Authentically Darden: The MBA Experience

 

Take a look at opening day of the 2022-23 academic year, as hundreds of new MBAs start their Darden journeys. Learn what makes the School distinct, and why Darden has been named the No. 1 MBA program for education experience in the U.S. for 10 years in a row. Feel the excitement from the Full-Time MBA Class of 2024, along with the Executive MBA Class of 2024 and inaugural cohort of the Part-Time MBA Class.  Learn more about Darden’s Full-Time MBA at darden.virginia.edu/mba.

---

TRANSCRIPT:

– [Student] Three, two, one.

Welcome to Darden!

– Welcome everybody.

Class of 2024, you made it.

(students cheering)

– I wanted to learn, I wanted to be challenged

so that I could become the best person I could be.

– I see myself as being a business leader one day,

potentially a CEO even.

– I have an opportunity to grow.

– Hi, I’m John Byrne with Poets&Quants.

Welcome to the Darden School of Business

at the University of Virginia

in the beautiful town of Charlottesville.

This is a special day on campus.

The school just welcomed 349 new full-time MBA students

and we’re gonna bring you inside the Darden experience,

and we’ll talk about what it’s like to get an MBA

at a great school.

– There were times in my life where I never imagined myself

being able to be admitted into a school like Darden.

– I felt like I could be honest about who I was

and why I was considering business school.

– We had personalities, amazing personalities.

– They seem to have a really good job out here.

– These people are gonna have one heck of a fun experience

studying for their MBA over the next two years.

(students cheering)

Let’s go inside and hear what it’s all about.

(upbeat music)

– Welcome to Darden class of 2024.

(students clapping)

– Welcome to Darden

and welcome to the university of Virginia

and welcome to Charlottesville.

I’m so excited that you’re finally here.

– Dawna, as the head of admissions here,

this is probably the most exciting day of your year.

– I’m so excited for them

because they’re literally embarking on an experience

that for many of them will be two of the best years

of their life, so it’s really,

it’s nice to be a part of it from the beginning.

– My name is Moriah Horner.

I’m originally from Idaho, Southeast Idaho,

kind of your Yellowstone National Park.

– My name is Tyler Kelley.

I am from Anderson, Indiana but was raised in Indianapolis.

– My name is Raimat Amosu.

I’m from Lagos, Nigeria.

– I think of all the schools that I visited,

Darden felt like the place where I could be my complete self

and it also felt like the place

that would completely welcome my family.

– I didn’t feel like I had to pretend to be smarter

than I am.

– When you come to Darden you start to see that

there’s a lot of life, there’s a lot of excitement,

there’s a lot of fun

and everyone gets to be part of it, right?

You don’t have to be perfect.

– The goal is really to create a community of leaders

that are strong, that have bonded together,

that have been inspired from a bunch of other individuals

that have very different experiences and backgrounds.

– Probably the biggest thing is the community that we have.

It allows you to get to know your classmates.

You can get to know your faculty.

– When you’re at Darden you can have

a life-changing experience, you can find the career

that you would like.

You can learn a lot academically.

You can meet people who become your lifelong friends.

– We have a good time.

In those relationships I think are the relationships

especially that will last a lifetime.

(upbeat music)

– I’m here with Scott Beardsley,

the Dean of the Darden School of Business

at the University of Virginia.

Great to see you again, Scott.

– Thanks, John, great to be here.

– Darden is well known for the case method.

– Yeah.

– Darden is also well known for having

exceptionally talented professors

who really care about the students.

– It’s a great group of the highest academic standard.

Darden has won a lot of teaching accolades.

The Economist has awarded us the best education experience

10 years in a row.

Our faculty have been rated number one by Princeton Review.

– I love that professors give everyone an opportunity

to have their voice in class.

– If it’s a discussion-based learning environment

you need an opportunity to speak to test your ideas.

– My case method class you’re learning about a challenge

or problem that a business has had

or a business leader has had.

– So you can be the CEO today.

Tomorrow, you can actually be the finance manager.

– Putting yourself in their shoes,

working to solve that problem.

– The best cases, there’s not a right answer

or a wrong answer.

– There’s ethics that come with it.

There are personal challenges and morals.

– I came because the case method

expecting to learn a lot academically and I have.

But in addition to that, I’ve learned a lot professionally

and personally that I wasn’t anticipating as much.

– The thing that people on the outside don’t know

is that it’s actually really social.

– We are so thrilled to have you here this morning

all together united as one Darden.

Let’s give yourself a big round of applause.

(students clapping) (upbeat music)

– Charlottesville’s a beautiful college town.

– 355 restaurants, more per capita than New York City.

Over 40 wineries, the Shenandoah National Park,

the Blue Ridge Mountains, micro breweries, the orchards.

– There’s something for everybody.

– It’s a work hard, play hard culture

and we have events, games, Darden Cup

where the students compete with each other.

They also do a lot of traveling.

– I went to Finland and Estonia.

We had an opportunity to go to Angry Birds, Nokia

and a few other companies.

It was actually a great opportunity to mix with everyone.

– Getting an MBA, it’s give you a really broad lens

to take initiatives and get your hands dirty, so to speak.

– Come to grounds, come feel what it’s like.

Come meet the people here

and you’ll be able to see yourself here.

– This is a very authentic place

and a place where students graduate

and become top-notch leaders.

– You just have to have that sense of, I wanna do it

and everyone else is with you.

(upbeat music)