Meet Rochester Simon’s MBA Class of 2019 by: Jeff Schmitt on April 04, 2018 | | 16,289 Views April 4, 2018 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Accounting has been called the ālanguage of business.ā If true, it is a language with a modest vocabulary. On whole, balance sheets, cash flows, and asset classes are short-term markers with a narrow purpose. They hardly reflect the intricate interrelations and paradoxical patterns inherent to business ā where data acts as words and economics serves as structure. At the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School, data is the means to divine the complex and encompassing forces that drive commerce. Here, economics and analytics are the center point where the fundamentals ā marketing, operations, finance ā intersect. Indeed, Simon is a program where the art is deciphering the science. Students learn how to develop inclusive models that frame the present to better plot the future. In the process, they shed the clutter and ease uncertainty, so they can ask the right questions and invest in the right opportunities. ECONOMICS-FUELED AND DATA-DRIVEN The Simon system is characterized by a reverence for integration, depth, and evidence. This economics-fueled and data-driven approach is coveted by many MBA candidates who seek a well-rounded academic experience with analysis at its core. āWith an engineering background, I knew that I wanted a MBA program known for analytics that would allow me to continue to leverage my quant background,ā says Mike Alcazaren, a Buffalo native and Raytheon veteran who joined the program last fall. āThis is most certainly true at Simon. From our classes in business modeling to marketing research, we always make data-driven decisions.ā Simon centers its program around data, no doubt. Thatās one reason why it ranks among the top MBA programs for finance and economics according to the Financial Times. However, #SimonStong is strong across the board. Thatās courtesy of heavy academic demands being paired with intensive personalized coaching, which prepare students to translate the trends and project their potency. Simon School students prepping for class. āWhile it does rank very high for finance, we have brilliant faculty in a number of fields and many MBAs go into a multitude of roles after graduation,ā explains David Distant, a 2017 graduate and member of Poets&Quants Best & Brightest MBAs. Marketing, consulting, operations and supply chain, data analytics, and entrepreneurship are all amazing career options that Simon MBAs are consistently chosen for. My classmates in other disciplines are very happy with the rigor of those tracks as well.ā FROM A CAGE FIGHTER TO A GARBAGE ARTIST Thus far, youād hear the same from Simonās Class of 2019, a star-studded group of full-time MBA candidates who come to Rochester from firms as diverse as Oracle, PwC, Polo Ralph Lauren, and Chevron. Make no mistake: Rochester isnāt a quant finishing school for banking analysts and marketing managers. Take Krystalyn Jones. An āavid learnerā and jazz aficionado, Jones has worked in human resources in roles focused heavily on diversity and inclusion. Among her accomplishments, she helped an employer rank among Vaultās Top 25 law firms for diversity. Later on, she implemented the Anti-Defamation Leagueās anti-bias and bullying prevention initiatives in the New York region. For Jones, the Simon School, where nearly 50% of the class hails from overseas, was a chance to operate in a truly diverse environment on an everyday basis ā and experience first-hand the benefits it offers. āI am eager to learn and understand different cultures because of the value-add different backgrounds and perspectives bring toward successfully achieving a common goal,ā she notes. āMoreover, these interactions create significant contributions to organizations that directly influence both performance and culture, providing a sustainable, competitive advantage.ā The class isnāt just diverse in terms of origin. They also bring an array of unique experiences to the table. Adrian Gallardo, a āproblem-solverā whoās āpassionate about finance and technology,ā has trained with UFC fighters. Think guillotines and kimuras are scary? Yonnas Terefe faced his fear of heightsā¦by skydiving. While Devins Paton may be among the nine million people who work in American finance, just ask yourself: How many of them can say they made medicine for elephants in Thailand? Outside of work, the Class of 2019 has found plenty of outlets to channel their curiosity and artistic instincts. Alcazaren may dream of commercializing technology, but his passion is travel. He has already visited 43 states and 16 countries ā and plans to hit six more later this year. Cate Bannar stirs her creative juices by knitting and sewing. And then thereās Aparna Unnithan, who describes herself as āLeslie Knope meets Wonder Woman.ā Her hobby? āI am a huge fan of upcycling,ā she says. āI like turning ordinary discarded things into works of art.ā āFAILURE IS TUITION FOR MAKING THE NEXT VENTURE SUCCESSFULā This yearās class also took ordinary situations and created extraordinary results. At SodaStream, Bannar launched new online strategies and functionalities that boosted digital channel sales by 45%. In her first year on the job, Sree Madakkavil had already filed her first design patent. Working for the City of New York, Unnithan spearheaded an analytics platform to assist with housing the homeless. At the same time, Jasmine Mitchell chose to forego a desk job for the rough-and-tumble world of retail ā and eventually led merchandising for one of Macyās top volume stores. Simon students preparing a project together. Sometimes, the classā biggest successes came from falling short. Gallardo dumped a steady analyst job to launch a company ā and absorbed the value of a team motivation and financial forecasting. By the same token, Alcazaren fully admits that his cleantech firm, which used drones to detect disease in grape vineyards, failedā¦on the surface, at least. However, it was also the ācatalystā that pushed him to business school. āMy entrepreneurship professor at Simon, Dennis Kessler, describes this as a part of the entrepreneurial experience ā itās not a failure, itās just ātuitionā that I paid for making the next venture successful,ā he jokes. And these successes havenāt stopped since they entered business school. Many have already landed their dream internships. This summer, youāll find Jarmarius Moten, the pride of Florida A&M, at Google. At the same time, Terefe and Alcazaren at Morgan Stanley and Amazon respectively. The first year also has been kind to South Africaās Patrick Coulter, who earned a spot on both the deanās list and the Boston Consulting Groupās summer internship roll. How is this for overcoming a fear of networking: Madakkavil became so good at it that she is weighing internship offers from Facebook, Amazon and Whirlpool! The classā achievements donāt stop there. Gallardo was part of the first Simon team to ever win the regional finals at the Venture Capital Investment Competition (VCIC), ticketing them to the global finals. He wasnāt alone in making history. Mitchell was awarded the inaugural Womenās Alliance Scholarship. For her, the scholarship represents far more than just assistance in meeting her financial burdens. āIt is catalyst for me to serve as a change agent for womenās rights throughout my time at Simon and future career,ā she says. NEARLY HALF OF CLASS HAIL FROM OVERSEAS And Simonās Class of 2019 is 84 catalysts strong. Overall, the school received 894 applications during the 2016-2017 cycle, down from the 915 apps it received the previous year. In the process, the acceptance rate fell from 33% to 30%, putting Simon on par with Carnegie Mellon (Tepper) and USC (Marshall). Academically, the class brings a 666 average GMAT to class, along with a 3.4 undergraduate GPA. The class boasts a 34.1% female population, a higher number than programs like Georgetown (McDonough) or Vanderbilt (Owen). Chances are, that number will go higher in future years as graduates enjoy one of the smallest pay gaps with men according to the Financial Times. That doesnāt count its above average $116,294 average pay and 93.8% placement rate for the Class of 2017 ā with recent graduates gobbled up by the likes of Bain & Company, McKinsey, Goldman Sachs, IBM, Twitter, Johnson & Johnson, and Nike. Go to Page 2 to Access a dozen profiles of Simon’s Class of 2019 MBAs. Continue ReadingPage 1 of 15 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below. Please enable JavaScript to view the comments powered by Disqus.