAs I could. When having long conversations with alumni, it is easy to sense how they perceive not only their MBA but other MBAs, from both their own alumni network and what their friends have told them about other MBAs. Talking with alumni helps you shape the culture and activities, as well as the efficiency, helpfulness and resources of the career centers. Also, alumni give you a clear view on what their expectations were and what the reality was – and also on the city characteristics (especially important for internationals, like me). Also, talking to the admissions team helps you understand what is beyond the brochure of each program. I analyzed five dimensions of each of the top MBAs. That way, I decided if I fit (or not). The dimensions were: i) Academic rigor and electives, ii) Collaborative environment and classmates, iii) School spirit / characteristics, iv) Career Management Center efficiency for my career goals, and v) City life.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I would say that the thing that most defines me is that I am really passionate about projects and that I actually make things happen, no matter the problems and no matter if everyone says it is impossible.
My defining moment was quite a long time ago during my first days at elementary school back in Peru. There, at about 6 years old, I wanted to play soccer, my favorite sport, with my classmates. However, there were only boys playing and I asked if I could play. However, they would not let me because they said, “Girls don’t play soccer.” Because I felt insulted, I remember going to the teacher’s office to accuse these boys. There, the teacher tried to convince me that, in fact, “It is impossible because soccer is too rude for a delicate little girl” and that “It is better if you play with dolls or something similar so you won’t get hurt.” After that terrible day at school, I remember being really mad and willing to accuse everyone in talking with my mother. However, when I told her, I only heard “Your teacher is totally right, you shouldn’t be doing boy’s things, so you better obey.”
So, from a young age, I learned the rough way that society had several limiting paradigms for women to be successful and happy. After that, I remember always fighting with passion for any dream I had -especially regarding women’s rights, no matter if everyone tells me it is impossible. After all, I managed to play a little bit of soccer in my childhood – even though I got grounded every week for that – and ended up creating the biggest women’s amateur soccer league in Peru, where my mother (the one who used to ground me for that) now plays the “master’s tournament,” and actually perceives women’s roles in Peruvian society differently.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? I want to pursue a career in strategic consulting doing regional or worldwide projects or working in the strategy division of a big transnational company (probably a retailer). Basically, I would somehow be doing consulting but inside a company. I want to work with cross-cultural and worldwide teams creating value for businesses and challenging the status-quo.
Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself being a director in a top international consulting firm or in a retail transnational, working with worldwide teams in challenging projects finding creative ways to improve businesses and making people’s lives better.
Tala Kayyali
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“A pragmatic cheese lover balancing a scientific brain with a musician’s heart.”
Hometown: Amman, Jordan
Fun Fact About Yourself: I play a 75-string instrument called qanun that I took up at the National Music Conservatory of Amman. I was a member of the first all-female Jordanian music ensemble called “Nashmiyyat” which means “gallant ladies”.
Undergraduate School and Major: Tufts University, Psychology
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Biogen; Lead – Clinical Supply Capabilities
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I led the clinical work stream on $54 million dollar project to upgrade the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system across the company. I was the youngest and only female lead. I directed a cross-functional 23-user team in the US and Denmark, created 6 contingency plans, and oversaw 23 scenarios and 73 defect-fixes. It was very rewarding to motivate the team and deliver the project successfully since a delay would have cost $6 million. As a result of my leadership, I was the youngest person to get promoted to a lead within my group.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why?
Generous. My classmates have been so helpful and informative. They are very open about themselves, sharing their backgrounds, cultures and experiences. It is very motivating to be surrounded by people who show a genuine interest in getting to know you and offer their help in big things and small alike.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Location. I am doing the Health Sector Management certificate which is a highlight at Fuqua. Being in the Research Triangle Park (RTP) area gives us a unique perspective on health care because we are surrounded by several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and nestled within some of the country’s leading research organizations and medical centers. I also love the proximity to an international airport since I love to travel. The weather is a great consequence of the location too!
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school?
Fuqua Idol! I am really excited to share my 75-string instrument with my classmates!
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I wanted to gain functional knowledge of a business, build on people management and leadership soft skills, and explore innovation in healthcare. I was looking to build a strong network, gain exposure to industry leaders, connect with peers who are interested in my industry, give back, show my creative side, and gain exposure to new ways of thinking, new disciplines and industries.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I discussed career trajectories with senior leaders in my organization. An MBA is one of the rare opportunities for you to be surrounded by people who come from different backgrounds and areas of expertise. Exposure to other ways of thinking enhances your own, makes you more empathetic, and builds you to become a better agent of change. If you are looking to pivot or accelerate your career and development, it is a sound investment that continues to pay off for the rest of your career.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? Tuck, Columbia Business School
How did you determine your fit at various schools? People, location, and programs offered. The most helpful way to determine fit is to talk to current students and alumni, and visit the schools. I was looking at schools that have a strong health care program. I attended the weekend for women events that schools hosted to get a better feel for the culture. Advancing women in business is an issue I am passionate about. I was looking for schools that understood the importance of this issue and were actively addressing it.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are?
While I was an undergraduate, I worked as a research assistant at the Tufts Psychopharmacology lab for three years. During one my experiments, a rat jumped out of its cage as I was trying to weigh it. While I was chasing after it to put it back into its cage, I questioned whether I wanted to spend my life doing laboratory research. I had an epiphany that I needed to work in a more team-based role with humans rather than spend 10 hours a day in a research laboratory with no windows. While I valued and appreciated scientific work and thinking, I wanted to do more team-based work. The incident led me to pursue an internship in supply chain operations at a biotechnology company after graduation and started my path in business.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? Consulting.
Evan Luo
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Sky-diver, finance professional and wild animal conservationist.”
Hometown: Guangzhou, China
Fun Fact About Yourself: I was born into a family of doctors, where all of my family members are ER doctors or nurses. Instead of following their footsteps to become a respected doctor, I am determined and have always been encouraged to pursue my passion in business.
Undergraduate School and Major: Bachelor of Business Admission (BBA), Guangdong University of Foreign Studies
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Manager, Assurance and Business Advisory Service-IPO & Capital Market Practice, PwC
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am keen on cross-border deals because of their structural complexity and the cultural differences between countries. I once helped my Chinese client establish a joint venture with the royal government of Tajikistan, a landlocked country in West Asia, turning Tajikistan from zero cement production to an export country of construction materials radiating to Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Iraq.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Sincere, collaborative and determined. It’s easy to find people in business schools who are extremely talented and successful in their own fields. But try to imagine that you are surrounded by people who are not just doing pretty well professionally, but also highly committed to support and help each other grow- this is what Fuqua’s “Supportive Ambition” cultural standard means to me.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? I am grateful that I got multiple offers. And I am proud that I am now in Team Fuqua. The key factor to me is the culture and the commitment of the school to foster that culture. For example, in the interview stage in China, the school organizes a panel sharing session inviting not only the alumni but also the representatives of the leading corporates to interact with the candidates. In the enrollment stage, the school hosts many face-to-face events across the world, such as the Blue Devil Weekend and Fuqua Around the World, for admitted students. Also, there are multiple virtual interactive sharing/webinars covering the topics such as careers, student life, and club activities for the admitted students to get to know more about Fuqua, plan ahead and mingle with each other. The collaborative, supportive and team-based culture of Fuqua kicks in early and all along the way.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Global Academic Travel Experience (GATE) – a program in which you focus on a region’s history, politics, economy, and culture – both in the classroom, and in person as the class travels through the region. And Wine Around the World (WATW) organized by the Wine Club.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? To add to my finance expertise, a rigorous MBA program will help me further develop a strategy mindset, cross-cultural communication skills, global perspectives, and meaningful professional networks.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Financially, it was the career reports. More importantly, on top of the interaction you have with the alumni/admissions/faculties, the stories you learn from your peers and the meaningful feedback you receive from your mentors, have an honest dialogue with yourself about what matters to you most.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? – I applied to Ross, Darden, London Business School, Kellogg and Wharton.
How did you determine your fit at various schools? It is nice to have a weighting percentage model to factor difference components, such as location, course-setting, etc. But I would highlight a “Flight Test” – try to imagine if you would like to sit next to the alumni, faculty, or future classmate in a 4-hour flight and if you will have a comfortable and inspiring conversation.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? Elephants visited my tent once-in-a-while on starry nights when I joined the Masai Mara National Conservancy Program in Kenya. There, I lived in the bush with six international volunteers, tutored a local refugee tribe under the boiling sun, and monitored cheetahs through smashing rain.
It is through this kind of experience that the power of business keeps inspiring me and strengthening my confidence in scaling the impact of business to change lives.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? To join a global investment firm or the investment arm of a multinational company, where I can learn more in-depth industrial knowledge and build up meaningful networks.
Where do you see yourself in five years? I want to leverage my expertise and network to become a business leader in a leading investment firm that is socially responsible and is committed to bring positive impact to the general population.
Anthony Solesi
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Passionate, loyal, hardworking, brunch loving Marylander. Crab cakes and football, that’s what Maryland does.”
Hometown: Bel Air, MD
Fun Fact About Yourself: When I was 10 years old, I was in a movie with Cameron Diaz (as an extra).
Undergraduate School and Major: Lehigh University, Information & Systems Engineering
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: The Bank of New York Mellon – Vice President, Strategy
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Continuously creating value for clients and transforming businesses, such as working with a diverse team to lead the internalization of a well-known Mortgage Real Estate Investment Trust (mREITS), has been very enjoyable over the last six years. Although, coaching and mentoring the next group of strategy associates has been the greatest reward.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Humble and down-to- earth. The culture at Fuqua is like nothing I have ever experienced. As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I knew this was the place I wanted to be. The faculty and students were beyond welcoming and more than willing to go out of their way to help. You felt a part of something much bigger than yourself. Everyone at Fuqua truly buys into the “Team Fuqua” mentality and the tight knit collaborative environment is something I valued heading into business school.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Fuqua’s emphasis on consequential leadership was very appealing when deciding between schools. Becoming a leader of consequence, or a leader with a higher purpose than just business results, was something that I valued. In today’s world, teamwork is a key to success – Fuqua understands this and develops leaders to be able to not only manage a team, but become consequential leaders who invest in professional relationships, promote cohesion, and communicate easily and effectively.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am eager to become part of the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club (EVCC). I have wanted to explore some entrepreneurial opportunities for some time now, and with the resources and assistance of the EVCC I will be in better position to do so.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? My desire to accelerate my career and explore other industries.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I admit that I spent many nights calculating the potential ROI of an MBA. While nothing is 100% certain, I felt confident that with the recent MBA employment reports I would be making a sound decision. Although the financial ROI played a large role in my decision, the opportunity to make lifelong relationships with classmates, alumni, and faculty was the deciding factor.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to Tuck, Columbia and Wharton.
How did you determine your fit at various schools? I valued culture first and foremost. While visiting each campus, I wanted to see if I could picture myself as a future student at that school. I wanted a tight-knit community and collaborative learning environment in which the students truly cared about the well-being of their classmates (thus why I fell in love with Fuqua). I would reach out to current students throughout the application process to pick their brain and learn more about the culture at each school.
Since I was coming into an MBA program with my fiancé, the partner support and programs played a large role in my decision. I wanted to be at a school where they actively included partners and made them feel part of the class.
Additionally, I paid close attention to the various alumni of each school. Were these people who I have worked with in the past? Did I view them as a strong leader? Did I view them as someone I admired and would like to work with again in the future? These were the type of questions I would ask myself based on my interaction with various alumni.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? When I was 14 years old, I started delivering bread with my father starting at 2 a.m. every weekend (he owned a Pepperidge Farm route). I had watched my father wake this early and work over 14 hours a day throughout my childhood in order to support our family and help me attend college. Starting to work for my father taught me the importance of hard work and dedication. My father could not afford to take a sick day or take much (if any) time off. His work ethic and drive is something that will forever stick with me throughout my career.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? First and foremost, I plan to marry my fiancé in May 2020 (my biggest support system through this entire MBA journey!). Professionally, I will hopefully have started a new career/business within the ever-changing retail industry.
Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself with a growing family and continuing to develop a start-up business in the retail space. If for some reason the entrepreneurial route does not pan out, I could see myself back in strategy consulting focusing on the hardest challenges facing the retail and CPG industries.
Anna Sturkey
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Warm-hearted consultant by day, cold-blooded Tar Heel by night. (a UNC fan at Duke)!”
Hometown: Charlotte, NC
Fun Fact About Yourself: I am currently completing the “Rory Gilmore reading challenge” – I’m reading every book ever referenced in Gilmore Girls. My favorite so far has been the Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay.
Undergraduate School and Major: UNC Chapel Hill, Political Science
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Bain & Co., Consultant
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Helping the Women at Bain (WAB) group in Atlanta become (in my completely objective, not-at-all-biased opinion) the best at Bain – and sharing our successes with WAB groups across the company.
Everyone knows we’re in the middle of a long-overdue conversation about gender dynamics in the workplace, from Hollywood to politics to business. And what has stood out is how hard it is to both start and have those conversations. I think Atlanta WAB has done a phenomenal job of fostering conversations. We’ve developed Atlanta WAB into a group that maintains its previous success (sharing and discussing experiences among women) but has also started to create dialogues, mentor support structures, and trainings that bring our men into the group. And the work we’ve done is serving as a model for other WAB groups. It’s super exciting to get a call from someone at another Bain office asking how they can build their WAB group like we built ours.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Genuine. Everyone I’ve met has felt like a real person. If they say something is important to them, you know it really is. If they act like they want to be your friend, you know they actually do. They’re not just temporary small talk buddies.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? It’s nice to be so close to the best college basketball program in history – the Dean E Smith Center (at UNC-CH) is less than 30 minutes from my apartment.
Joking aside, it was easily the #TeamFuqua environment. Lots of schools talk about how they have a unique culture, but Fuqua was the only one I visited where the described culture felt alive to me. It started at Bain where my Fuqua colleagues were hands-down the most excited about me applying to their school and most willing to help me and send me Poets & Quants articles about why Fuqua is the best. It continued through my interview experience where there were people just hanging around the lobby to chat with the interviewees while they waited – answering questions and calming them down. Essentially every part of my Fuqua interactions were screaming “we are a community of people who are extremely enthusiastic about wanting each other to succeed”.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? The Case I3 Consulting Practicum – Fuqua’s impact investing consulting projects. It’s an opportunity to help an institution trying to make a positive impact in the world answer a vague (and exciting!) question about how to make that impact.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Because I jumped straight from majoring in political science to working at Bain, I’ve often had to learn on the fly (side note: there’s way more carryover from political science than you’d think!). And because I’ve worked with awesome people, I’ve learned a ton. But I also know there’s a ton I don’t know. As I continue through my career, I need to know I don’t have major blind spots. I’m getting my MBA to fill in the gaps in between what I’ve learned on the fly.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? For me, it was pretty simple. I know that long term I want to help lead the business strategy of a non-profit, and I want to do it well. So, I wanted to make sure I didn’t have any gaps in my business knowledge.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? Ross, Darden, Anderson, Haas, Yale SOM
How did you determine your fit at various schools? Honestly, for me, the best way to determine fit was to visit and talk to people. Rankings and numbers are obviously somewhat important, but beyond a point they really weren’t my focus. I listened to how people describe their experiences at their schools – both the words they used and the words they didn’t use. Of the schools I knew would help me accomplish what I wanted to accomplish, I picked the school where I felt most at home and with the students I most wanted to spend my time with.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? Being a part of the Chancellor’s task force to rewrite the sexual assault policy at UNC.
Prior to the task force kicking off, I had been working with survivors of sexual assault and come to two conclusions: 1) I was incredibly passionate about work that supported and empowered women; and 2) I was not the type of super human who could do individual work on a long-term basis. So, I had a dilemma – I was full of passion with no clear idea of how I could put it to use.
Then the taskforce kicked off and I realized that working to improve institutions provided an opportunity to channel my passion as well as matching my skills. I understood actor dynamics from Political Science and I loved the process of starting with a vague question (e.g., “What should the sexual assault policy be?”) and breaking it down into bite size chunks (e.g., “What is our current environment?”, “What are our goals?”, etc.).
Ultimately this experience provided the blue print for what I’d like to do long term and what I’ve been working towards so far.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? I’ll head back to Bain and see how much everyone missed me.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I’d love to be working on the leadership team of a non-profit or consulting with non-profits. Ultimately, I want to be working on questions of how an institution (e.g., Planned Parenthood, ACLU, etc.) can best empower women.
Tanvie Vinayak
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Diehard Calvin&Hobbes fan who lives by its spirit of curiosity, creation, candor, friendship and humor.”
Hometown: New Delhi, India
Fun Fact About Yourself: After a work trip to Johannesburg (South Africa) in 2016, I decided to extend my visit and go to Cape Town on my first ever solo trip. Originally, I was very nervous and apprehensive about travelling alone, but I had the most memorable time and made friends with locals and with fellow travelers from five different countries at the hostel. I saw and learned so much that I made a promise to myself to make one solo trip a year and have kept it so far!
Undergraduate School and Major: Hans Raj College (University of Delhi), BA (Hons) Economics
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Clinton Health Access Initiative, Senior Analyst
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I had the opportunity to restructure federal schemes aimed at extending education, employment, and caretaker support to people with autism, cerebral palsy, and multiple disabilities in India. Due to the existing design of the schemes, only a handful of beneficiaries were being serviced in limited support areas. As part of the core group, I conceptualized the ‘lifecycle’ framework, which restructured the schemes to provide for each stage of the beneficiaries’ life. This approach (i) eliminated overlaps in existing schemes and allowed for easy navigation for beneficiaries and (ii) streamlined funding options and allowed for a 2x increase in capacity to service beneficiaries. The restructured schemes were inaugurated by the Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare of the Government of India and it was an extraordinary feeling to know that our thought process and contribution had been formalized into policy that would benefit millions.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Warmth. I have met classmates from so many different parts of the world and everyone has been so warm and approachable. Everyone is forthcoming with help, and any personal or professional support is just a message or quick chat away. I have only been in Durham a week and I already feel at home with Team Fuqua!
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Interdisciplinary focus and experiential learning opportunities.
When I started working on establishing my start up Yuti, I realized that I will need to supplement my skillset in finance and social entrepreneurship before I can successfully steer my enterprise. The Duke MBA offers those very concentrations and allows me the flexibility to align my electives with my end goals. In addition, while attempting to establish Yuti, I identified other aspects of establishing a social venture (such as expanding the team, managing resources and evaluating opportunity costs) that I found challenging. I realized that I needed experiential learning opportunities that would allow me to develop hone these traits in a secure environment and the Duke MBA offered those avenues in offerings such as the Program for Entrepreneurship (P4E) and the Fuqua on Board program.
The Duke MBA‘s interdisciplinary focus and experiential learning opportunities offer me the right mix of knowledge I need from the classroom and also provide the right opportunities outside the classroom to apply what I will be learning and hone my entrepreneurial skill set.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? In coming to Duke, one of the things I was looking forward to most was the ‘P4E’ program. The program kicked off even before orientation and it was so exciting to be a part of it. We got to meet founders of previous successful start-ups that were incubated at Duke and also pitch our own ideas. It was encouraging that the program is attended by students across the university and so when I had a question about legal procedures for setting up a company, there was an LLM student in the next row who answered it for me immediately. I cannot wait to collaborate with this amazing set of people over the next two years and create something new!
In addition to P4E, I am also looking forward to participating in the CASE i3 Consulting Program to learn the ropes of impact investing and to serve as an associate in the Fuqua on Board (FOB) program to gain an insight into the functioning of non-profits in the US. I am also excited to essay the role of a ‘CASE’ fellow to build an enhanced understanding of the development opportunities that small-size NGOs present through webinars, treks and conferences and initiate discussion regarding how these opportunities can best be tapped.
I am also eager to contribute to the organization of the Duke Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference as a member of the Net Impact Club and to hopefully undertake an independent study on how to customize innovative funding options for small-size NGOs under the guidance of Professor Cathy Clark!
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Committed to contribute to social development, I have striven to gain diverse experience in the social sector. Two distinct experiences – volunteering with small-scale NGOs and consulting for large-scale development organizations – helped me appreciate the complementary and unique roles that large-scale development organizations and small-size NGOs play in the social development ecosystem. However, these experiences also made me realize that the potential impact of small-size NGOs often remains fragmented and transitory in the absence of the assured funding and high-impact fund-deployment strategies that large-scale organizations employ. Therefore, I conceptualized ‘Yuti’ (which means ‘to connect’ in Sanskrit) as a social enterprise that would raise funds suited to the appetite of small-size NGOs and provide assistance to efficiently deploy these funds to drive scalable and sustainable interventions.
Towards establishing Yuti, I committed myself to understanding relevant legal procedures, building a team, and gaining buy-in from stalwarts to form an advisory board. However, facing significant challenges in grant-allocation and grant scoping, I realized it was critical to gain first-hand experience in the functioning of large-scale donor organizations (to understand how Yuti would ration funds and customize funding options for small-size NGOs) and their grantees (to understand how Yuti would help small-size NGOs scope high-impact grants) to effectively steer my enterprise. Therefore, after I worked with CHAI (a grant recipient), where I learned to apply the theory of change to design milestone-based high-impact interventions, I decided to pursue an MBA to build my skillset in finance and social entrepreneurship so I could transition to a donor organization in the short-term post my MBA. In the long run, I want to leverage this experience to set up Yuti.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I was fortunate to discover my passion for social development while I was still in high school and consciously shaped my career to ensure I receive exposure to different aspects of the social development sector. In striving to do so, I gained myriad perspectives by actively choosing to work in different contexts, places, and roles. However, I felt I had reached a crossroads where
in order to apply this experience towards achieving my long-term goal of setting up my own social enterprise and my short-term goal of gaining work experience in a philanthropic organization, I needed to do many things. I needed to supplement my knowledge base and skillset, build a network of pioneers in the field, gain access to academic and professional resources, and meet diverse individuals from around the world to learn from their country-specific experiences. These requirements were best met by the Duke MBA, making it a worthy investment.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? Kellogg School of Management, Yale School of Management, Wharton Business School
How did you determine your fit at various schools? In deciding which schools to apply to and evaluating my fit, it was important for me that the school have the following: (i) course options and programs that align with my focus (social entrepreneurship and finance); (ii) professors who have research areas that align with my interests; and (iii) alumni or collaborations with organizations I eventually want to work with. In addition, it was critical for me that the school have a collaborative culture. Initially, I started by researching all the top programs online and visiting their reception events in my city. Thereafter, I created my shortlist by reaching out to students and alumni from those universities (particularly those who worked or interned with organizations I am targeting) and also reached out to people in my target organizations (when possible) to understand their recruitment practices and preference for schools. During the course of this research, I realized that Duke met all my criteria, making it a right fit for me.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I started working on my first social venture, called ‘English with Umang’ when I was 16 years old along with three friends from school. Our high school had sent us for an exchange program to Dhrangadhra (a small Indian town) where we met ‘Ba’, my role model. Ba had set up Dhrangadhra’s first co-educational English-medium school, which opened a world of opportunities for children who otherwise would have worked in the local sandstone factories. Emulating Ba, my friends and I started ‘English with Umang’, an English proficiency program for 60 underprivileged children in Delhi. The experience was not only a valuable lesson in teamwork and leadership, but also allowed me to spend 2 years with some of the most amazing children ever and strengthened my commitment to work for social development.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? In the short-term, post MBA, I would like to join a donor organization in a role that affords me the opportunity to manage innovative funding options that include both grants and impact-investing portfolios.
Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I hope to be working towards my dream of establishing Yuti, a social enterprise aimed at creating a reliable and impact-driven funding ecosystem for small-size NGOs to empower them to scale and sustain transformational change.
Alexander Wilson
Fuqua School of Business, Duke University
“Always seeking learning opportunities and personal growth. Energized by finding responsible solutions to important problems.”
Hometown: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve spent over 18 cumulative years of my life overseas in more than 30 different countries. I grew up having to speak several languages and I attended six different international schools. Every member of my family was born in a different country. Typically innocuous questions like, ‘Where are you from?’ can trigger a minor internal identity crisis for me. It passes quickly though.
Undergraduate School and Major: The University of Texas at Austin, Geological Sciences
Most Recent Employer and Job Title: United States Army, Senior Special Forces Medical Sergeant
Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Last year, while deployed overseas, my team and I found ourselves in a dire situation where a nearby village suffered an attack by a terrorist group. There were dozens of civilian casualties and no hospital for a hundred miles. Our team of twelve (only two of us formally trained in medicine) had the desperate responsibility of treating more critical patients than we had the human resources to handle. But the medical cross-training I had done with my teammates over the years kicked in and we worked together to treat every patient quickly enough so that all lives were saved. Seeing the effect of uncounted hours spent teaching my teammates field surgical skills and witnessing them employ those skills in such a meaningful way to directly save innocent lives was the proudest moment of my life, and the most important accomplishment of my career.
What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Supportive. I’ve been absolutely blown away by how genuine and actively supportive every person I’ve met here has been. Everyone I’ve met has impressed me as the type of person that would give you the shirt off their back if you needed it.
Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? How well-rounded it is. While I was doing my school search, I had a list of qualities that I needed a school to have. When considering other top schools, I noticed that each school was known for maybe one or two strengths or aspects of their culture. Fuqua was the only school that had all of the other schools’ strengths and on top of that managed to never sacrifice the quantity or quality of one strength for another.
What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I’ve had an absolutely fantastic experience with the Duke Armed Forces Association (DAFA) and I cannot wait to start contributing. DAFA helped me more than any other entity when applying to business school, and they were my first real introduction to just how genuinely caring the student body at Fuqua is. They are men and women of service to others, and they will bend over backwards to help those who need it. Just like the DAFA members to whom I reached out during my school search, I’m going to make sure to put myself in a position to provide as much help as possible to any prospective applicants and set them up for success.
What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I knew that the end of my time in service was approaching and I knew that an MBA facilitates a smooth transition for separating service members. My job as a green beret was fulfilling and challenging, and I could say that I knew that I had a positive and lasting effect on the world. I wanted that to continue. Former colleagues of mine who had found fulfilling work after the military told me that an MBA creates a lot of opportunities for those who like challenges and want to make a meaningful impact on both local and global communities.
How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Monetarily, this is typically an easy decision for separating service members to make, as most of us have access to the GI Bill and its generous benefits. The time investment decision was also a no-brainer; two years is a small investment for a lifetime of returns.
What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to five other programs that met my selection criteria and were geographically located in places that I would want to spend two or more years. Because I knew exactly what I was looking for, all of the schools I applied to had very similar profiles.
How did you determine your fit at various schools? The factors I prioritized were historical employment reports, institutional focus on moral leadership and ethics, strong academics, team spirit and community involvement, and lastly geographical location. I started by looking for schools that had a strong track record of placing MBA graduates in the industry I was interested in and then narrowed it down to a list of schools that I found most exciting.
From there, I began emailing professional and affinity clubs at the schools on the top of my list and asking for a few minutes of their time to chat and to ask them questions about their experiences at their school. Every school will give you a decent introduction to their values and mission on their website, but I knew that interacting with current students was the only way to get the ground truth.
Through these conversations I learned a lot about the real spirit of each school and the people who attended them. I made note of who I enjoyed conversing with and which community felt the most natural. I used these interactions to determine where I would apply, then during the interview visits I made my final decision about where I would fit best.
What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? During high school, some of my classmates and I spent a summer rebuilding homes for low-income families and the disadvantaged, and it was one of the formative experiences of my life. None of us had any construction knowledge or DIY skills, but that didn’t matter. I learned that just showing up is half the battle. And being there and lending a hand made an enormous difference for an entire community. The experience gave me a sincere appreciation for the importance of and need for service. Many years later as a member of the military, I was able to contribute to the global community in a way that cemented my conviction that service to others is of paramount importance in finding fulfillment.
What do you plan to do after you graduate? I will be focusing my efforts on working in management consulting. It is a great fit with my experience, skillset, and goals. After college, I worked for two years as the team lead and geoscientist for a company in the drilling and exploration sector of the petroleum industry. We utilized an emerging technology to conduct real-time subsurface analysis and plot well paths. I enjoyed the intensely analytical and detail-oriented nature of the job as well as the challenge of gathering precise and actionable data. While serving in the military, there were many occasions where I was charged with resolving highly unusual and delicate conflicts. In my careers I’ve used both structured and unconventional approaches to problem solving and discovered that finding solutions to complicated issues is something I do well and enjoy.
Where do you see yourself in five years? The ‘where’ is not as important to me as the ‘what’. There are certain causes in line with my core beliefs that I want to make sure that I’ve become involved in furthering within the next five years. Part of that will be looking for ways to contribute to movements that speak to me. For example, seeking out opportunities to work on projects involving the environment will be a priority. I have a passion for ecology that developed over a lifetime spent in the wilderness; from trekking the Amazon, to sailing the Galapagos, to studying the Komodo dragons in Nusa Tenggara.
I’m also excited about the energy industry, a field in which I’ve invested a lot of time and dedication. I’d like to use my appreciation of the environment and my energy experience together to work on important projects that aim to address the toughest obstacles facing the industry today and its transition to cleaner energy. In five years, I see myself having combined my passions with my practice.
The post Meet Duke Fuqua’s MBA Class Of 2020 appeared first on Poets&Quants.
from Poets&Quants
via IFTTT
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing such unknown details and info about the topic. I have done an article related to Study MBA in Duke University . Please read it on our website Study in Top Colleges of world. You will find some other truth that you haven’t mentioned in your blog. If you have any issue related to the topic, you can call us at 9718417575.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful information.
There are so many unknown facts and knowledge I have got in your article. I was not aware of these facts yet. However, I have done so much research and written an article on the Admission Eligibility Criteria in Duke University .Visit our website Top MBA Colleges abroad with fee structure to read that article.
Thank you for sharing such wonderful information.
There are so many unknown facts and knowledge I have got in your article. I was not aware of these facts yet. However, I have done so much research and written an article on Study MBA in Duke University.Visit our website Get Admission Abroad to read that article.
Thanks For Sharing such interesting information
I loved the way you have indicated the facts with your word. However, you missed some facts to mention here in your blog. You can check it out in our blog on our website Study MBA in Duke University We have mentioned all the relevant facts about it.
Post a Comment