Meet Chicago Booth’s MBA Class Of 2019

Surbi Luhadia 

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Always the goofy and animated friend, a constant mover ready to finally try the Midwest.

Hometown: South Brunswick, NJ

Fun Fact About Yourself: In college, I interned for Martha Stewart and spent a summer designing packaging for cake platters

Undergraduate School and Major: Boston University Questrom School of Business, Marketing and Operations Management

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

General Electric Capital; Commercial Leadership Program Analyst (New York and San Francisco)

GE Capital Real Estate; Senior Associate Director (San Francisco)

The Urban Land Institute; Senior Associate, Corporate Development (San Francisco and New York)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At ULI, an urban development think tank, I worked to create a “technology in real estate” network that explored how technology ranging from autonomous vehicles to improved broadband internet can help build Smart Cities. Though ULI typically worked with traditional real estate firms, I brought on many diverse partners, ranging from major global software providers to large co-working companies and impactful real estate startups. It has been exciting to further the dialogue in the real estate community and see how these new innovations can help cities run more efficiently.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? The one piece of advice I’d give applicants is to work hard towards a great GMAT/GRE score, but also to not let one factor or number define your entire application. For me, I wasn’t absolutely thrilled with my score. At the same time, I also had to think seriously about whether the additional time to study and re-take it could be put to better use toward another part of my application. In the end, I decided the hours and days spent toward potentially increasing my score 10-20 points could instead be applied toward something else, such as taking on more responsibility in the nonprofit I volunteer for or spending – so I would have more to write about in my essays and speak about during interviews.

And finally on an unrelated note – DO mock interviews. Sitting with a co-worker or friend and actually answering basic questions is invaluable. When my colleague asked me before my first interview, “So tell me about yourself,” I stared at her blankly before delivering a useless 5 minute monologue. I realized how things that sound good in my head can sometimes make no sense when said out loud.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? When deciding between programs, I kept coming back to my experience at Admit Weekends and could not get the community I saw at Booth’s First Day out of my mind. Spending three days at Booth and exploring Chicago, it was instantly where I saw myself. After leaving, I could truly feel how tight-knit the community was and left amazed at how many friendships I formed over just a weekend – actually having to remind myself we all just met. At the end of the day, I knew I could get a terrific education at a number of programs and would be poised for success, but I loved the culture at Booth. Lastly, as someone looking to make my mark in Smart Cities, the thought of two years in a robust place like Chicago didn’t hurt either!

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? From a professional standpoint, success would look like excelling in an internship where I was challenged daily and stretched outside my comfort zone. More personally, after my first year at Booth, I look forward to forming close bonds with my classmates, having traveled to some exciting new places, and feeling like I have a second family waiting for me back in Chicago.