Meet Yale SOM’s MBA Class Of 2022

DON’T UNDERESTIMATE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Daisy Rosales founded her startup as a student, scaling it even further after graduating in the spring. For her, Yale SOM has been the perfect platform to launch a social-themed business.

“The Entrepreneurship Program does a fantastic job of helping students access experienced entrepreneurs and funders, while also providing tailored faculty mentorship on a weekly basis. The university’s collaborative culture assists those of us who have interdisciplinary startups; I think it’s especially great for social entrepreneurship because of Yale’s expertise in public health, law, environment, medicine, and the arts. Finally, SOM’s culture is incredibly supportive— there are so many opportunities to share about your startup and receive peer and faculty feedback. Brio would not be where it is today if it weren’t for my time at SOM.”

Rosales’ biggest lesson came during Professor Rodrigo Canales’ Innovator course, where she was exposed to the questions that would guide the early stages of her startup.

“We had this hilarious session where we were asked to build towers out of raw dried spaghetti strands to support a marshmallow. As it turns out, too much time was spent planning and drawing, and not enough was spent building. Most classmates’ towers toppled. Without that class, I probably would have been slower to get into fieldwork, reach out to potential partners, and to adopt a posture of learning rather than perfection. I’m now much more willing to accept that the work will teach us what we need to know.”

Not surprisingly, Daniel Mendoza is already looking to follow in Rosales’ footsteps during his first year. “The international experiences and entrepreneurship resources at Yale will help me to widen my perspective and boost my project,” he writes. “I will gain a strong foundation for pivoting my project with the “Leadership Lab,” as well as real-world insights from Yale Entrepreneurial Society (YES) and Yale Entrepreneurial Institute (YEI), hands-on experience from the Yale Venture Challenge, and fundraising opportunities from Blue Ivy Ventures.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH BRUCE DELMONICO

It has certainly been a busy year at Yale SOM. Last December, the school announced the largest gift in its history, a $100 million dollar commitment from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation that created a tuition-free Master’s degree for education leaders. Three months later, the school revealed that it had joined the STEM movement, unveiling a STEM-certified concentration in Management Science for both its MBA and Master of Advanced Management programs. In response to COVID-19, the school took the unusual step of freezing tuition, while formulating a fall hybrid structure with a 50-50 online-classroom split.

What else is on the docket at Yale SOM? This fall, P&Q reached out to Bruce DelMonico, assistant dean for admissions. From new developments to the school’s distinctive raw case method, this is what current and future students can expect in the coming year.

P&Q: What are the most exciting new developments at your program? (and how will they impact and benefit incoming MBA students)?

DelMonico: “Two very exciting recent developments here at Yale SOM are the launching of our new one-year masters degree in Asset Management and our becoming the new home for the Broad Center. Both of these developments stem from our multi-sector mission to educate leaders for business and society, and both will greatly expand the opportunities available to incoming MBA students. The MMS in Asset Management will leverage Yale SOM’s top-tier finance faculty and will engage the Yale Investments Office and its legendary CIO David Swensen to provide students who wish to go into the field of asset management – including pensions, hedge funds, and endowments – an unparalleled education. Similarly, we’re excited that, with the help of a $100 million dollar gift from Eli and Edythe Broad, the previous independent Broad Center will move from Los Angeles to become part of Yale SOM. With its goal to improve public K-12 education in the US, the Broad Center aligns perfectly with Yale SOM’s mission and will offer tremendous opportunities for our students, especially those interested in pursuing a career in education.”

P&Q: How has COVID-19 impacted your business school?

DelMonico: “COVID-19 has certainly had a great impact on all of us. At Yale SOM, perhaps the greatest change is that we’ve gone to a hybrid model to begin the school year. So far, things have gone very well – the students seem extremely appreciative of the efforts the school has made to provide a top-tier educational experience while protecting the health and safety of the community.”

P&Q: What is the two most unique or differentiating features of your full-time program? How do they enrich the MBA experience?

DelMonico: “There are a number of differentiating features to the Yale SOM MBA program. Two I would highlight are our distinctive integrative curriculum and our deep integration with the broader Yale community.

When you come to Yale SOM, the core curriculum you will experience is different from that of any other top business school. Our faculty has reimagined the traditional MBA curriculum and reoriented it according to stakeholder perspectives instead of functional silos, as most curricula are organized. You will learn the same business concepts, but they will be organized in a much different way than in other curricula. You will also gain exposure to other disciplines such as law, psychology, sociology, and political science. Taken together, the curriculum will teach you to think – and, ultimately, lead – in a much more interdisciplinary way than if you studied elsewhere.

One aspect of the integrated curriculum in particular that I would focus on is our distinctive “raw case” approach to the classroom experience. At Yale SOM, our core classes are roughly 50-60% taught by the case method. But these cases, which we call raw cases, are developed by our own Yale case-writing team. We call them raw cases because unlike “cooked” cases at other schools, where the relevant material is boiled down for you to a 10-12 page document that eliminates all extraneous facts, raw cases present all the primary source material you would encounter in your actual professional life.  The idea is that it is a skill – and a crucial one at that – to wade through this material and be able to understand what’s relevant and resolve inconsistent or incomplete information. This is a real-world skill that it takes time and effort to develop, and we enable you to do so through our curricular structure. I think that raw cases exemplify the thoughtfulness of what we do at Yale and how we’re trying to help our students develop practical skills – even in the classroom setting – that will prepare them to be more effective leaders after they graduate than they otherwise would be.

In addition to the integrated curriculum, we feel that our deep connections to the broader Yale University community is another distinctive aspect of the Yale SOM experience. As examples of these connections, when you’re in Yale SOM MBA program, roughly half your courses are electives and you can take them anywhere at the University without limit. In addition, roughly 15% of our students are pursuing a joint degree with another Yale school. And outside of the classroom, there are many activities and organizations, such as Tsai CITY for budding entrepreneurs and innovators, that span the University. And finally, as a Yale SOM alumnus or alumna, you get access not just to the Yale SOM alumni network but to the entire Yale University alumni network, which is a very powerful thing.”

FIVE REASONS TO PURSUE A YALE SOM MBA

Here are some additional benefits of a Yale SOM MBA degree according to students, past and present:

1) Global Programming: “As a researcher I learned how diverse background and experiences can promote better outputs. Therefore, Yale SOM’s Global Network courses, Global Network weeks, and the International Experience will enhance my global mindset and develop my teamwork skills and cross-cultural view to widen my perspective.”
Daniel Mendoza (’22)

2) Raw Cases: “Real-world “raw cases” will help me to better understand how companies address their problems. Also, I’m looking forward to the the possibility of enrolling in the “Tsai CITY Accelerator” to refine my plan with the help of top advisors and talented teammates.
Daniel Mendoza (’22)

“SOM’s “raw” case approach was a unique draw for me to the school. Rather than hand you a tightly packaged case narrative, the raw case approach replicates the information abundance often encountered in the real world. Determining what information is relevant is a crucial skill to develop and I look forward to tacking cases organized in this way.”
Brett Davidson (’22)

3) Social Mission: “I was drawn to how Yale’s mission – to educate leaders for business and society – is integrated to every part of the curriculum. Other programs have separate tracks or concentrations focused on social impact, but I really liked how Yale’s goal is to provide a truly holistic business education for every student.”
Rachelle Clark (’22)

“The school’s mission – and how that mission is reflected in everything the school does – was my biggest draw to SOM. In my experience, because of its mission, SOM attracts people who understand the importance of contributing to society. It’s both refreshing and energizing! Traditions like the Internship Fund, our active Net Impact club, and the community service events happening throughout the year showcase SOM’s commitment to the social sector. As someone who comes from – and will be going back to – the nonprofit sector, this is important to me.”
Giovanni Cruz (’20)

Page 4: In-depth profiles of 12 members of the Class of 2022