Daniel Alfaro Arellano

Indiana University, Kelley School of Business

“I’m an adventurous introvert who loves fixing things and getting lost on purpose.”

Hometown: San Diego, CA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I once biked down a mountain at night … on purpose.

Undergraduate School and Major: Cal State University, San Marcos, Human Development

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: UC San Diego, Program Manager, Undocumented Student Services

In the second half of the year, you will be completing an Academy devoted to areas like Marketing, Finance, Operations, Digital Enterprises and more. Which Academy interests you the most and why? I’m going to join the Consulting Academy because I’m keenly interested in the industry. Before Kelley, I had an opportunity to consult for a short period, and I really enjoyed it. I know that joining the Consulting Academy will help me polish and develop new skills I will need as a future consultant.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Indiana Kelley’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Aside from the students and staff, the curriculum is what sold me on Kelley. As a career switcher, I felt that the strong curriculum would provide me a wealth of opportunities to develop my business acumen and ensure I would be a competitive job applicant.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Indiana Kelley? I didn’t have the opportunity to study abroad as an undergraduate student because I was undocumented, so I’m looking forward to GLOBASE because I’ll get to practice consulting and go abroad. That’s a win-win for me!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I’m most proud of the impact I accomplished as the program manager of the Undocumented Student Services unit at UC San Diego. My role afforded me the flexibility to own, lead, and see the impact of my work for six years. I created new programs and services that became models at other institutions and contributed to the retention and graduation of over 1,000 undocumented students on my campus.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why?  As part of my Kelley pre-MBA activities, I read the “Learn to Love Networking” article from the Harvard Business Review and found it to be beneficial. I naturally avoid networking, so it’s something I need to work on as a necessity for my future career. I highly recommend the article to prospective MBAs who, like me, struggle with this skill.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Indiana Kelley’s MBA program? Engage with the admissions team and participate in their pre-MBA activities as much as possible. Doing this will show that you have a genuine interest in the program, which I wholeheartedly believe comes into play when application decisions are made.

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