Meet Georgetown’s MBA Class of 2018

Gershon Blyden

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Someone who’s unafraid to take the road less travelled to arrive at the right destination.

Hometown: Miami, FL

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve been featured in the documentary, From Ordinary to Extraordinary, which profiles my pursuit of completing the inaugural Ironman 70.3 Miami with two friends. The story was highlighted by NBC, ESPN, and several periodicals. I really enjoyed collaborating with friends and accomplishing a goal as a team. I also grew a lot from the process. I learned to become more resilient and learned to put myself in a perpetual state of discomfort in order to maximize growth and development.

Undergraduate School and Major: Morehouse College—Finance

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

• J.P. Morgan—Analyst
• InHouse Group, LLC—Co-Founder
• com—Co-Founder
• Ryder System, Inc. —Senior Financial Analyst
• Multicultural Media, Telecom & Internet Council (MMTC) – Consultant

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: The biggest accomplishment of my career so far is co-founding didfit.com and helping to create the Didfit Fitness app. Didfit was a fitness app created to provide users with a seamless way to get access to automated training programs that improved their health and wellness. The other founders and I used the app as a platform to launch the Go Walk America Challenge – where we partnered with Dr. Barrett Keene (a Cornell Ph.D. student at the time), who walked from Miami to San Francisco in an effort to raise money and awareness for orphans in Uganda and Haiti. Through our partnership and efforts, we were able to raise nearly $50,000 for the orphans in those countries. Furthermore, the app provided Barrett with a platform to engage with users as they tracked his progress across the country.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants?

GMAT:

Do not allow yourself to become overwhelmed with all of the blogs, articles, and online resources. The most critical components to the process include developing a thorough plan, staying committed to the plan, and leveraging an external resource (tutor/expert/class) to rigorously and relentlessly address your weaknesses throughout the entire process. Ensure that you are mimicking test-taking conditions when studying. Lastly, take ample practice tests.

Essays:

Avoid the temptation of trying to figure out what admissions officers want to hear. Take time to take inventory of your life. Think about moments of accomplishments, setbacks, inspiration, and fulfillment. Try to extrapolate common themes. Hone in on what makes you really come alive. Let the common threads tell your story. Operating from this basis will allow you to approach your essays from a point of authenticity and will ultimately enable you to differentiate yourself in a more meaningful and genuine way. Walking around with a notepad during the early stages of the process can be helpful as well. You never know when a specific memory or spark of inspiration may hit you.

Recommendations:

It may be obvious, but it probably bears repeating – identify individuals who know you really well and who have your best interests at heart. Start this process early. Be rigorous about your selection process. Lastly, if you feel that the recommender does not have the time nor is not putting forth the level of effort that you think is necessary, tactfully make an adjustment and choose a different recommender.

Admission interview:

There are tons of resources out there that will give you questions that you will likely hear for a specific school’s interview. However, it is important that you are able to speak in an authentic way. Really make sure that you genuinely believe the story that you are conveying. Interviewing is also a skill. Ensure that you are putting in adequate time to do an extensive amount of mock interviewing so that you are prepared to communicate clearly and succinctly.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I tried to be thoughtful about the direction that the world is going and what programs will provide me with the access, resources, and opportunities to broaden my skill sets, relationships, and core competencies in order to be a world-class leader in the ever-evolving global economy. Additionally, I thought about which cities I would enjoy living in for the next two years.

Georgetown is uniquely positioned at the intersection of policy and business. In addition to being home to some of the most influential people in the world, Washington, D.C., offers a burgeoning tech community, proximity to Wall Street, and access to visiting global leaders.

Washington, D.C. is great because it represents a hybrid city that shares elements of the north and the south. The cultural diversity and the intellectual capital in the city are amazing. There is no shortage of outdoor activities and parks to take advantage of. Lastly, the restaurant and social scenes are quite vibrant. I am very excited about the next two years.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? Exemplary organizational leadership and culture are extremely important to me. Going forward, I aspire to align myself with an organization that rests on the pillars of innovation, integrity, and excellence.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? Gershon was a great teammate. He would always help me out on my work, no matter what.