Jack Guda

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

“Fun, easy-going, problem-solver seeking to leverage technology to make the world a better place.”

Hometown: Downingtown, Pennsylvania

Fun Fact About Yourself: Celine Dion Radio on Pandora always gets me primed for a good day

Undergraduate School and Major: B.S. in Computer Science from Penn State University

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: GoShare, Product Manager

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the school’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? One specific aspect that excited me about Tepper was its Technology Strategy and Product Management Track. Of the schools I applied to, Tepper was the only one that had a curriculum track with such a clear fit for my background and career goals in product management. Not only are the course options in the track relevant and exciting (Applied Machine Learning, Human-Computer-Interaction for PMs, and many more), but you also gain access to a technology leadership capstone where you work with a corporate partner on solving one of their pressing challenges.

What club or activity excites you most at this school? I am very excited to join the Data Analytics Club because it will help me address some specific knowledge gaps and keep me up to date on the latest trends in the field. Having a grasp of data analytics is crucial for a PM because you want to ensure that your recommendations and decisions are backed by data.

What makes you most excited about getting your MBA at Tepper? What makes you most nervous about starting business school? I’m looking forward to building relationships and getting to know my classmates. Tepper’s small, close-knit community is one of the things that drew me to the school because I think it encourages more authentic, deep relationships.

Along the lines of my first point, I am most nervous about how the largely virtual format will affect our class’ ability to build those close bonds with each other. However, everyone is in the same boat, so I know we’ll find a way to make it happen.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Successfully making the transition from the Marine Corps to product management. For myself and many others, transitioning from the military is an intimidating leap because it’s hard to truly understand how well your skills will transfer to the corporate world. So when I was offered a full-time position as a product manager, I was relieved but nervous about whether I could live up to the role. I quickly learned how many parallels there were. Though there were plenty of tools and technologies I still needed to master to be successful, my core knowledge, skills, and attributes from the Marine Corps transferred incredibly well.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I wanted to spend this time to focus on improving myself, building life-long relationships, and addressing specific knowledge gaps that could help me become more effective in my life and career.

Before joining GoShare as a product manager, I served for 4 years as a Marine Corps officer. I gained so many valuable and transferable skills from my time in the Marine Corps, and I was able to apply those skills as I transitioned to a product management career. However, I am always looking for ways to improve, learn new things, and open my mind up to new ideas and perspectives. I figured there was no better time than now to take the leap.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? My criteria for business school applications were based on cultural fit, strong ties to the tech industry, and location (East Coast – closer to family). In addition to Tepper, the programs that fit these criteria for me were UPenn, Wharton, and MIT Sloan.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? How will you contribute to Tepper’s culture and community? In the MBA application process, you tend to spend a lot of time thinking about what you want to gain from different schools, but you typically don’t spend enough time thinking about what you specifically can contribute. So I thought this question was a great reminder of the reciprocal nature of the culture.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I prioritized cultural fit, strong ties to the tech industry, and location. I was able to first develop a short-list by evaluating schools’ tech industry connections and location, then I determined the cultural fit of that short-list by visiting campus when possible and engaging with current students.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? In 2016, I arrived at my first unit in the Marine Corps and was assigned a platoon of 50 Marines to lead. I had just spent four years in college preparing physically and mentally, followed by a year of Marine Corps Officer training to learn how to lead and become proficient in my military specialty. No matter how much time you spend preparing for this moment, you never feel truly ready or deserving of the opportunity. In my year as a platoon commander, I learned so much about leadership through successes and failures and striving every day to ensure I was looking out for my Marines

It prepared me for business school because it gave me a better understanding of my own leadership style, with all of its strengths and weaknesses. I hope to share those strengths with the Tepper community and improve the weaknesses by learning from my peers, professors, and Tepper leadership coaches.

Pretend you have just graduated from business school. How do you picture your experience being successful? Upon graduation, I want to be surrounded by an outstanding group of friends whom I’ve met and grown with over the past two years. I want to look back and know that I had fun and didn’t take myself too seriously, I took advantages of opportunities to travel and experience new ideas and cultures, and that I truly bettered myself by continually pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

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