Meet Georgetown McDonough’s MBA Class Of 2024

CHALLENGING THE MAMBA

For Aniroodh Shankar, the road to McDonough started during COVID, where he would often clock 100 or more hours a week in “an understaffed, overworked, and resource-scarce 1,650 bed hospital in a major urban center.” Here, Shankar says, he “saw things that many doctors of previous generations wouldn’t have seen in a lifetime of practice.” The experience taught him that he could only have a limited impact if he continued in this role.

“This is what lead me to pursue more community-driven positions like vaccinations camps and teleconsultations for the elderly in India,” he notes. “Adding to this, I seized an opportunity to work in healthcare consulting, contributing my first-hand experience to the firm whether we worked with private hospital chains, NGOs, or even the public sector in India. However, I wanted to do more and thought that an MBA would be the best way to equip myself in a world where business is becoming an increasingly vital aspect to addressing and solving a problem.”

Dayina E, who last worked as a senior account executive for Edelman, carries a similar mission into business school. “I was a liberal arts major during my undergrad and had to teach myself the basics of business and finance through my previous roles,” she admits. “An MBA gives me the opportunity to systematically study the business fundamentals such as finance, accounting, and strategy. After graduation, my plan is to pursue management consulting with a focus on helping Fortune 500 companies accelerate their decarbonization journey towards Net Zero.”

Outside work and school, you’ll find Joshua Linhart climbing mountains. He has already summited 30 Colorado peaks that are 14,000 feet or more in elevation. Looking for a true partnership? Gabriel Sanchez completed his bachelor’s and master’s degrees alongside his wife – and now they’re back in class together at McDonough as MBA candidates. And how is this for a story about meeting your idol?

“I am a die-hard Kobe Bryant fan,” writes Kilandra Bass. “In 2015, I had the opportunity to meet him, so of course I challenged him to a game of 1-on-1! It was after practice so he had ice packs on his knees and shoulder and I said, “I think I can take you if you keep all of that on.” In true Kobe-fashion, he laughed and said, “No chance you’ll beat me.” I expected nothing less than the #MambaMentality.”

DC: THE PLACE TO BE

The Class of 2024 also holds high expectations for their Washington, DC location. Dayina E describes studying in DC as a “dream come true” because it is “where the “action” happens in the business and policy world.” By that, she likely means that it is the “center of global business and politics,” in the words of Aniroodh Shankar. He goes on to laud the region being a “melting pot of cultures with a growing blend of technology in every aspect of business.”

Notably, cybersecurity and edtech startups have thrived in the region, which attracted $13 billion dollars in VC funding from 2017-2021 according to Startup Genome. The region has also spawned nearly a dozen unicorns to boot. That doesn’t count the 16 Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the region. Being the American capitol, McDonough MBAs are surrounded by experts and influencers, not to mention representatives from every top organization in the public and private sectors and every country that does business with the United States.

“Washington, D.C., is a city that offers a vibrant social scene while serving as an international hub for the private and public sectors,” adds Gabriel Sanchez. “Being surrounded by the most important multilateral organizations, private companies, and think tanks, provides an unparalleled opportunity to understand the dynamics of the world economy.”

AN EXPERIENCE OF A LIFETIME

That includes the opportunity to travel overseas. Ask McDonough alumni about their favorite time in business school and many will cite the Global Business Experience (GBE), a semester-long, core component of the second-year curriculum. In the GBE, MBA teams gain hands-on consulting experience by partnering with multinational companies, government agencies and startups to tackle issues like developing market strategies or pricing structures. This year, McDonough MBAs completed over 60 projects and traveled to countries as different as Germany, UAE, Ghana, and Vietnam according to Rachel Solomon, a second-year MBA. In many ways, Solomon notes, the GBE acts as a capstone, where MBAs can apply a year’s worth of learning. Even more, it exposes MBAs to the pressures they’ll face after graduation, explains Professor Sezer Ülkü, academic director of the GBE program, in an interview with Solomon.

“Operating under ambiguity is an important fact of life in many countries and is an essential feature of the GBE. Real problems are messy. The key issue might not be immediately apparent, the context surrounding the project might change, critical data may be hard to obtain, events may require changing the original project statement. The GBE requires our MBAs make use of the many of the tools and skills they gained to solve current business problems.”

Not only that, but MBAs head overseas to work and experience life abroad. In Chile, Solomon’s team toured copper mines, while the UAE teams went off-road desert driving in dune buggies. At the same time, the teams gave high stakes presentations to top company executives. “We got some tough questions from the senior leadership team,” Solomon adds. “They pushed us to create something that would really serve them. I could tell our work would be impactful for them – the head of international business took close notes on everything we discussed.”

Such global immersions proved popular with the Class of 2024 too. “McDonough’s clear focus on developing service-oriented leaders with a global mindset really attracted me to the program and aligned with my values,” adds Joshua Linhart. “In a globalized world, it is more important than ever to study business in a cross-cultural and international context and Georgetown stands out in making this a priority. I also knew I wanted to study at an institution that was academically rigorous with a collaborative culture and McDonough checks both of those boxes.”

A HOLISTIC APPROACH

Real estate was another draw for the class. Notably, students gravitated to the Steers Center for Global Real Estate, a project-laden program that provides electives, coaching, and networking that prepare MBAs to excel in their internships – and beyond!

“The real estate clinics allow students to engage with real estate deals,” observes Gabriel Sanchez. “I think these clinics are cutting edge to prepare for a career in real estate as they offer hands-on experience for analyzing and structuring investment opportunities that big players in the industry are working on. McDonough is also offering an MBA certificate in Global Real Estate which is a great opportunity to signal to future employers that real estate is the industry you want to be in.”

More than anything, the Class of 2024 came for the culture, the foundation being the holistic Jesuit tenet of Cura Personalis – “Care of the whole person.”  “Cura personalis not only means being attentive to the unique circumstances and concerns of people, but also meeting them wherever they are and helping them flourish,” explains Hannah Isabella P. Chan. “This is the kind of society and leadership that I aspire to. Having worked for more than five years in Philippine government, I learned that every day brings opportunities to bring positive impact to others, in big or small ways. To be able to intentionally structure or integrate that aspiration into how I can lead, and to learn from peers and their experiences, are critical in the formation of any ethical leader.”

CLASS OF 2024: BY THE NUMBERS

You could describe the 2021-2022 admissions cycle as a return to normal at McDonough, as its class size returned to a pre-pandemic level of 249 students in the Class of 2024. As a whole, the class averaged a 697 GMAT, down eight points from the previous year with scores ranging from 640-740 in the 80% range. Nearly 50% of the class also took the GRE, averaging a 317 there. The Undergraduate GPA average came in at 3.29, where the range ran from 2.82-3.77 in the 80% range.

The number that stands out? 50.2% of the Class of 2024 is comprised of international students, up 13% from the previous year. Women make up 34% of the class, inching up 2 points, while U.S. minorities constitute a 38% share of the class (including 17% underrepresented minorities). In addition, military veterans account for 9% of class members.

Academically, undergraduate business majors hold the largest share of class seats at 31.7%. Engineering and Economics majors constitute 19.7% and 16.9% shares respectively, followed by Humanities (13.7%), Social Sciences (6.8%), and Government and International Studies (4.8%). Entering McDonough, the Class of 2024 boasts 5.7 years of professional experience. Financial Services professionals constitute the largest industry background at 20.1%. Other large segments include Consulting (10.4%), Technology and Media (8.0%), Government (4.8%), Construction (4.4%), and Healthcare (4.0%).

AN INTERVIEW WITH THE SENIOR ASSOCIATE DEAN

What are some new programs being developed by the MBA programs? What types of innovations have been recently introduced? What are some of the most memorable experiences that MBAs enjoy at McDonough? P&Q posed these questions (and more) to Prashant Malaviya, professor of marketing and senior associate dean of MBA programs. Here are his thoughts on the state of the MBA program.

P&Q: What are the two most exciting developments at your program in the past year and how will they enrich the MBA experience for current and future MBAs?

PM: “To further expand on the reach and flexibility of the Flex MBA program, Georgetown McDonough now offers a Flex MBA Online to further help our students balance work, life, and school, no matter where they are located in the U.S., on their path to career advancement.

The Flex MBA Online delivers the same degree as the in-person program, including the same professors, career resources, and signature experiential learning opportunities, with the added convenience of virtual classes. The online program has been intentionally designed to maximize the learning experience and includes both synchronous and asynchronous content; two week-long residencies in Washington D.C.; participation in McDonough’s signature week-long global business consulting experience overseas; integration into the Georgetown community through co-curricular and student club engagement opportunities; and ongoing career programming.

We believe that the Flex MBA Online will continue to build on Georgetown McDonough’s renowned MBA offerings while reinforcing our values of cura personalis – caring for each student’s unique needs, abilities, and circumstances in order to encourage their own flourishing.

Additionally, Georgetown McDonough continues to add new offerings for traditional Full-time and Flex MBA students to explore their passions and deepen their understanding of specific issues. In that regard, we have introduced MBA certificates in Sustainable Business, Global Real Estate, Nonmarket Strategy, and Consumer Analytics and Insights, as well as a STEM major, to equip students with the experiences and skills necessary to make an impact in these areas.”

Next Page: Student profiles from the Class of 2024