Business Schools’ MBA GateKeepers

UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS-AUSTIN McCOMBS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Entering his first year of undergraduate study at hometown Missouri State University, Rodrigo Malta had never left the state. That is, after him and his family arrived from Brazil before Malta began high school.

“My first glimpse of college admissions was receiving all of these college brochures from Louisiana and Florida and other places,” says Malta. “I was wondering why they would send me stuff and was confused why I would leave when there was a college where I was.”

Upon graduation, Malta moved to close-by Kansas City to work as an internal auditor for Sprint. Five years later Malta decided it was time to make a career switch. When looking for MBA programs, Malta did everything he didn’t know he could do before beginning undergrad. He visited schools.

“I met with staff, admissions officers and faculty,” says Malta. “I actually visited a lot of different schools before deciding which was the best fit.”

The best fit for Malta was the University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business. Malta decided to get involved on campus by volunteering in the admissions office at McCombs. He organized diversity weekends, helped setup class visits and assisted with other requests for the MBA admissions team. And then he found out he could get paid for the work.

Malta spent a couple years after graduation working for Dell but stayed in Austin and maintained contact with his friends in the admissions office. When a position opened in the admissions office, he took it. “It really was a perfect fit and a dream job of sorts,” Malta says.

After two years the full-time, part-time and executive MBA programs were combined in the admissions office and a position was created for Malta to oversee all of those programs.

“My two years as a student here were so transformative,” Malta says. “To be in a position to counsel and advise applicants now is a privilege. To be able to interact with so many qualified people and push them in a direction towards their goals is what excites me the most.”

Family is huge for Malta. Especially his nieces and nephews. Malta also enjoys watching volleyball and playing and watching soccer with his partner. They have a rescue dog named Cooper (yes, after Bradley Cooper).

UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON FOSTER SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

The University of Washington Foster School of Business admissions office has a similar goal as many other top MBA programs across the country—select the best fitting students with the most talent and then getting them to attend your school. Despite a similar undertaking, two members in the Foster office come from very different backgrounds.

Megan Lewis grew up in the Seattle area and went to school at Pacific Lutheran University in near-by Tacoma. She graduated with a degree in elementary education and spent three years teaching English as a second language before going back to school at Western Washington University for a graduate degree from the department of educational leadership.

The degree required some practical experience and Lewis decided to spend a few months in Mexico with the Institute of International Education. Five months turned into five years.

“Mexico is a neighbor we really don’t know much about,” Lewis says. “There is a lot of negative press on trafficking and politics, but there is also a lot of good going on with their growing economy, health care system and transportation infrastructure.”

Lewis began helping students interested in studying in the U.S. get connected with MBA programs. Through the process she learned that getting an MBA has many different depths and values. Many of the students she worked with in Mexico wanted to come back and develop the Mexican economy and bring environmentally friendly and sustainable businesses to Mexico. And then she got to know Foster.

“I learned about the community at Foster and the dedication to social impact and good,” says Lewis. “And now I love the Foster community more so than I ever thought I could love a business community.”

What keeps Lewis loving her job is rooted in a passion to help others achieve social and economic mobility. It is also the stories and goals of all applicants—not just the ones accepted or attending.

“I used to think finance was one of the most dry topics in the world,” says Lewis. “Then I was interviewing an applicant about his role in making sure the company he was managing finances for had enough money feeding into the former employees retirement system and I thought this is really interesting and important.”

While Lewis had little interest in the business world, her colleague Andy Chen went to school for a career in technology. He worked for six years as an engineer for Intel after graduating from Purdue University. Chen then decided to attain an MBA from the Thunderbird Global School of Management in Arizona and went straight to work with American Express.

Chen quickly became disenchanted working for huge organizations and wanted to feel as though he was making an impact on the lives of others. When he learned about an opportunity to join the admissions team at Thunderbird, he jumped at it.

“I was looking for a lot of different opportunities,” says Chen. “I had a good friend on the team and thought at a minimum I would learn a lot from the position.”

Chen transitioned to Foster after about three years at Thunderbird. Chen’s favorite piece to the admissions game is seeing the impact an MBA has on each individual–and learning about each individual and their unique stories.

The job also connects Chen with another of his interests—travel which has led Chen to to name the best restaurants in each community he has visited.

UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

Soojin Kwon loves to run, bike, and sing with the Ross Rock ‘N Roll B-School Band. Diana Economy loves her “Big Fat Greek Wedding” family. What Kwon and Economy have in common is a passion for impact and the responsibility to select the right students for the Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan .

After graduating from Yale and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, Kwon went to work on Capitol Hill. She then got her MBA at Michigan Ross and switched careers into consulting at Deloitte for five years. When a spot opened up in the admissions office at Ross, Kwon saw the chance to combine her loves for recruiting, talent evaluation and marketing at a school she is passionate about.

Economy is on the staff because of Kwon. She says her greatest satisfaction in the job comes from  seeing students create impactful ventures and relationships while in the MBA program at Ross–that and coming to an office full of laughter and positive attitudes has Economy loving her job. Nevertheless, her favorite aspect to the admissions job is making bets on less-than-sure applicants who later emerge as leaders on the Ross campus.

“The students we take gambles on are extra special,” she says, “the ones who end up flourishing and leading clubs and being at the top of the class.”

In addition to focusing on recruiting the best talent and getting them into the school, Kwon and Economy are focused on constantly improving the application process for both the applicant and the school, making tweaks from year to year. They also are as involved as possible with the current students and can be found participating in as many school events as possible.

THE GATEKEEPER SERIES:

THE GATEKEEPER TO HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 

THE GATEKEEPER TO STANFORD GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE WHARTON SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO THE KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

THE GATE KEEPER TO CHICAGO’S BOOTH SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO DARTMOUTH’S TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS

THE GATEKEEPER TO MICHIGAN’S ROSS SCHOOL OF BUSINESS 

THE GATEKEEPER TO CORNELL’S JOHNSON GRADUATE SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

THE GATEKEEPER TO YALE’S SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

THE GATEKEEPER AT MIT SLOAN

THE GATEKEEPER AT CAMBRIDGE JUDGE