Meet Yale SOM’s MBA Class Of 2025

P&Q: Two years ago, P&Q asked you to share how you’ve integrated AI, STEM, analytics, and digital disruption into your programming. Since then, what types of enhancements have you made in these areas?

Yale SOM: “The Yale School of Management has continued to build on its suite of STEM-related course offerings and build up its support for our Management Science (MBA) concentration over the past two years.  Examples of new courses offered in STEM areas are: AI Strategy and Marketing, Build a Metaverse Strategy, Customer Discovery & Rapid Prototyping in Tech Entrepreneurship, Large Language Models, Machine Learning, and The Digitalization of Money.”
Gabriel Rossi – Assistant Dean Faculty & Curriculum, Yale SOM

P&Q: How many courses outside the business school can MBAs take during your program? To what extent has your business school embraced coursework from other schools and departments at your university? Are students from other schools and departments at the university allowed to take MBA electives?

Yale SOM: “Students come not only to SOM but to Yale. In the second year of the MBA program, students can take electives from SOM or add as many courses as they choose from other parts of Yale University. Many of our students will enroll in courses taught at Yale Law School or the School for the Environment, for example, to dive deep into areas of professional interest. And SOM opens its doors to students from across the university as well. Many of our management electives are cross-listed, so students from other disciplines join ours in the classroom.”
Yale SOM Media Relations

P&Q: What is your biggest student-run event of the year and what does it reflect about your school?

Yale SOM: “The SOM Healthcare conference as one of the biggest student-run events of the year. This legacy conference draws multiple hundreds of attendees each year. Last year’s conference was titled “Trailblazers of Tomorrow: Revolutionizing Healthcare Through Transformative Leadership” and reflects the mission of our school to educate leaders for business and society. For this particular conference, all those involved are keenly passionate about providing transformative solutions for the betterment of healthcare systems.”
Sherilyn Scully – Assistant Dean, Student and Academic Services at Yale School of Management

5 REASONS TO CHOOSE YALE SOM

1) Focus On Business and Society: “One aspect of Yale SOM’s MBA curriculum that ultimately was pivotal in my decision to enroll in the program was the emphasis on both business and society. At the end of the day, businesses influence all aspects of people’s lives, whether people work for them, spend time and resources at them, or are impacted in other ways by them. Not paying careful attention to the impact of business on society is a shortcoming of many programs. Yale SOM, however, makes sure to focus on the influences between business and society, doing so through various lenses of key stakeholders within a business and within society. It’s through this multi-perspective approach that one can truly understand the larger picture of how to operate a successful – and impactful – business, which is something I would like to glean from my MBA experience.”
Nick Callegari (’25)

“SOM is known as the social impact MBA program, and that was one of the many reasons why I chose SOM. I wouldn’t consider this a myth but rather the reason why SOM is such a special place. In my opinion, the reason why the SOM community is so wonderful is because the social impact focus of the program attracts a particularly considerate and compassionate type of MBA student. I love that every single person at SOM wants to make the world a better place, each in their own way. Even those who go into more traditionally corporate careers like investment banking are still involved in organizations like Nonprofit Board Fellows and Social Impact Consulting. I think that speaks to the type of person that chooses to come to SOM, and I feel so lucky to be surrounded by such socially conscious and compassionate people.”
Victoria Bush (’23)

2) Voices: “My favorite SOM tradition is Voices, typically held every Monday evening. Three people a week provide a short personal narrative that’s shaped them. It’s such a wonderful way to learn not just more about the person, but also learn from them. While traditionally students speak, professors and partners also participate. It’s a special experience.”
Allison Lyons (’23)

3) New Haven: “New Haven is the perfect size for a business school town, where over two years you can get to know the city well enough to feel at home. I was very intentional when applying to schools, looking for both smaller class sizes and smaller cities, in an effort to build deep and meaningful relationships with my classmates. While the pizza gets all the praise, New Haven is a place where you have access to Boston and New York very easily via train, but a city where you are much likelier to hang out with your classmates because of its smaller size.”
Raafeh Shahid (’23)

4) Network: “The vast network that the Yale SOM MBA program exposes students to is unmatched. As a Yale SOM student, I now have access to a wide array of subject matter experts over many fields in the faculty and alumni across the university. I intend to connect with this network through cross-curricular initiatives, centers, and by enrolling in courses across the university.”
Isabel Milton (‘25)

5) Discovery Project: “Before coming to SOM, the Discovery Project was a class that I knew I wanted to take. The course is offered through the Yale Center for Consumer Insights and gives students the opportunity to work with a client on an applied behavioral science project. My team was asked to look into how our client could make their product more interesting to a younger demographic. We conducted interviews in the field and ultimately came up with actionable recommendations for ways in which the client could improve both their infrastructure and messaging to better connect with millennials and Gen Z. We used behavioral science frameworks to dig deep into the data we collected and generated insights about shopping behavior. I learned so much through the process, and still use those same frameworks to think through problems. It was such a great experience, and I was able to use the applied behavioral science strategies during my internship at GEM this past summer.”
Victoria Bush (’23)

ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS

Dig in deep and embrace all parts of your story – the successes and the failures. For the successes, think about how to creatively tell a story that captures just how momentous the success was to you and how it made a tangible impact on people’s lives. For the failures, don’t be afraid to describe your failure and how it affected you. By embracing what makes you human, you’re one step closer to understanding how to make a meaningful impact on others… who are also human, just like you.
Nick Callegari (’25)

“I would advise applicants to not self-select out of the process. Just because you haven’t seen anyone who looks like you or shares your background in business school does not mean it’s not a path for you. “At the start of my admission process, I wasn’t sure if the MBA route was best for me. However, the more I was exposed to the Yale SOM program and community, the more I realized that this was an institution where non-conventional paths are celebrated and diverse perspectives are championed. Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from pursuing your dreams!”
Isabel Milton (’25)

“During the application process, I appreciated the way in which the essays encouraged me to reflect on the type of leader I wanted to become. Having this in mind before starting school allowed me to seek out opportunities and courses that would build those skills and allow me to become that leader.”
Victoria Bush (’23)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Nick Callegari	Deltona, FL	Princeton University	SpaceX
Emmanuel K Cudjoe Jr.	Shama, Ghana	KNUST – Kumasi, Ghana	Bristol Myers Squibb
Rachel Harmon	Champaign, IL	Cornell University	Birmingham Promise
Reika Ishii	Kobe, Japan	Wellesley College	Morgan Stanley
Luisa Locatelli	São Paulo, Brazil	ESPM-SP (Escola de Propaganda e Marketing)	iti, Itaú Unibanco
Tim Mamrol	Philadelphia, PA	Temple University	US Army
Isabel Milton	Lafayette, LA	Rice University	Avangrid Renewables
Adrian James Peters	Hyderabad, India	St. Mary’s Centenary Degree College	Amazon
Henry Ritter	Cambridge, MA	Brown University	Hut Croo for the Appalachian Mountain Club