Meet Notre Dame Mendoza’s MBA Class Of 2022

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE MBA PROGRAM DIRECTOR

In February, Mendoza also made news by becoming one of the first top MBA programs to go test optional in admissions. That’s not the last of the news breaking in South Bend. Earlier this year, P&Q posed questions to Kelli Kilpatrick, Mendoza’s MBA program director. From new developments to the school’s unique leadership development program, here is what current and future MBA students can expect from the program.

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

Kilpatrick: “Under the leadership of our new dean, Dr. Martijn Cremers, and new associate dean, Dr. Mike Mannor, there is a plethora of new initiatives that are developing with the residential MBA programs. Among them are:

1. Elevated emphasis on experiential learning and leadership development: Our aim is to make the Notre Dame MBA program a powerful experience that elevates and transforms each student to help them achieve personal and professional goals. Part of this experience happens in the classroom. However, an important part of a student’s journey at Notre Dame transpires outside the classroom through club activities, the building of relationships with peers, faculty, and distinguished alumni, and a host of experiences that encourage students to build engaged networks, challenge themselves, and grow. Many of the best opportunities in Mendoza blend classroom learning with these broader goals, such as the life-changing experiences that happen every year in Business on the Frontlines.

2. Launch of 7-Week “Mod Away” Program: In fall 2021, we are planning to launch a new “Mod Away” immersion program designed to provide our students with a range of new opportunities to build skills, professional experiences and personal networks by studying in the heart of several vibrant business communities. In Mod 2 of fall 2021, if travel and safety conditions allow and student interest for each site is sufficient, students enrolled in the Mod Away pilot program will take classes for seven weeks in Silicon Valley, Chicago or Chile. They will have the opportunity to network with local Notre Dame alums, experience local culture, further develop professional skills and networks, engage in experiential learning, and stay on track toward earning their MBA. Each site will focus on specific career tracks:

• Silicon Valley: Technology & Innovation
• Chicago: Consulting & Marketing
• Chile: International Business

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

Kilpatrick: “Since 2008, the MBA course Business on the Frontlines has been an important pillar of the College’s mission to “Grow the Good in Business” through experiential learning and the development of servant leaders who contribute to human flourishing, cooperate with solidarity, and compete toward becoming the best version of themselves, with the help of God and others.

In fall 2020, Mendoza received a generous $15 million gift from Ken and Susan Meyer to name and endow the Meyer Business on the Frontlines Program. The gift allowed us to significantly expand this innovative program founded by associate professor of management Viva Bartkus, providing greater opportunities for students to serve and participate in the transformational experience.

As a result of the gift, the Meyer Business on the Frontlines Program has been able to offer participation in the course to every MBA student interested in the MBA Business on the Frontlines course, and further offer additional new courses: Frontlines in America, focusing on areas of need in the United States; and Frontlines Engagements, an intensive, shorter-term course with both domestic and international opportunities.”

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

Kilpatrick: “Dealing with COVID-19 presented us with enormous challenges as a university, impacting every facet including the business school and the MBA program. However, even in the face of a global pandemic, Notre Dame remained committed to offering an unsurpassed education and delivering the highest quality in-person classroom experience possible. University leadership at all levels worked tirelessly to create and consistently maintain a campus climate that aimed to continue the institution’s vital educational mission and to do so with faculty and students in socially distanced classrooms for the entire academic year. We were able to conduct 95% of our classes in person during the fall semester.

Creating a safe and healthy environment at the University of Notre Dame for students, faculty, and staff has been a shared responsibility that has require each person to do their part and be accountable to one another for their behavior both on and off-campus. While it has not been easy and much of the student experience has been compromised because of the global pandemic, MBA students have been so appreciative of the opportunity to be with their classmates and faculty on Notre Dame’s campus. It has truly been a herculean effort.”

P&Q: Talk about the Notre Dame mission and mystique. How does it impact what and how you teach? How does it give MBAs an advantage in the job market?

Kilpatrick: “At the core of the Notre Dame mission is a commitment to educate and inspire its students to be moral citizens within their communities and the larger world; to use their talents to the best of their ability; and to develop the generous sensibilities needed to relieve injustice, oppression and poverty in all of their manifestations. Additionally, the MBA student journey is developing leaders that are tender, strong and true:

Tender leaders care deeply about others, and especially about the poor and vulnerable. They are empathetic, approachable, grateful, forgiving, fair, patient, open-minded, understanding, encouraging and kind. Tender leaders are also humble enough readily to recognize when they are wrong, responsible for something going badly, in need of help from God or others, or in need of continued learning and growth. They are more inclined to give credit for successes to others than to take credit for them.

Strong leaders have deeply rooted moral and spiritual values and convictions that are the fruit of deep reflection. They stand up for others to uphold those values and convictions with courage and tactical savvy even when there is considerable personal risk in doing so. Strong leaders see and believe in the potential of their followers and maintain the right balance between being challenging and being supportive in order to help them realize their potential. They are reassuringly competent and constantly strive for excellence and encourage others to do so as well. Strong leaders also empower others, support diversity and inclusion, and are moved by a servant’s heart to exercise power for the benefit of others rather than over them for their own benefit.

True leaders are keenly aware of their strengths and limitations, and strategically apply them to grow the good in business optimally. They maintain a steady focus on what matters most and are authentic in their values and convictions. True leaders do the right thing willingly because they are values-driven and want to do so rather than begrudgingly because they are compelled to do so by outside pressure or demands. They are persons of high integrity who inspire a high level of confidence in followers that they can always be counted on to adhere to the highest ethical standards and so inspire others to do the same.

In addition to acquiring great technical skills, these are the characteristics that is required of today’s business leader as they go into the world and “Grow The Good in Business.”

8 REASONS TO LOVE MENDOZA MBA

Here’s what alumni and current student said were the best parts of earning an MBA at Notre Dame:

1) Mendoza Experience: “I selected to attend the Mendoza College of Business for its thriving community, commitment to its values, and focus on growing the good in business. Changing the world for the better is deeply ingrained in the Mendoza community, and I wanted to attend a program that prioritizes business as a force for good. Mendoza focuses on developing ethical leaders who have a broad vision of the world and understand how to use business to solve complex problems. I saw this as true when I spoke to the MBA program alumni and learned about their passion for driving impact throughout their various careers; they transformed as a leader and accredited value-based learning. Mendoza is a special place that allows you to grow as an individual and develop as a leader, even if that means making mistakes along the way.”
Molly Lawrence (’21)

“One of the biggest factors was the class and culture of the university. I wanted to be a member of a tight knit community in order to have a home away from home with my classmates, university faculty, and administration. The University of Notre Dame is known to be just that family I was searching for. Apart from providing an environment of building my network and relationships, Notre Dame also provides the foundation of incorporating ethical values within its program and community atmosphere. The Notre Dame education is one like no other. I am incredibly appreciative to be a part of it.”
Alissa Oropeza (’22)

2) Business On The Front Lines (BOTFL): “This is a special and meaningful course in which I can bring the leadership philosophy and technical skills I will learn at Mendoza to make real impact on societies.”
Ngoc Do (’22)

“I look forward to working on a business project that allows me to leverage the strategy, analytical and problem-solving skills that I would have learned throughout the MBA process to help solve socio-economic problems on projects such as empowering women entrepreneurs, rebuilding post-conflict societies, or enhancing business operations to serve vulnerable children.”
Bosom Achangwa (’22)

3) Intimate Class Size: “From a pragmatic perspective, Mendoza admits a smaller class size than other MBA programs. I know that by joining the Mendoza program I am going to get to know everyone in my class and gain access to a close-knit group of alumni that will be there to support me throughout my career.”
Helen Chen (’22)

4) Alumni: “I am looking forward not only to the opportunity to connect with industry-leading alumni, but also to eventually becoming a resource for future Domers.  The fact that the University’s alumni engagement level is so high speaks to the dynamic campus experience generations past, present, and future can bond over.”
Tyler White (’22)

5) Entrepreneurship: “I am truly excited to get involved at the IDEA center. There, I hope to explore the depths of my creativity and build a network to solve one of our time’s most pressing issues: the climate crisis.”
Loqman Adnane (’22)

“The MBA program at the University of Notre Dame gave me the confidence to realize that I am fully capable of leading…I come from an area where most every job is a blue-collar job and all of our businesses are centered around agriculture. At Notre Dame, I learned the hard skills that I wanted to learn – accounting, branding, etc. I also gained access to an exceptional network of people and financing. Most importantly though, I learned how to relate to white-collar professionals whom I had never been exposed to previously. I now share common ground with everyone from farm workers to truck drivers to bankers. I believe that the benefits of being relatable and sharing common experiences with people in all levels of business is an immeasurable benefit that cannot be overstated.”
Ben Moore (’20)

6) Leadership Development: “I’m not sure I’ve discovered my mission for my work yet, but the beauty of Notre Dame’s Integrated Leadership Development program is that it’s designed to help us identify how our values, strengths and weaknesses can lead us to uncovering our mission. I think the team here at Mendoza will be instrumental in helping me find my mission during these next two-years.”
Adrian Villalpando (’22)

7) Notre Dame Football: “The first home football game during the ’18 season versus Michigan was my favorite event. Burnsy made a gin bucky and everyone at the MBA tailgate was taking pulls from the turkey basters. All of South Bend was sending it hard. I had a moment where I thought I didn’t have the endurance to make it to the game. Everyone made it, in some form or another, and our team pounded Michigan to cap off the day. Right then, I knew I’d made the right decision to come to Notre Dame.”
Ben Moore (’20)

8) Mendoza Mixers: “This year, our MBA Association began the tradition of “Mendoza Mixers,” monthly events where students, faculty, staff, and alumni come together over food and drinks at different spots around campus. It’s a terrific opportunity to come together as a community outside of the classroom. At these mixers, I’ve been able to reconnect with professors I haven’t seen since the first semester, meet alums serving on the college’s Career Advisory Board, and catch up with staff members. It’s in this sort of relaxed setting that we build bonds that will last beyond graduation.”
Peter Zanca (’20)

What led the Class of 2022 to pursue an MBA? What was the toughest question they were asked during the application process? How did they know they found the right fit? Check out the student profiles below for answers to questions and many more. 

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Loqman Adnane	Warminster, PA	Emory University	10Power
Helen Chen	Shanghai, China	University of California-Berkeley	Enterey Life Science Consulting
Ngoc Do	Lam Dong, Vietnam	Vietnam National University	The Nielsen Company
Raymond Kusch	Clio, MI	University of Michigan	Kinvesting, LLC
Meghan Lally	Overland Park, KS	University of Missouri	D Magazine
Alissa Oropeza	San Francisco, CA	University of San Francisco	Nextdoor
Kyle Sorensen	Pickerington, OH	Purdue University	Ford Motor Company
Aric Stahly	Scottsbluff, NE	American Military University	U.S. Navy
Adrian Villalpando	Chicago, IL	DePaul University	Edelman
Tyler White	Bethpage, NY	Georgetown University	Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises
Faith Bosom Achangwa	Limbe, Cameroon	University of Buea	Premier Attire Shop