Meet Virginia Darden’s MBA Class Of 2020

MBA students discussing a case in the courtyard

A FACULTY THAT LEARNS WITH STUDENTS

ā€œYouā€™re in a room for 3-4 hours at a time in a teaching meeting,ā€ Wilcox details. ā€œSo there is a certain intensity and bonding to that among the faculty. There are also meetings across the areas so we can coordinate what marketing is teaching and how that relates to what finance and operations are teaching at the same time. Because of that, we get to know each other very well. This faculty is a tight-knit group among ourselves and we learn from each other a lot, so I think basically we have a culture of reinforcing the excellence.ā€

ā€œWeā€™re encouraging each other, challenging each other, and thereā€™s even just a little bit of competition to be better at that,ā€ Fairchild adds.

It was a difference quickly noticed by Devin Underhill, a 2018 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA. ā€œAt Darden, faculty are excited to engage you; whether in class, over coffee in their offices, or at dinner, theyā€™re focused on understanding how you think and learningĀ withĀ you.ā€

Adam Miller has experienced the same dynamic after he started his MBA last fall. ā€œYou can expand your network and find a great job at any top business school. But I want to actually learn something. And no MBA program in the world has better faculty than Darden.ā€

PLAYING THE ROLE OF CEO

Darden exterior

One secret to the facultyā€™s success is the vaunted case method. The premise is simple enough: read a case study and come prepared to discuss it. In reality, mastering the case method is an art, one grounded in intensive preparation thatā€™s coupled with the instinct to ask the right question at the right time for the right reason ā€“ a give-and-take that often pushes discussions in rich and unexpected directions.

In a case classroom, there are no right answers. In this environment, packed with different work experiences, cultural backgrounds, and value systems, the learning is amplified. Everyone actively contributes, even knowing they are operating with ambiguous scenarios with imperfect data and excruciating tradeoffs. Forget lecture: students drive case discussions. In the process, they simulate the role of CEO: asking the same questions, toying with the same variables, and weighing the same options as they would in the c-suite.

ā€œWe use unapologetically the case method, the Socratic method of dialogue, which means that itā€™s a conversation in the classroom,ā€ says Dean Beardsley. ā€œYou are facing real-world problemsā€¦[where] up to half of your grade is based on class participation. It also requires you to come together as a team to solve problems with incomplete information which is really a close proxy for what happens in the real world.ā€

In other words, Beardsley adds, Darden MBAs come out ready for anything. ā€œOur students are very well prepared to go out into a world that is full of volatility, uncertainty and changing dynamicsā€¦We teach students to think on their feet, to be critical thinkers, to use facts, to actually do analytical rigor, but to learn how to synthesize that together and express a point of view.ā€

CANā€™T BE AFRAID TO ASK QUESTIONSā€¦OR BE WRONG

It can be an intimidating spot, particularly when students receive the dreaded ā€œcold call.ā€ Here, they are expected to deliver a thought-provoking response ā€“ one that will inevitably be dissected and debated by peers. Thatā€™s exactly the point of the case method, to shove students out of comfortable anonymity and into the spotlight.

The University of Virginia’s Darden School of BusinessĀ  File photo

ā€œThe case method terrified me, and I knew that was exactly why I needed to apply,ā€ says Morolake Thompson, a Brooklyn-born analytics guru. ā€œI felt the Darden classroom experience would prepare me to be an active leader, gain more confidence in my ideas, and feel comfortable being challenged regularly.ā€

As a result, the case method demands grueling preparation from students, as the quality of discussions generally hinge on the quality of thought given ahead of time. It also requires, in the words of Greg Fairchild, ā€œthe discipline of discretionā€: the clear, succinct, and persuasive delivery of a pointā€¦and the readiness to defend it.

ā€œTo be successful in the business world ā€“ and really, in general ā€“ you have to be able to clearly articulate your ideas, actively listen to others, and be unafraid to ask questions and occasionally be wrong,ā€ observes Alexandra Medack. ā€œThereā€™s no better training ground for that than the case method.ā€

LEARNING TO SAY ā€œNO, BUTā€¦ā€

What does the future hold for the Class of 2020? After graduation, Kelly Bonilla plans to continue building Slay, her beauty technology platform. Evan Covington hasnā€™t decided on a means, but he is clear on his mission: job creation. While Alexander Gregorio intends to return to practicing law after earning his Darden MBA, heā€™ll do so with an entirely different mindset.

ā€œLawyers sometimes get the stereotype of being the ā€œnoā€ people (probably with some truth to it). With my background in business, policy, and law, I want to be the lawyer who can say ā€œno, butā€ and find a solution to whatever problem my client has.ā€

As a first generation college student and Native American, Carissa Sanchez views her MBA degree as something far larger than herself. In her career, Sanchez has learned that her skills were better suited to the corporate world. She plans to pay forward her blessings by giving a hand to those like her who follow.

ā€œThat realization provided me the freedom to pursue career success without living on the Tohono Oā€™Odham reservation and know that I was still doing good for my people ā€“ now Iā€™m all about gaining the knowledge and experience to put a Native American, female face at the highest level of a corporation, where those who look like me are rarely found. And as I get there, Iā€™ll be equipped to share my knowledge and expertise with the underrepresented minorities who will come after me.ā€

The MBA admissions team at the University of Virginia’s Darden School

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE HAPPY

Alas, all work and no play makes for burnouts. Once she collects her diploma, Lauren Sless is hitting the road ā€“ with Ireland, Greece, Italy, and Disneyworld topping her bucket list. In contrast, Dan Lantz, a U.S. Army Infantry officer, is looking forward to the simple pleasures in life. ā€œA dog. I really want a dog,ā€ he says.

Then again, who says you canā€™t make a difference and still find happiness in your spare time. Thatā€™s Alexandra Medackā€™s plan. Once her Darden years have passed, she plans to return to her passion: self-driving vehicles. Still, she is open to the possibilities.

ā€œAs long as Iā€™m doing something that challenges me and makes me feel like Iā€™m making a positive contribution to society, Iā€™ll be happy.ā€

At its core, isnā€™t that what the Darden MBA experience is all about?

 

What led these professionals to enter business schools? Which programs did they also consider? What strategies did they use to choose their MBA program? What was the major event that defined them? Find the answers to these questions and many more in the in-depth profiles of these incoming MBA candidates.Ā 

Student Hometown Alma Mater Employer
Metasebia Aberra Addis Ababa, Ethiopia Smith College Lucy Investment Partners
Kelly Bonilla Miami, FL Georgetown University Slay
Evan Covington Houston, TX Harvard University EAB Global
Ashton Daily Dallas, TX Texas A&M University U.S. Army
Mike Dinneen Boston, MA Colgate University ā€™47
Alexander Gregorio Blue Bell, PA University of Virginia U.S. Department of Justice
Trenton Hegseth Sacramento, CA U.C.-Berkeley Windjammer Capital
Ammar H. Khan Faisalabad, Pakistan University of Minnesota Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Dan Lantz Middletown, DE University of Virginia U.S. Army
Aman Malik Edison, NJ Rutgers University ZS Associates
Alexandra (Allie) Medack Giddings, TX University of Texas General Motors
Adam Miller Milwaukee, WI Carleton College Thrivent Financial
Carissa Sanchez Three Points, AZ Yale University Arconic
Lauren Sless Phoenix, MD MIT EUROIMMUN US
Morolake Thompson Brooklyn, NY Hamilton College : Gerson Lehrman Group

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