Meet Washington Olin’s MBA Class Of 2024

THE LEGENDARY “HATCHERY” COURSE

With Entrepreneurship being a pillar, Olin devotes heavy resources to maintaining excellence. In recent years, Villhard notes, the school’s Startup Consulting Projects have been pairing student teams with ventures as far away as Israel and Berlin, not to mention New York City and San Francisco. Still, the program’s renown is rooted in hitting on the fundamentals: good ideas honed through research, testing, and strategy, with students unafraid to pivot or start over based on what the market tells them. Tova Feinberg, a ’22 alum whose agtech startup generated over $300K in funding during school, gives some credit for her success to the Skandalaris Center, Washington University’s campus-wide innovation hub.

“The center has countless resources, competitions and partnerships—both internal and external—that remain a significant asset to the St. Louis entrepreneurial community,” Feinberg explains. “Through the center, we have been introduced to numerous community partners, investors, incubators/accelerators and founders that have proven to be valuable connections. The St. Louis entrepreneurial ecosystem is very supportive and welcoming—it is a growing community of difference-makers who are proactively trying to grow the city and their ideas.”

Feinberg also cites Olin’s signature entrepreneurship course: The Hatchery (i.e. Business Planning for New Enterprises). Working in team, students start by researching an idea’s viability and ends with rolling out a venture, exploring everything from prototyping to branding to pitching in-between.

“The course allowed us to gain valuable feedback from industry professionals, mentors, and coaches while we honed in on the business problem and sharpened our solution,” Feinberg adds. “By the end of this course, we had a more robust operational and financial model and the confidence in our venture to begin fundraising.”

BIG BENEFITS FROM STAYING SMALL

Thus far, DaFene Brown has been blown away by the Entrepreneurship track. “[It] features courses on acquisition entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, The League, and The Hatchery. The school also offers seminars hosted by Olin alums that have created their own startups in healthcare, consumer goods and even acquisitions. Furthermore, the Skandalaris Center promotes creativity and provides support throughout every stage of the business, including seed funding, pitch competitions and exits.”

Maybe the best part of the Olin Entrepreneurship programming, says Jahana Wazir, is how it de-mystifies the steps and builds students’ confidence that they too can bring a business to life. “I had been interested in starting my own business but was intimidated by the process,” Wazir admits. “I love that in some classes, we develop our own ideas while in others, we collaborate to support a classmate’s. The Entrepreneurship program creates a safe place to test, fail and innovate while also having a contagious energy about it!”

That energy comes from being deliberately small – just 89 MBA candidates in the Class of 2024. That means every student matters – and every student must contribute to make it work. The size also ensures Olin MBAs get plenty of attention, adds Nashad Carrington.

“My professors, fellow students and faculty know me; they understand my intrinsic interests and my career and future plans—and many have expressed the desire for their networks to help me achieve those aims. I think that greatly shapes the MBA experience and allows students to feel like they matter rather than just being another seat filled in a classroom.”

GOOD TIMES

Technically, Olin is bigger than you think. It boasts one of the top undergraduate business programs in the country. On top of that, the school has added an online component. Let’s just the Class of 2024 benefits from graduates looking to lend a helping hand. “There are so many alumni who come to school for recruiting, coffee chats, experience sharing, or funding for entrepreneurs,” observes Miao Li, an entrepreneur from China. “These are good opportunities for us to network, learn from people and get help for our future careers.”

…and have some fun along the way too. DaFene Brown raves about a Thanksgiving event sponsored by several clubs, where students indulged in African cuisine from Africa. Arushi Gupta had a blast during the Treasure Hunt Competition at orientation, where students tracked down clues across Campus…and even in the St. Louis Zoo’s penguin exhibit. Academically, Cherise Brooks gained the most from her Strategic and Crisis Management course, which relied heavily on real-world simulations.

“At the end of the course, I was made CEO and had to make a speech addressing a particular crisis that my company faced, all while my classmates acted like the press. These experiences are unique to Olin and enable us as MBAs to grow our soft skills and prepare us for the real world.”

A CLASS PROFILE

By the numbers, the Class of 2024 averaged a 670 GMAT. Nearly half of the class submitted GRE scores, which came in at 158 (Quant) and 156 (Verbal). Women account for 47% of the class, with underrepresented minorities making up 33%. 49% of the class hails from outside the United States.

As undergraduates, the class averaged a 3.4 GPA. Nearly half of the class – 24% each – majored in either Business or Engineering. Another 22% hold degrees in the Social Sciences, followed by Science (17%), Economics (9%), and the Humanities (4%). In terms of professional experience, the class has worked in an array of fields, including Financial Services (11%), Technology (11%), Consulting (10%), Manufacturing (10%), Education (9%), and Retail and eCommerce (9%).

In March, Olin announced that it had hired Michael Mazzeo as its new dean. An award-winning strategy professor from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School, Mazzeo will build on the successes of outgoing dean Mark P. Taylor, who ushered in a revamped curriculum focused on experiential learning and data-driven problem-solving. What’s next for the Olin MBA? Earlier this year, P&Q reached out to Lesley Liesman, brand manager for the program, who put us in touch with Andrew Knight, vice dean for education and globalization. Here are his insights on issues that matter most to MBA applicants.

AN INSIDE LOOK AT THE OLIN MBA

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?

Liesman: “One exciting development is a package of changes we have recently approved to the global immersion portion of our program. With these changes, students will undertake three distinct immersions during the required first-year curriculum. Students will travel from St. Louis to Washington DC in the summer, then to Europe in the fall, and, finally, to Asia in the spring.

A second exciting development is the integration of a core course focused on diversity, equity and inclusion into the required curriculum. Through this course, students will learn fundamental skills required to participate in and lead diverse and inclusive organizations.”

P&Q: If you were giving a campus tour, what is the first place you’d take an MBA applicant? Why is that so important to the MBA experience?

Knight: “The first place I would take an MBA applicant is to the multi-floor glass atrium at the center of Knight and Bauer Hall. This location is the focus of our school and embodies the ingredients—our community and our values—that make WashU Olin distinctive and special. The atrium is where the members of our community gather—student groups meet; conference and event attendees network; and people share meals together. When people join our MBA program, they are joining a strong community of diverse, collaborative and values-based leaders.

By visiting the atrium, new applicants would see the core values that underlie Olin’s culture—respect, collaboration, teamwork, integrity, diversity and excellence. These values guide our thinking and inform our purpose.”

P&Q: What is the most innovative thing you have introduced into the MBA program in recent years? How has it been a game-changer for your program?

Knight: “The most impactful innovation we have introduced into our MBA program is the global immersion, a required international experiential learning journey that accelerates students’ professional growth and development. In the global immersion, students complete experiential projects while learning critical business concepts and frameworks as they travel across three continents. Another important aspect of the global immersion is how it contributes to creating globally-oriented, values-based, and data-driven leaders.”

P&Q: How does the MBA program leverage the resources of the large St. Louis region? How does that create more opportunities for your students?

Knight: “One of Olin’s strategic pillars is the infusion of experiential learning throughout the curricula of our programs. Our Center for Experiential Learning draws upon and contributes to the St. Louis region by engaging our students with local community and business partners in team-based, action learning courses. Through these courses, students work with, learn from and advise business and nonprofit organizations on a wide range of issues.

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?

Knight: “Typically, schools like to draw attention to the rigor of their programs and academic opportunities. Those are key ingredients of the WashU Olin MBA experience, though what truly differentiates us is our values-based, data-driven approach to decision-making. This framework is the foundation of the WashU Olin MBA and guides our students in understanding how numbers and belief systems work together. This unique outlook empowers our students to make decisions that will have the most impact and change the world for good. We believe our values-based, data-driven perspective creates more thoughtful leaders and distinguishes WashU Olin students to potential employers.”

P&Q: What types of programming or services does your business school offer that make it welcoming and advantageous to women? Underrepresented minorities? International students?

Knight: “Diversity is one of WashU Olin’s core values. Accordingly, a focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is infused throughout our program—in curriculum, extra-curricular programs and experiences, and the study body itself. With respect to our curriculum, we have a new core course in which students learn how to lead effectively in increasingly diverse business organizations by creating climates of inclusion and belonging. Students actively enact these principles in extracurricular student groups and programs, such as Olin Women in Business and the Africa Business Club. And as a founding member of The Consortium for Graduate Study in Management, our school embodies diversity in the Full-Time MBA program, which is 45% female students, 29% underrepresented students of color, and 46% international students.”

P&Q: Where are some of your students’ favorite hangouts? What do they do, and why do they gravitate there?

Knight: “Hands down, Forest Park is loved by WashU Olin students, faculty and staff. At 1,293 acres, it’s one of the largest urban parks in the United States. Our campus is next to Forest Park, which has miles of walking and cycling paths, paddle boats, golf courses, softball fields, museums and tennis courts, plus, outdoor concerts, movies and festivals. The park also houses the Saint Louis Zoo, Missouri History Museum, Saint Louis Art Museum and Saint Louis Science Center—all free attractions.

Students also take advantage of the eclectic neighborhoods near campus. University City is within walking distance and offers ethnic food, thrift shops, boutiques and live music venues. The Central West End and Clayton are just a metro stop away, and both are known for their amazing food, coffee shops and shopping.”

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergrad Alma Mater	Last Employer
Cherise Brookes	St. John’s, Antigua & Barbuda	The University of the West Indies (UWI)	R.M.B. Sales & Services
Manaswini Bobbu	Tirupati, India	Christ University, Bangalore	Deloitte
DaFene Brown	Albany, GA	Albany State University	Jungmun Elementary School
Nashad Carrington	St. Louis, MO	Morehouse College	GRO FARM
Jorge Concha	Santiago, Chile	Universidad de Chile, Escuela de Economía y Negocios	Rabobank
Arushi Gupta	New Delhi, India	Shiv Nadar University	The Walt Disney Company
Corinne Hibbett	Lake Tahoe, CA	Washington University	CSUB Project Rebound
Nicolette Horning	Paradise, CA	Walla Walla University	Telluride Ski Resort
Miao Li	Nanyang, China	Zhengzhou University of Light Industry	Shenzhen Crecer Trading Co.
Lei Song	Gansu, China	China University of Political Science and Law	Legal Services of Eastern Missouri
Dapeng Wang	Beijing, China	Beijing City University	MM Realty & Management
Jahana Wazir	Charleston, WV	University of Kentucky	SmithPro Commercial Painting