Gbenoba (Benoba) Idah

University of Texas, McCombs School of Business

“Inspired by family and driven to contribute to my community.”

Hometown: Los Angeles, California

Fun Fact About Yourself:  I have over 40 first cousins in Southern California and over 75 first cousins worldwide.

Undergraduate School and Major:

Cornell University, Urban and Regional Studies & City and Regional Planning

University of New Mexico School of Law

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Blavity, Inc. – Pre-MBA Associate – Business, Sales, and Strategy Department

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment of my career came outside of my work as a commercial litigation and transactional attorney and dates back to my time in undergrad as the lead tutor and after school manager for an Urban 4-H Program for at-risk and underserved youth. Over three-and-a-half years, I secured grants for multiple computers, printers, and computer equipment for the program, helped bring new activities and programming, watched with pride as the program attendees excelled in subjects where they once struggled. Recently, many of the older students were accepted into top 10 colleges and universities.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Humility.  My classmates at Texas McCombs are some of the most accomplished, insightful, and intelligent individuals I’ve ever met, but you would never glean this information or their triumphs in a normal conversation.  They epitomize everything that I or any MBA student would want in classmates and constantly remind me of our school hashtag: #WhyMcCombs.

Aside from your classmates, 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? Diversity.  Texas McCombs’ commitment to racial, ethnic, gender, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic diversity was the primary factor that led me to pick McCombs. Everyone at McCombs is fully committed to making McCombs an inclusive environment for students from all walks of life. McCombs’ commitment is evident in its mission, programming, activities, networks, classes, breadth of student organizations, and it is reflected in its class profile year-after-year.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am looking forward to being an ally in the Graduate Women in Business (GWiB) club at Texas McCombs. I believe in equal representation both in the classroom in the boardroom, and I hope to listen, learn, and help plan events to continue discourse on issues in the business world and beyond.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I was looking for a new challenge, both personally and professionally, and an MBA is one of only a handful professional degrees that requires you to constantly think about both personal and professional growth. Once I started to research the ROI of an MBA and the innumerable career opportunities, I quickly realized an MBA would allow me both take on a new challenge academically and later pivot into both a new industry and function at this point in my career.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I spent an inordinate amount of time sifting through schools’ career services websites and materials and read as many articles as I could on Poets & Quants on average starting salaries, networks, industries, and cost of attendance. I reconciled my research with very direct and candid questions to students and admissions officers to try and analyze if an MBA was worth the investment. I quickly learned that an MBA would boost both my career, in addition to adding to my toolkit of both soft and hard skills needed to compete for opportunities and jobs.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Michigan, UCLA, and USC

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I prioritized the various schools’ culture, network, and commitment to diversity. I took a pragmatic approach early on and created a spreadsheet where I listed all of the individuals (current students, faculty, alums, marketing or admissions officers) who I spoke to at a school event in my city or an on-campus event and whether or not those individuals responded to my emails and questions. I asked current students open-ended questions such as, why they chose to attend their respective school over another school; what they wish they knew about their respective school; and how responsive are alumni when contacted, and what they would change about their respective school. I was looking for a school where the students were candid and willing to share their experiences about the MBA process, and it was a deciding factor for me as everyone from McCombs was forthcoming, genuine, and practical with their advice, tips, and guidance.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My parents are long-time small business owners (beauty supply and hair care products in South Central Los Angeles), and my defining moment relates to their work ethic and dedication to serving and employing local individuals from underrepresented communities in Los Angeles. More often than not, my parents donated products to not only individuals but other business owners in need. Their acts of generosity set the foundation for my commitment to serving my community through Big Brothers Big Sisters, Urban 4-H, and ENLACE Communtario, and it is a daily reminder that all businesses are about people and your actions can make a positive impact daily.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? Texas McCombs’ involvement in both the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management and MBA Jumpstart helped me secure multiple summer internship offers in both strategy consulting and general management rotational programs prior to starting my MBA, so I plan to pursue a full-time role with one of those corporate partners. Shortly after graduation, I plan to use my first few paychecks to start a scholarship fund for incoming students at Texas McCombs, as well as a scholarship for local at-risk youth in the greater Austin metropolitan area.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years, I see myself pushing for a promotion (while remembering to take copious amounts of vacations), mentoring incoming and current MBA students at Texas McCombs, volunteering in my local community, and keeping in touch with my McCombs classmates and the Texas McCombs faculty, admissions officers, marketing, and student affairs via our numerous Slack, WhatsApp, and GroupMe chats. Communication is key, and the Texas Longhorns network is expansive and responsive.  Hook ‘em!