Sam Borja Truax

“I’m a perpetual optimist who finds joy and purpose in discovering positivity in any situation”

Hometown: Eden Prairie, MN

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am a proud owner of a Xoloitzcuintli (also known as a Mexican Hairless Dog).

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Minnesota – Twin Cities (Business Management, Spanish, and Communications Studies)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Integrated Staffing Solutions, Operations Director

What has been your favorite part of the Twin Cities so far? What has made it such a great place to earn an MBA?

I have lived in the Twin Cities area for my entire life, and in Minneapolis itself for the last 8.5 years. During all that time, my love for the Twin Cities and Minnesota has only grown. My favorite part of living here is the natural variety that comes with our seasons. There are so many different activities and scenes across the Twin Cities to enjoy depending on the time of year. We have beautiful parks and scenery, an amazing food scene, world-class museums and music venues, every pro sport you can think of, and so much more. I also find the Twin Cities to be an extraordinary place to get an MBA because of the amazing hospitality shown to us students. Every company, regardless of size, and all of their employees have been welcoming and shown genuine interest in our future success.

Carlson MBAs spend a year in hands-on Enterprise programs for Consulting, Branding, Ventures, and Funds. Which program do you intend to enroll in? What excites most about your Enterprise program?

I am excited to join the Consulting Enterprise. I see the Consulting Enterprise as a one-of-a-kind opportunity to gain experience tackling complex, real-world problems for influential companies with the benefit of being able to turn to seasoned faculty and mentors for guidance when in doubt. It is an environment where the stakes are real, but there is room for us to grow and learn as business professionals. I want to leverage that environment to work with an industry I am unfamiliar with so I can stretch myself in a new way and put to the test everything I have learned at Carlson.

Aside from your classmates, experiential learning, and location, what was the key part of the Carlson MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? 

I was drawn to Carlson for many reasons, but a huge factor for me was the variety of study abroad options available. Learning about another culture through immersion is a transformative experience, which I am blessed to have done a handful of times in my life. I see Carlson’s Global Immersion Programs as another amazing opportunity to become familiar with a new country, a new culture, and a new perspective that I will take with me into my career and personal life.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:

Going into March 2020, I was still learning the ropes of how to run the family business, a small talent acquisition firm started by my father, but then everything stopped, and the world was flipped on its head. As my father and I tried to navigate how the business would operate in a pandemic-stricken world, our offices in Minneapolis were burned down. Fortunately, no one was hurt, but we lost everything. Facing these seemingly insurmountable odds, we were determined to not lose hope of finding a way forward. I am proud to say that my father and I, along with our amazing team, reinvented the way we did business, sustained our operations without laying off a single employee, and ultimately grew our client base.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far:

Managing the stress of academic work, extracurriculars, and the recruiting process, while trying to balance that with a personal life is no easy task for even the most organized MBA student. It can be overwhelming. I was speaking with a classmate one day and was unaware of it in the moment, but they were going through a rough time. They later reached out to thank me for being welcoming and bringing positive energy to them, and to the program in general, when they needed it most. Knowing that I made an impact like that, even if it was only on one person, is what life is all about.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far?

I will never forget holing up in a small workroom with some classmates, good friends all, to hammer away on my first case competition for over 12 hours straight. The work felt effortless, and the laughs came often. It was the most fun I had working with any team both in the MBA program and in my personal life. Shout out to the Green Giants!