Meet UCLA’s Incoming MBA Class of 2017

UCLA's Anderson Graduate School of Management

UCLA’s Anderson Graduate School of Management

BENEFITS FROM LOS ANGELES’ BLOSSOMING TECH AND STARTUP ECOSYSTEM 

Beyond the student body, diverse is a term that also applies to the program’s curriculum. Based in the world’s entertainment capital, Anderson is naturally a powerhouse in media and entertainment. However, the program is also a magnet for high tech and entrepreneurs, with its close proximity to Silicon Beach, Los Angeles’ answer to Silicon Valley. Centered near Santa Monica, the region features nearly 1,200 startups, accelerators, incubators, and investors. The birthplace of firms like Hulu and Snapchat, Silicon Beach has emerged as a tech hub that has also attracted established players like Google and Facebook to the area – creating vast employment opportunities for MBAs. In fact, tech has emerged as the biggest consumer of Anderson talent, with firms such as Google, Microsoft and Adobe hiring 28.3% of the 2014 Class.

But UCLA can hardly be labeled as a high tech, entertainment, or startup school. You’ll find Anderson MBAs among the managing directors at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup. Jim Moffatt, a 1987 grad, is the Chairman and CEO of Deloitte Consulting. Alan Buckelew (’75) is the chief operations officer for Carnival Cruises. Laurence Fink (’76) heads BlackRock. And Marshall Goldsmith (’77) and Guy Kawasaki (’79) – both best-selling business thought leaders – count themselves as Anderson alumni. At the same time, you’ll find Anderson MBAs among the ranks of current c-suite executives at Lionsgate, 20th Century Fox, and NBC (with Hulu CEO Mike Hopkins also being a 2001 graduate). As you’d expect, Anderson alums have also ascended to high posts at tech firms, led by Susan Wojcicki (’98), who presides over YouTube for Google.

A COMPETITVE PLACE – WHERE SUCCESS IS MEASURED AS A TEAM

Those are some big shoes to fill, but the Class of 2017 seems up to the task. And they’ll be supported by the school’s laid back, supportive culture, which defines the Anderson experience even more than its locale. Although UCLA students are as competitive as their east coast brethren, they express it by pushing each other to get better. Indeed, ‘sharing success’ – not winning at the expense of others – is one of the school’s three core principles. And this willingness to help has traditionally produced a closer knit class than outsiders might expect for a mid-size MBA program.

The congenial spirit was quickly picked up by the Class of 2017 during the recruiting process. “Students collaborate with each other to propose solutions in their AMR group projects and compete with each other against other schools in the Challenge For Charity competitions,” observed Yu Chen, a history major who was most recently a science and humanities teacher. “Students truly own their MBA experience.”

For Samantha Skarin, a Cornell grad looking to boost her profile in the tech sector, such a mentality also fits with what organizations are seeking. “In recent years, Anderson has put a considerable amount of resources into expanding focus on the technology industry, offering great electives as well as a certificate in the field,” she explains. “The collaborative and convivial nature of the community at Anderson is perfectly in sync with this fast-evolving and innovative sector.”

What’s more, such openness reinforces Anderson’s other two core principles: ‘Think fearlessly’ and ‘drive change.’ For Chen, this fosters an atmosphere where innovation takes root. “Anderson is also distinct in how it encourages thinking outside the box,” he writes. “[Anderson] really supports incoming students who want to shift industries or career paths, and does a tremendous job of messaging that you don’t need the conventional finance / corporate resume to find success.”

ANDERSON DRAWING EXPATRIATES BACK TO SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

As the Class of 2017 has already learned, support is a major differentiator at Anderson. The school’s renowned Parker Career Center, for example, has already been supplying resources and assigning deliverables last spring. “They’re definitely on top of it and want us to do well during recruiting,” says Jennifer Wu, who was an auditor at KPMG in San Francisco before enrolling at Anderson.

The school can afford to do so. In May, the school landed a $100 million dollar gift from Marion Anderson, a long supporter of the program. What’s more, the business school operates like a private entity, with only a fraction of its budget coming from public sources. As a result, the school has the flexibility to move quickly to fill gaps and address student needs.

In fact, Anderson’s strengths in tech, finance, media, and entrepreneurship – coupled with a cordial student culture and supportive administration – has started a boomerang movement among east coast professionals looking for a homecoming (making UCLA a competitor to Harvard and Cornell as much as Stanford and Berkeley).

“Prior to UCLA Anderson, I had been away from my home and family in East Los Angeles for nine years, taking into account my time as an undergrad in Berkeley, CA and my time working for Goldman Sachs in New York City,” laments Richard Leon Laroue, who plans to establish a mentorship program between California universities and struggling middle and high schools.  “Choosing a school that was close to home was important to me at the time. Also, given my intentions to work in the technology industry upon graduation, particularly working with high-tech startups in California, it made sense professionally for me to be close to Silicon Beach and Silicon Valley.”

Jess Robson, a Dartmouth grad who most recently worked in New York City, seconds Laroue’s sentiments about Anderson’s unique value. “A location with great weather and close proximity to family doesn’t hurt after 8 years on the East Coast.”

“A RARE, ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY”

Lachell Trout, who climbed the ranks at Unilever before choosing Anderson, describes the next two years as “a rare, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to hit pause on life, figure out which direction you want to go, and then create your path to get there.” For Anderson’s Class of 2017, this is their time to live the dream and make a mark.

“Over the next two years I’m looking forward to stepping out of my comfort zone to push myself to new levels and working to develop my skills and confidence,” Skarin gushes. “My goals before I graduate are to make positive and memorable contributions to the teams I am a part of, learn as much as possible not just from classes and my internships but from my diverse and talented classmates, expand my travel horizons to Asia and Australia, and discover my niche in the tech industry. And of course make lasting friendships and have a great time doing it.”

However, Trout has a simpler, yet no less daunting, goal. “I ultimately want to feel exhausted at graduation because I squeezed as much juice out of these two years as possible.”

To read profiles of incoming Anderson students – along with their advice on tackling GMAT, applications, and interviews – click on the student links below.

Matthew Becker / Bismarck, ND 

Yu Chen / Wellesley, MA<

Pratik Gupta / Kota, Rajasthan – India 

Lucerna Huayanay / Lima, Peru 

Richard Leon Laroue / East Los Angeles, CA 

Jess Robson / Newport Beach, CA

Samantha Skarin / Brooklyn, NY 

Lachelle Trout / Cincinnati, OH            

Kathleen Uson / Manila, Philippines 

Jennifer Wu / Saratoga, CA

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