Meet Notre Dame Mendoza’s MBA Class Of 2021

Amit Pratap Singh

University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business

“Avid sports lover, people-centric person with an innate sense of flexibility and cross-cultural adaptability.”

Hometown: Ballia-UP, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have cherished flying a Cessna Aircraft as a co-pilot and visited an actual US Army CH47F Helicopter cockpit which had my upgraded FMS software installed

Undergraduate School and Major: SASTRA University, Computer Science Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job TitleCollins Aerospace, A UTC Company, Lead Engineer-Software

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Selected from a 25-member team from India to travel to my company’s headquarters, I successfully steered an unprecedented negotiation for independent ownership of complete development of a critical module for the Indian team. This had a ripple effect on the entire department, as other teams in India started following the same suit, greatly enhancing the strategic value of the Rockwell Collins India unit.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Humble and inspirational. During the artifact story telling exercise, as part of the flagship Integral Leadership Development program at Notre Dame, almost every student came up with a story of hardship and how they worked extremely hard to overcome and succeed without simply bragging about their past achievements.

Mendoza is known as a purpose-driven MBA program that asks students to “Ask More of Business.” What is your mission and how will Mendoza help you realize it? I am a sincere believer in giving back to the community in whatever possible ways I could. Through the unique Business On The Frontline (BOTFL) course at Mendoza, I am looking forward to learning and applying my business acumen to help poor communities grow their economic resources and prosper over time.

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? The unique MBA/MSBA dual degree program. It seemed to me to be a perfect opportunity to efficiently utilize my highly analytical and strong quantitative aptitude in global business education at Mendoza. The strong business analytics focus of the program would greatly enhance my decision-making skills by developing competencies to derive data-driven strategies.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business schoolNotre Dame Football, MBA Consulting Club and MBA Technology Club.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? The case study question during the Mendoza interview.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Harnessing my acquired technological know-how and business-centric thought process, I seek to transition into a Technology Consultant role. An MBA would provide me a rational understanding of all management functions and an experiential work ethic with a new perspective and a global viewpoint, which I presently lack.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? University of Texas-Austin, Indiana University, Arizona State University, Emory University

How did you determine your fit at various schools? The internet acted as a crucial tool to research different programs across the globe. I compared global rankings of various business schools, issued by Poets & Quants, The Financial Times, and US News. The interviews acted as a very useful resource to learn about the program and my individual fit. Experiences shared by existing students on MBA forums such as GMAT Club were extremely helpful. Financial assistance also played a prominent role in my school selection.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I don’t have a specific defining moment as such, but my life journey to date has shaped who I am today. Born in India which is an epitome of multiculturalism, tolerance, and social fraternization, interestingly, one half of me was born and raised in North India while the other graduated and worked in the South. This early exposure taught me valuable life lessons in adapting to diverse cultures and perspectives.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? I would like to return to India to join the ever-growing technology industry in an executive level position, where I could shape technological innovations to benefit both the organization and community in a responsible manner.

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