Meet The Berkeley Haas MBA Class Of 2021

A Q&A WITH PETER JOHNSON, ASSISTANT DEAN

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments at your program?

PJ: “Haas and the College of Engineering have joined forces to launch a concurrent MBA/MEng degree program to equip innovative leaders with the skills to take on complex technical challenges. The new program, enrolling for fall 2020, will allow students with sufficient undergraduate technical training to earn both a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Engineering degree in just two years. The MBA/MEng program will launch with a cohort of 20 students and is expected to grow to 30 during the next few years.

We’re thrilled to launch an expanded sustainable and impact investing program. The program, called Sustainable and Impact Finance, or SAIF, is focused on three sectors: sustainable investment, impact investment, and impact entrepreneurship. Students choose from one of these three paths, which are designed to help them prepare for their careers in these sectors.

Another important development is that our international graduates are now eligible to apply for the STEM OPT extension during their post-MBA employment authorization. Although the eventual approval of those extensions depends on the training plans that the employers and the MBA graduates submit, we anticipate that this will lead to expanded opportunities for our international graduates who pursue jobs incorporating business analytics, modeling, forecasting, and other skills developed through our program.”

P&Q: What is the most underrated part of your program that you wish prospective students knew more about?

PJ: “Our Career Management Group is constantly questioning the status quo to provide the best student experience. We look at our Career Labs every year to make sure they meet students’ career needs, pilot new community-based technologies like the Slack Technology Career Community to build connections among the entire Haas ecosystem, and are constantly reviewing our industry readiness resources and programs based on strident interests.

We talk a lot about our Bay Area location, and I think this is an element of our program that can be underappreciated by applicants. Haas is within a 30-45-minute drive of San Francisco and Silicon Valley. This literally puts our students at the doorstep of the innovation ecosystem, regardless of their intended industry or function. Acclaimed business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs are not only in our backyard, but they are also on campus, in the classrooms, and actively engaged in the student experience. We know that students want multi-dimensional learning opportunities and our Bay Area location, coupled with our connection to the broader UC Berkeley campus, will deliver unparalleled opportunities.”

P&Q: How has the opening of Chou Hall changed the dynamic of the full-time MBA experience at Haas?

PJ: “Chou Hall has improved the MBA experience immensely, dramatically increasing the available space for student-facing activities. The building contains no offices—it includes classroom space, function space, breakout room and study room space, and a new cafe. It offers so many amenities that enhance learning, including infrastructure for audio/video teleconferencing in all classrooms, monitors that accommodate multiple student connections in group study rooms, an adaptable classroom design, and more. Chou Hall is also designed for comfort, with solar shading, a reflective roof, daylight-controlled LED lighting, and cooling fans and pumps controlled by adjustable speed drives. Students have access to views of surrounding trees and sweeping views of the Bay Area from balconies on all floors, including the amazing view from Spieker Hall at the top of the building. And in true Berkeley style, Chou Hall is now rated as the country’s greenest academic building.”

CAN BE WHO YOU ARE

Last year, the Haas School celebrated its 100-year anniversary. For MBAs, Haas is more than a general management program. Instead, it is the ultimate transformational experience, a refuge that welcomes unique visions and offers space to explore different identities. This platform made Haas far different than other business schools, writes Una Kim.

“Business school is a gift of two years for deep reflection and introspection. I quickly realized that Berkeley Haas is the best place for me to examine, question, solidify, and embrace my identity. Diversity, equity, and inclusion aren’t just one-time training topics during orientation here at Haas. They are part of a continued dialogue between students, faculty, and staff, who are all encouraged to extensively scrutinize their own identity. What makes you who you are? How do these factors impact the way you consciously and unconsciously view others? What can we do to enable each individual to proudly share his or her personal story? How will you be true to your authentic self?…There were always one or more facets of my life that I felt like I had to hide. Not anymore. Not at Berkeley Haas.”

That’s not to say that Haas epitomizes the dreaded “culture school” tag, adds Jordan Baxter, a 2019 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA. “Everyone talks about the Haas Defining Leadership Principles, but there is so much more to Haas than just the culture. I took tough courses that really prepared me for an intense career transition. Yes, there are plenty of softer classes, but Haasies don’t shirk the tough content!”

ACROSS THE BOARD EXCELLENCE

How tough? According to a 2019 survey of business school deans and MBA directors, Haas ranked among the Top 10 MBA programs in six concentrations: Entrepreneurship, International Business, Management, Marketing, Nonprofits, and Finance. For Peter Johnson, these high marks stem from the school’s commitment to these areas – and the caliber of students that Haas attracts. “That has generated the level of awareness that leads peer schools to vote for us in this particular set of rankings,” he points out in a May interview with P&Q. “In each of those specific areas (International, Nonprofit, Entrepreneurship) we have a lot of opportunities for students, and those three areas are areas where I think we are particularly strong in experiential learning opportunities.”

Academics aren’t the only people singing Haas’ praises. In Bloomberg Businessweek’s 2018 student survey, the program ranked among the best for Competitiveness and Ethical Careers, with alumni surveyed by Bloomberg Businessweek lauding the program for Innovation and Building a Career. Recruiters also chimed in during the survey, giving some of their highest scores to Haas for being Most Innovative and Most Innovative. More striking, recruiters ranked the school 2nd in Entrepreneurship Training and 3rd for Entrepreneurship overall. In P&Q’s 2019 Entrepreneurship ranking, Haas ranked 10th in the world. Notably, the school operates the Berkeley SkyDeck, an accelerator space whose startups have raised over a billion dollars in funding since 2012. Today, 140 ventures call SkyDeck home, with the most recent cycle attracting over 800 applications.

“We have a public-private partnership I haven’t seen anywhere else,” boasts Caroline Winnett, a former UC-Berkeley MBA and executive director of SkyDeck. “All we have to do is find the next Google or the next Apple, Genentech, Intel, or you-name-it large company. Our fund invests and follows on through the rounds so if that company is acquired or goes public, no one will ever have to pay tuition to Berkeley again.”

BEING PART OF SOMETHING BIGGER

Such success – coupled with Haas’ Bay Area zip code – has led to the impression that Haas tailors its program to tech and entrepreneurship. That’s hardly the case, notes 2019 grad and investment strategist Melissa Hulme. She was impressed by both her classmates’ diverse interests and the school’s top-quality programming in areas like leadership development and finance. That said, the location is a boon to Haas – with a mix of opportunity and quality of life that’s hard to beat, says Cristobal Sarquis, a Chilean engineer and financier.

“[It’s] not just because California is a really great place to live as a family given its great climate, incredible landscapes, and amazing people. Instead, it is because it is located in the center of innovation, the Bay Area, where every company wants to be and so many people want to grow their ideas. Living in a place like this, odds of memorable experiences are in your favor.”

That doesn’t count the larger U.C.-Berkeley community, which numbers 200,000 alumni overall, including 40,000 “Haasies.” “Berkeley Haas is part of the larger UC Berkeley ecosystem, offering a larger network of alumni who contribute to the community and embody their alma mater’s culture and tradition,” says Akonkwa Mubagwa. “As I walked through campus during my application process, I could see the “150 years of light” banners, reflecting on the history of the institution and its impact in the world throughout the years. I was humbled by this and felt inspired to want to add to that tradition and be part of it. To me, that sense of purpose was a huge factor in wanting to study at Berkeley Haas.”

That tradition is one of diversity and teamwork, getting involved and making an impact. That’s what is expected of Haas students and alumni alike: connecting communities, expanding possibilities, and settling conflicts.

“I wanted to be part of a school that embodied “social impact” and had close relationships with all departments on campus,” writes Bosun Adebaki, a 2019 Haas graduate, as he reflected on his MBA experience. “As part of the leading public university within a stone’s throw of Silicon Valley, Haas has created a unique environment that encourages students to take risks and use new technologies to solve pressing social problems. I’ve spent my career building partnerships across national and cultural boundaries, and Haas’ deeply-held commitment to partnering with undergraduate and graduate students across the Berkeley campus offered an unrivaled opportunity to be exposed to a broad range of perspectives.”

Looking forward, where does the Class of 2021 see themselves in 10 years? For Chukwunalu Akpati, success would mean returning to Africa, building a business and inspiring young people “to continually push beyond their current status and strive for greater.” Jose Avalos’ dream is bringing the public and private sectors together through edtech to “make learning fun, simple, and intuitive.” Along with championing diversity, equity, and inclusion, Uma Kim aspires to be “a loving wife, a patient mother, a thoughtful daughter, a generous friend, and an innovative business leader.”

Holly Cramer carries a vision for herself too. A humanitarian, Cramer plans to pair her MBA with a Master’s in Public Health so she can apply business and medical tools to address issues plaguing “under-resourced and high conflict areas.” However, her broader goals could be etched above the entry to Chou Hall as the ultimate expression of the Haas MBA spirit…

“Solving problems big and small, being as creative as I can be, and living fiercely.”

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.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2021: THE GO-GETTERS

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Chukwunalu Akpati	Lagos, Nigeria	Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta	Citibank Nigeria
Jose Avalos	San Jose, CA	UCLA	New Haven Public Schools
Kendall Bills	Charlottesville, VA	Carleton College	Bright Vantage Strategies
Holly Cramer	San Diego, CA	UC-Berkeley	International Catholic Migration Commission
Caitrin Hall	San Anselmo, CA	Vassar College	Organicgirl
Una Kim	Chicago, IL	Harvard University	Deloitte Consulting
Mihir Mehan	Jaipur, India	Birla Institute of Technology and Sciences	FREND
Akonkwa Mubagwa	Landen, Belgium	Université catholique de Louvain	Akotech
Cristobal Sarquis	Sanitago, Chile	Pontifical Catholic University of Chile	Consorcio Nacional de Seguros Life Insurance Company
Lauren Taymor	San Rafael, CA	University of Southern California	DNV GL
Maritza Urquiza	Santa Ana, CA	Stanford University	California Department of Finance