Antonio Aziz Gonzalez

University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business

“Aspiring Strategy and Business Development Consultant, Fraternal Advisor, Senior Accountant, Non-Profit Officer, Veteran.”

Hometown: Chicago, IL

Fun Fact About Yourself: I play the guitar!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Illinois at Chicago: B.S. Finance

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Bijora Inc. – Senior Accountant

When you think of Notre Dame, what are the first things that come to mind? How have your experiences with the Mendoza program thus far reinforced or upended these early impressions? I always think about my first visit to Notre Dame’s campus and how beautiful the snow looked across the campus with the golden dome shining brightly in the distance. When I finally arrived onto the campus, I was a bit lost and needed help with directions so I asked with the first student I could find. This student was immediately polite and generous with their assistance despite the single digit weather that day. Since I’ve started the program, this impression has been reinforced by the overwhelming support of the community and the day-to-day interactions with staff, faculty, and student body.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the Mendoza MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Business on the Frontlines is an amazing opportunity to take what you learned from your courses and apply them to real-world cases then develop real-world solutions. This is very important to my career path as I eventually want to consult for startups and small businesses as a private practice and would welcome the opportunity to take these skills abroad to underserved communities.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Mendoza? Business Problem Solving has been my favorite course so far. The engagements have been both stimulating and challenging but most of all, rewarding.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I successfully rolled out the setup and implementation of a new technology investment to the company’s fleet of retail stores. I also established new standard operating procedures to address best (and worst) case scenarios.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? Built out my first dynamic scenario based financial model to prove the feasibility and impacts of a proposed solution.

Mendoza is known as a purpose-driven MBA program that asks students to “Grow the good in business.” What is your mission and how has Mendoza been helping you realize it? My mission in the long run is to develop a consultative practice aimed at developing small businesses, startups, and local non-profits. Mendoza has been actively providing tools and resources for me to realize this eventuality through its curriculum, campus activities, and friends/alumni of the community.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? My learning team has been my favorite part of the program so far. We consistently met at set intervals to work on group cases and quickly grew closer over the semester. Your peers really enhance the Notre Dame experience and it’s so motivating to be around a group of students who all want to actively challenge themselves and others so that we all can succeed together.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into the Mendoza MBA program? Servant Leadership is a very important value to be able to demonstrate. If you haven’t served for the sake of serving or taken risks that led to favorable outcomes without direct reward or recognition, I would highly advise you start implementing this into your lifestyle. This way, through experience, you understand why Notre Dame believes this is so important.

DON’T MISS: MEET NOTRE DAME MENDOZA’S MBA CLASS OF 2024