2017 MBAs To Watch: Andrew Cornick, Notre Dame (Mendoza)

Andrew Cornick

University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business

“A curious leader constantly striving for improvement.”

Age: 28

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Fun fact about yourself: I’ve completed two triathlons – Olympic and Sprint distances.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Miami University, B.S. Chemical Engineering

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Parker Hannifin Corporation, Market Development Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2016? Ecolab, Inc., St. Paul, MN

Where will you be working after graduation? Ecolab, Inc., Finance Manager

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: President, MBA Management Club; Co-Founder and Managing Director, Mendoza Professional Services (a student run consultancy working on engagements with local, national, and international firms staffed by students at Notre Dame).

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? The formation and launch of Mendoza Professional Services (MPS). The potential for students to experience real world business situations, gain closer corporate relationships, and live through the trials and tribulations of leading peers is so massive with MPS. This year was very much a learning year for us, yet our teams still accomplished so many great things with their clients.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In my last role before business school, I worked closely with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to develop products and processes that would improve municipal drinking water quality. It was rewarding to know that my team helped many underfunded production facilities make improvements that were not attainable without our help or innovation.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Viva Bartkus. She pushes me to a place that I rarely get to by myself. I have grown and learned at my most rapid pace in the two classes that I have had with her.

What was your favorite MBA Course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it? Lessons from Turnaround Situations taught by Dan Connors. Professor Connors brought formal cases and theories down to real world experiences and taught the nuances of succeeding in difficult business situations.

Why did you choose this business school? I have wanted to attend Notre Dame since I was 8 years old after playing in a youth hockey tournament on campus. The network, legacy, and talent in the program sealed the deal.

What did you enjoy most about business school in general? My curiosity and desire to learn were well-satisfied in business school.

What was the most surprising thing about business school for you? Coming from an engineering background, I always assumed business concepts and frameworks would be easily learned and applied. The difficulty of learning the concepts pales in comparison to the difficulty in applying them in the constructs of a large firm.

What is your best piece advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Find out what you do better than anyone else and decide if you can use it to improve Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business, or both. This will separate you from other candidates in a major way.

What is the biggest myth about your school? I always heard about the lack of diversity at Notre Dame. It could not be further from the truth though. Mendoza’s small program has students from five continents, multiple generations, and vastly different backgrounds. This is one of the most diverse places for thought that I have encountered in my life.

What was your biggest regret in business school? I did not leverage the networking opportunities as much as I could have.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? I admire most those who made my experience better. There are too many stories of those who made this happen to call out by name here.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…I graduated undergrad with an engineering degree but did not want to be an engineer.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…still working with municipal water systems to improve quality and processes.”

If you were a dean for a day, what one thing would you change about the MBA experience? I would make the curriculum heavily weighted toward application-based or experiential learning opportunities.

What is your ultimate long-term professional goal? I would like to become a senior business leader, ideally a President or CEO.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My wife, Sarah. Not only has she supported us through school, but she pushes me to be my best every day.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? As someone who changed things for the better at Mendoza.

Favorite book: The Wright Brothers by David McCullough

Favorite movie or television show: Miracle

Favorite musical performer: The Counting Crows

Favorite vacation spot: The Amalfi Coast in Italy

Hobbies: Playing hockey, golfing, travelling, cooking

What made Andrew such an invaluable addition to the class of 2017?

“One of our brightest MBA students, Andrew Cornick is leaving his mark at Notre Dame and beyond. As president of the graduate business Management Club, Andrew collaborated with college administrators and his fellow students to launch Mendoza Professional Services (MPS) this academic year. The first program of its kind for Notre Dame’s MBA program, MPS is a student-run consulting organization which provides business services to local, regional, and international businesses. The result of Andrew’s responsible and thoughtful engagement will be an organization that benefits both our students and our community for many years to come. It is because of Andrew’s dedication to our mission of “Ask More of Business” that I recommend him for inclusion in Poets & Quants without hesitation.”

Andrew Wendelborn

Associate Director of Notre Dame Graduate Business Programs Student Services

 

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: THE STORIES OF 100 EXTRAORDINARY GRADUATES FROM THE CLASS OF 2017