El Yazid Areski

Georgetown University, McDonough School of Business

“Curious person who loves to learn new things and teach/coach people once I master them.”

Hometown: Casablanca, Morocco

Fun Fact About Yourself: I enjoy having random conversations with people who think I am my twin brother

Undergraduate School and Major:

Double degree engineer

Ecole Hassania des Travaux Publics – Civil Engineering (Casablanca, Morocco)

Ecole des Mines de Saint Etienne – Mechanical and Industrial Engineering (Saint Etienne, France)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: McKinsey & Company – Business Analyst

What excites you most about studying in Washington, DC? Living in a vibrant US city that has a lot to offer, whether it is the opportunities or the richness of its cultural ecosystem

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Georgetown McDonough’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? There are three key reasons why I chose Georgetown McDonough’s MBA:

* It is a program that scores highly across multiple rankings.

* I have gathered very positive feedback from conversations with the school’s alumni about both the quality of the program and the support that the school provides (for instance through career services).

* I appreciated the flexibility of the program, namely through the electives that allow me to get a STEM designation, which resonates with my interest for technology.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Georgetown McDonough? Given my experience, I would say that Georgetown Consulting Club is the one I am most interested in. I intend to be a member of the club and contribute through insights about what it looks like to work as a consultant. I also plan to coach people for case interviews, which are an important part of the recruiting process in the consulting industry.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment in my career so far was to succeed in supporting a client to design and implement a digital solution all while working in “a standalone mode”. I had to co-lead (with my client counterpart) a cross-functional team of 18 members coming from business, IT and data departments. It was a challenging setup but I enjoyed this leadership opportunity and the learnings that came out of it: how to create alignment, prioritize initiatives, troubleshoot issues, and coach junior members.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? From my point of view, COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of two qualities any person, team, or organization should have: adaptability and resilience. One should always be ready to adjust to changing conditions and potential challenges. However, adaptability is not going to absorb all the variability you face; I strongly believe that it is inevitable to roll up your sleeves and simply get the work done.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I chose to pursue an MBA as I consider it to be a career accelerator to prepare for leadership roles. I would like to leverage this opportunity to learn more about business steering and strategy, as well as build long-lasting relationships with my cohort.

After the MBA, I intend to rejoin the consulting industry (as I am sponsored by my previous employer, McKinsey & Company) where I want to specialize in technology and operations transformation. In the long term, and if conditions are favorable, I would like to start my own enterprise, which would combine two topics I am passionate about: technology and education.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to UCLA, Cornell Johnson and INSEAD.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Georgetown McDonough’s MBA program? My advice for future applicants is to first get to know more about Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business and its values and culture by connecting with alumni and attending events. Then use what they learn to best highlight in their application (essay, video and hopefully interview) how their experiences and values authentically resonate with those of the school.

DON’T MISS: MEET GEORGETOWN MCDONOUGH’S MBA CLASS OF 2023