Meet Yale SOM’s MBA Class of 2017

Trevor Thompson

Yale School of Management and Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies (Joint Degree Candidate: MBA/Master of Environmental Management)

Hometown: Marietta, GA

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, Environmental Science and Public Policy

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Institute for Alternative Futures, Futurist; Internships with Management Leadership for Tomorrow and the United Nations Development Programme; pro bono consultant for the Natural Resources Defense Council (Via the Yale Law School Environmental Protection Clinic).

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? Relax – and take advantage of free materials.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? Consider your own professional and personal interests, and make sure that each school has a strong potential/network to help you pursue those interests. Some of the top business schools may not have the appropriate networks, initiatives, or courses for your particular interests.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? Get started as early as you can, and have clear reasoning for going to business school that recommenders can use.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA?  The joint degree program between Yale SOM and Yale FES is the oldest in the country, and the schools have a strong relationship. Yale SOM also has a very strong focus on global and interdisciplinary collaboration across agents in the public, private, and non-profit sectors. My interests in climate change, sustainability, and global affairs and business are particularly well-served by the joint degree offered between Yale FES and Yale SOM.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? I would like to gain a concrete, practical understanding of how to apply business and management principles and practices within the context of sustainability-related frameworks such as planetary boundaries, public and global health, and climate change adaptation and mitigation. I also want to better understand how concepts and methods of strategic foresight that I used as a futurist can be merged with the shorter-term planning and practices of many organizations.