Meet Chicago Booth’s MBA Class Of 2024 by: Jeff Schmitt on February 03, 2023 | 11,634 Views February 3, 2023 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Charles M. Harper CenterThe Charles M. Harper Center is the global headquarters of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, home to our faculty, leadership, and many of our administrative, program, and research center offices. P&Q: Who is a standout in your faculty or administration – the kind of person who graduates talk about a decade after they leave? How does he or she personify your school culture and the best of your MBA program? SM: “Chicago Booth faculty teach and exemplify real-world business and leadership skills. Booth’s expert faculty have advised world leaders, held key global leadership positions, and enacted policies with a resonating impact on markets, economies, and countries. Our faculty lead Booth’s distinctive business education, and mentor students to ingrain in them a deep understanding of global impact on businesses and communities. As such, it would be a daunting task to choose just one of our faculty members, as all are experts in their respective fields and areas of research, and several are Nobel laureates. While Booth’s world class faculty are committed to doing their best scholarly work and bringing it into the classroom in ways that are most useful to students, students have the freedom to tailor their MBA experience to their own interests and career goals. This curricular flexibility is mutually beneficial, as students get to direct their learning and faculty get to teach classes where students have chosen to be. This creates a powerful dynamic where everyone at Booth is invested in the study of business. This also demonstrates Booth’s defining culture that is rooted in student success and which prepares them to become effective, influential, and empathetic leaders. When we do highlight faculty achievements, the courses they teach, and examples of their personality, communities within and outside of Chicago Booth engage positively, with alumni and students expressing gratitude and sharing fond memories of their experiences.” P&Q: What is the most underrated part of your program that you wish students knew more about? How does that make your graduates more valuable to prospective employers? SM: “Chicago Booth has many strengths beyond the study of finance and economics, for which it is famously known. These include but are not limited to innovation, entrepreneurship, AI, marketing, social impact, and leadership. We have the strongest behavioral science faculty among business schools who teach courses that are rooted in the discipline of psychology and are signature Booth. Chicago Booth is unique in that it offers four ways to earn the same MBA degree with the option to personalize the degree with concentrations. Most students earn a concentration of three or four courses in a specific area, indicating interest and academic background to employers. We are one of the only schools who offers students an MBA and a Masters in Computer Science (MPCS) in two years, for example. Our flexible curriculum gives students an opportunity to build on their own strengths and develop their own areas of growth. Chicago Booth students can manage diverse organizations and workforces, navigate uncertainty in an increasingly complex business environment, and create clarity. Employers seek these kinds of skills, as these are difficult to automate. Overall, we want to ensure that students have the tools to make smart and ethical decisions that will benefit society with lasting impact. We recognize our critical role in educating empathetic and principled leaders who can create systematic change in communities and organizations, and who are empowered to eliminate racial and other barriers. Diversity and inclusion isn’t just an ideal but also a core institutional value, one that recognizes a common humanity in all. We continue to influence future leaders, whose groundbreaking ideas transform business, policy making, governance, and society. Throughout the years, Booth has served as an educational partner to support promising professionals in communities of color. In 2014, Booth launched a partnership with the Chicago Urban League to create the IMPACT Leadership Development program, which connects up-and-coming professionals with senior Black leaders throughout Chicago. Members of Booth’s faculty provide high-level instruction in areas such as business ethics, negotiations, decision-making, and interpersonal dynamics. Additionally, every year, Booth hosts the Management Leadership for Tomorrow Pre-Application Seminar welcoming Black, Latinx, and Native American students interested in business school for two days of virtual learning and networking. In 2022, Chicago Booth’s Rustandy Center partnered with Golub Capital and the Chicago Urban League to launch the Golub Capital Social Impact Lab. Golub Capital’s significant five-year commitment will provide training and professional development to leaders of high-potential nonprofits serving communities of color. Golub Capital’s signature offering IGNITE, combines world-class educational content, coaching, peer mentorship, consulting assistance, and community networking for nonprofit leaders serving the Black community.” Charles M. Harper Center 5 REASONS TO CONSIDER CHICAGO BOOTH 1) Flexible Curriculum: “Booth’s flexible curriculum reflects the attitude of the program toward its students and unexpectedly became one of my favorite aspects or our program. The ability to craft your own path, take a number of lab classes, and tailor the MBA to your individual needs aligns with Booth’s commitment to trusting its students to know what they need. Each quarter, course selection has become something of a ritual with friends, figuring out what we can take together, how to avoid a Friday class, and (most importantly) how to get the most out of our MBA.” Brian Carlson (’22) 2) Chicago Approach: “The emphasis Booth puts on developing quantitative capabilities and an analytical mindset was a key part of why I chose it. Given my communications-focused undergraduate education, I felt like an MBA at Booth could help me develop a more well-rounded skill set. I was also looking for an MBA experience that would challenge me, and believe Booth’s curriculum will do that.” Kennedy Sapp (’24) 3) Chicago: “Chicago has been my favorite city in the world long before I started my MBA application. The fascinating Lake Michigan, the city parks, and unique ways to experience every season make Chicago the most charming city I know. Combined with a rich culture and food scene, anyone who has the chance to live in Chicago for two years will certainly have a blast. Professionally-speaking, MBA students in Chicago have the opportunity to connect with top professionals, executives, and entrepreneurs in almost every field, as the city is home to several offices and headquarters of market leaders of several industries. Equally, if one needs to network in other locations, it’s a quick flight to any metropolis on the east coast. It’s also faster to fly to the west coast if you’re in Chicago than if you’re in New York. Not to mention, rent is more affordable in Chicago than in other big American cities.” Andre Beda (’24) 4) The People: “Going to Booth was a very rewarding experience for me. I valued Nobel Laureate professors and the rigorous analytical approach to business problems, but the people I met made this experience complete. It’s cliché to say, “It was the friends we made along the way”, but I really enjoyed being around people who were smart and thoughtful. They had the intellectual horsepower to understand international finance and complex derivatives, and the humility to admit their ignorance in certain areas. It was an honor to be around these folks I’m lucky to call my colleagues. There is a sense you get walking around Harper center that some of these people are going to change the world for the better and it’s surreal to know that you were there at the beginning.” Moyosoreoluwa Orekoya (’21) 5) Annual Ski Trip: “My favorite event was the Annual Ski Trip, which took place in the beautiful resort town of Telluride in December this school year. It’s the largest student-organized trip in which more than 500 students attend and is hosted by the Booth Ski and Snowboard Club (BSSC). The five-day trip creates unforgettable memories and unique opportunities to meet with new classmates and bond with your friends, from themed parties to skiing and snowboarding on the slopes and exploring a new town together. As someone who had never skied prior to this trip, I was a bit nervous as some of my classmates were at a much more advanced level. Although I was new to the sport, my classmates cheered me on and were enthusiastic about my growth – they skied down easier runs with me, took videos of me and encouraged me to stretch myself and try harder slopes once I had mastered easier runs. The trip was a microcosm of Booth — working hard but playing harder, and a community that pushes each other to grow while genuinely supporting each other.” Amira Khatib, University of Chicago (Booth) Booth Students meeting outside the Harper Center ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE BOOTH APPLICANTS “During the beginning of my MBA application process, only two words came to mind when thinking about Booth: finance and economics. For a moment, that made me insecure about how my drive for technology, product development and entrepreneurship would play out in my application. That was when I got this valuable piece of advice: “You have the best chance of getting in when you’re genuinely yourself, regardless of what you think the school wants to hear”. I believe this is so valuable because it helps you to not only distinguish yourself as a candidate, but also find unique aspects of the school that really resonate with you. These can be layers deeper than the most common and popular ones everyone talks about. Booth has a remarkable program when it comes to empowering students to thrive as entrepreneurs and leaders in technology. The more I learned about the school, the more I realized my preconceptions were very shallow. Being myself in the application turned out to be a great idea.” Andre Beda (’24) “Even if you are not 100% sold on applying to an MBA program, I recommend starting a running list where you can jot down ideas, stories about yourself, observations about the world, topics or questions you find interesting, and advice. Really, start it now—it does not have to be organized at all! About a year before I even decided I wanted to apply for MBA, I started a note on my phone titled “Interesting Things”, where I could quickly jot down any ideas that came to mind that I thought might be useful in some way in the future. I certainly learned through this process that inspiration can come at the strangest of moments. This running list was incredibly helpful to me when it came time to actually tackle my applications, and I think I would have missed out on making many observations about myself had I not had the opportunity to read my stream of consciousness over time.” Kruti Mehta (’24) “I did a lot of research before applying. By the end, I had a deep conviction that Booth was the best fit for my personality and experience. I really tailored my application to answer the fundamental questions: Why MBA? Why now? Why Booth? I tried to thoughtfully emphasize what specifically about Booth was right for me and vice versa. The two main items were the school’s culture, captured by the mantra “Ideas compete, people collaborate” and the flexibility of the curriculum, which would accommodate my unique needs.” Ryan Hall (’22) MBA Student Hometown Undergrad Alma Mater Last Employer Kikelomo Anjorin Ekiti State, Nigeria University of Ibadan Reckitt Benckiser Andre Beda Sao Paulo, Brazil Insper Institute of Education and Research Loft Zach Bidner Los Angeles, CA University of Southern California 22nd Street Films Alejandra Cantu Monterrey, Mexico TEC de Monterrey McKinsey & Company Bianca DiSanto Harrisburg, PA Georgetown University L’Oreal USA Alonzo Jones III Memphis, TN University of Chicago University of Pennsylvania Thomas Logan Tucson, AZ Stanford University E. & J. Gallo Winery Kruti Mehta Sugar Land, TX University of Texas at Austin Zeta Charter Schools Sanjana Puri Mumbai, India Wellesley College Wayfair Kennedy Sapp Oak Park, IL Vanderbilt University Deloitte Consulting Jason Shain Santa Fe, NM University of Chicago Mayor’s Office, City of Chicago Atsushi Yaguchi Tokyo, Japan Keio University SMBC Nikko Securities Previous PagePage 3 of 3 1 2 3