Daniel Hill 

Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business

“I am the 13-year-old who taught himself Chinese because he thought it sounded cool.”

Hometown: Orlando, Florida

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am an avid scuba diver. Last year, I dived between two tectonic plates in Iceland in winter.

Undergraduate School and Major: Georgetown University, School of Foreign Service – International Politics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Director of Operations, Hill Chemical, my family’s industrial chemical company.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: After graduating, I moved to China to work for The Walt Disney Company. Four years later, I joined the opening team for Shanghai Disney Resort where I led an HR operation to onboard 10,000 employees leading up to its grand opening. Being on the ground to open the resort truly was a dream come true. It’s not every day that you help open a Disney theme park.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Openness – when you ask for help from a classmate, they are always willing to give you their time and attention. Weeks later, even with all the demands of the coursework pulling you in different directions, my classmates go to great lengths to make you successful.

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? As I considered different schools throughout the application process, Georgetown stood out because they really focus on the character and quality of the students. Georgetown has a set of values that it expects of its students and the MBA Program Office intentionally incorporates these values into the business school experience, even as early as Opening Term. You can honestly feel this when you interact with the faculty and administration and it was during my interview that I decided the school was a good fit.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am very excited to join the Finance Club. Coming from Human Resources, I did not expect to develop an interest in finance. The Finance Club will be a great way to make connections, learn the language, and become more acquainted with the industry.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? I found the question “…and what will you contribute?” to be one of the most challenging questions during the admissions process. For many of us, there is always the lingering thought that our accomplishments, personalities, and stories up to this point pale in comparison to our classmates. Self-doubt runs rampant as an applicant. Now, having been on the other side of the process, I would have told myself to answer that question by thinking about what decisions led me to my greatest accomplishments. I find those qualities play a larger role and come out when you are with your study groups trying to unpack a tough case study.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I had worked for several different types of companies – nonprofit, small business, and large corporations. While they all taught me something different, there was one element that became a recurring theme in my work experience. I did not understand the financial side of running a business. Not having an understanding of finance or the role capital plays in furthering business goals was undoubtedly hindering my ability to understand general management. I decided to pursue an MBA to fill in this gap.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Determining your fit can be tricky. I knew I wanted a smaller program and one that was either in a large city or close by. It can be intimidating picking a school if you do not have a career path chosen, so I started by thinking two or three possible career paths I could pursue. From there, I looked at how my career plan would be supported as I went through the two years. What are the core classes and how does the school approach them? Do recruiters come to campus or will you need to visit them? What kinds of electives support your career path? What clubs are there to enhance your understanding of the course work and build a network for you in the future? Once I did this in my school search, I realized my wide list of schools was narrowed down to three or four that I would have been happy attending.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I moved to China after I turned 23, spent my entire 20’s learning how to be an adult in a foreign country, and returned home as I turned 30. My defining moment was getting back on the plane to return home. I learned there are chapters in everyone’s lives that begin and end. Recognizing when one must end so you can start a new one is a valuable skill. For me, this meant moving from China and pursuing a different career direction, knowing an MBA was in my future.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? In ten years, I hope to still work in financial services, continuing to sharpen my analytical skills and providing sound advice to those organizational leaders who are considering making big changes in their companies. Owning a house would be nice, too.