Pierra White

New York University, Stern School of Business

“Dedicated, hard-working individual striving to build a legacy supporting underrepresented minorities in real estate.”

Hometown: Detroit, MI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have five sisters and one brother (my parents tried until they got a baby boy; my brother is 12 years old).

Undergraduate School and Major: For undergrad, I attended the University of Michigan where I was a dual degree student at the Ross School of Business and the College of Literature, Science, and Arts where I studied Business Administration and Social Psychology.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. Headquarters, Credit Analyst

What excites you the most about living in New York City and how do you see it enhancing your learning experience? I am most excited about meeting highly driven and dedicated people like myself in New York City. I believe that meeting new people (from different states and countries) will enhance my learning experience as I will have the opportunity to learn new things from them.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of NYU Stern’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I specifically chose Stern because of their large entrepreneurship ecosystem. While researching Stern, I found out about a plethora of entrepreneurship resources that will help support my ambitions. The entrepreneurship resources that stood out to me the most were the following:

* NYU Entrepreneurial Institute: The NYU Entrepreneurial Institute leads University-wide initiatives to launch successful startups and commercialize technology created by NYU’s 60,000 students, faculty, and researchers. NYU Entrepreneurial Institute is a team of startup experts that offers funding, training, and guidance to current and future NYU entrepreneurs.

* The Leslie Elab: The Mark and Debra Leslie Entrepreneurs Lab is a 6,800 square foot space where entrepreneurs from across NYU can connect, collaborate, and explore how to turn ideas and inventions into startups.

* Berkeley Center for Entrepreneurship: Each year, the Berkley Innovation Lab serves hundreds of students, alums and other aspiring entrepreneurs through its venture competitions (which awards more than $200,000 in cash and services), venture mentor network, conferences, speaker series and technical assistance programs.

* The Stern Venture Fellowship (SVF): Supports NYU Stern’s high potential entrepreneurs in advancing their venture over a summer internship. Fellows will spend 10 weeks, full-time, developing their venture with guidance and support.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at NYU Stern? I am most excited about joining the Association of Hispanic and Black Business Students (AHBBS). I am looking forward to immersing myself in a supportive community of diverse individuals while I embark on my MBA journey.

What does EQ (Emotional Intelligence) mean to you and when have you seen its value in your career? Emotional intelligence, to me, is the ability to perceive, acknowledge, manage, and handle emotions. People with high emotional intelligence can recognize their own emotions and empathize with those around them as well. I think emotional intelligence will be very important in my career because in most cases, I will always be working with people. On a team, it is highly important to be able to discern emotions as it can help solve any issues if they arrive.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment to date was the purchase of my first investment property during the pandemic, making me the first in my family to own property. This was extremely important to me because this was not common in the community where I grew up in. Owning property is a way to build generational wealth (something I wasn’t born into), so it was an exciting step for me to start this journey for my future family.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I believe obtaining an MBA will give me the skills to transform into the most successful entrepreneur I can be. I want to help bridge both the gender and racial gap within the real estate investing community. After obtaining an MBA, I want to create a real estate crowdfunding business which caters specifically to minority investors to help foster generational wealth within marginalized communities. I believe that obtaining an MBA with a specialization in real estate and entrepreneurship will allow me to gain the requisite skills to be successful in accomplishing my goals. An MBA from Stern will allow me to gain a strong base in accounting, finance, marketing, operations management, strategy, and leadership while also building a comprehensive foundation in real estate. Additionally, I will gain the opportunity to investigate the roles and perspectives of developer, owner, investor, financier, operator, and user.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? A documentary I recently watched and found very interesting was called The Founder. I would 100% recommend all prospective MBAs to watch it! This documentary was about the creation of the world-wide brand: McDonald’s. As a future entrepreneur, I found this documentary motivating and encouraging as it showed the trials and tribulations of creating a successful brand. Some of the key takeaways/lessons learned for me were the following:

• Never give up
• Create and enforce contracts
• Be open to change (something the McDonald’s brothers didn’t like)
• Having a great team is important to building a successful company

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Cornell University

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into NYU Stern’s MBA program

• Do your research on each program you apply to and connect with current Stern MBAs on LinkedIn to hear about their MBA experience.
• Have a story as to why you want to pursue an MBA and a good one at that! Be authentic in speaking your truth.
• Be confident in your background and abilities! Confidence is key!
• Have a backup plan — when one door closes, remember that a window is open somewhere in the house.

DON’T MISS: MEET NYU STERN’S MBA CLASS OF 2024