Black MBA Students At Georgia Tech Describe A Community Adjusting – And Enduring

A group of Black MBA students at Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business sat down with Poets&Quants on campus last fall for a wide-ranging discussion of the Black experience at the school. The students – including MBA students Dajheonna Perry, Shae Malcolm, and Chelsea Wright and Executive MBA candidate Demetrius Odom – describe their experience this year as one shaped by transition – but also by cohesion, alumni support, and a determination to adapt.

“I’d say it’s going through some adjustments right now,” says Dajheonna Perry, a second-year student and Detroit, Michigan native. She points to funding changes affecting affinity groups across the university. “There’s been funding changes within the school, specifically for affinity groups, including Black organizations, LGBTQ+, women in business.”

Those shifts, students say – prompted by a sea change at the federal and state level against diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives – are forcing organizations to rethink how they operate, and in some cases whether they can continue at all. As a public university subject to state and federal policy constraints, Georgia Tech has less flexibility than its private peers in how funding and institutional support are structured. “There’s definitely some shifts in the way organizations are run – funding, too,” Perry says.

TWO BLACK EXPERIENCES – AMERICAN & IMMIGRANT

The students describe a community navigating institutional change while leaning on alumni support and internal cohesion. But they also emphasize that there is no single Black experience at Scheller, where 17% of the latest MBA cohort is Black/African American. Perry describes what she sees as “two different experiences: from a Black American perspective, and also from a Black immigrant perspective.”

“From a Black American perspective, we are definitely affected by DEI shifts and the lack of support systems,” she says, explaining that conversations among peers have increasingly focused on how to prepare if traditional outlets disappear.

For Black international students – particularly those from African countries – uncertainty often centers on visas and post-graduation employment.

“We have a lot of international students who come from African descent and them not being able to have placement or the opportunities that we had are kind of more slim for them,” says Shae Malcolm, a second-year MBA student and Air Force veteran. “They’re still looking for leadership like, ‘Okay, well, what did you do when this happened?’ — and it’s like, that company no longer sponsors visas.”

“I do feel like it’s a lot of pressure on a lot of the Black orgs right now more than ever to be that safety blanket or safe space,” Malcolm adds.

‘A DETRACTOR TO MY WHOLE MBA EXPERIENCE’

Visa uncertainty is not abstract, the students say – it is reshaping daily priorities.

“I feel like it’s almost a detractor to my whole MBA experience,” says Chelsea Wright, a 2024 National Black MBA Association Fellow. “At this point in the semester I should be worrying about networking, applying for jobs, passing classes and graduating. And instead I’m worrying, are my first-years going to get deported? Am I going to see you after Christmas?”

Students are also mentoring classmates through circumstances they have never navigated themselves. “We’re serving as mentors for them, trying to guide them in something that we don’t really have any experience in ourselves,” Wright says.

Still, she acknowledges the constraints facing a public institution. “I feel like as the entity that they are – a federally funded public school – there’s only so much they can give us on an official level.”

SUPPORT – BUT ALSO FRUSTRATION

Students describe a dual reality: visible effort from faculty and staff alongside frustration about how some transitions have unfolded.

“I kind of felt like we were just handed the information and then we were from there having to figure it out for ourselves,” Malcolm says, referring to the loss of funding for her organization.

Even well-connected supporters face hurdles, she adds, describing a professor who tries repeatedly to donate. “He got told so many different times no – to finally get told yes at the end by someone else.”

More broadly, Malcolm says, “I don’t think that there has been clear processes set out for affinity groups or plans set out for affinity groups to still be alive.”

Yet criticism is consistently paired with recognition of effort. Demetrius Odom strikes that balance directly.

“The overall macro climate is not the best or most conducive right now,” Odom says. “But Scheller is doing a great job to make sure that we feel supported day in and day out.”

“We may not be getting monetary support as much as we would have before because of external issues that are outside of their control,” he adds, “but we’re still students at the end of the day and there’s still advocates and support there.”

RECRUITING WITHOUT THE SAME PIPELINES

Students also point to changes in recruiting support — particularly around conferences and exposure opportunities.

“I recruited through the National Black MBA Association conference,” Perry says. “Amongst most of my peers, that’s something that Scheller doesn’t support anymore. So we’re still having to maneuver these spaces.” Her own recruiting experience, she says, “has been very scrappy,” but the conference remains “a great tool for exposure.”

“The biggest gap that we have when it comes to competition is largely exposure,” Perry adds. “Thankfully I have completed my recruiting, but the shift that I was really concerned about is that the people who need it the most are not going to have that access.”

Another student says the rollout of changes feels abrupt. “Once the news broke, they immediately jumped into ‘we’re cutting everything immediately’ mode and then we’re going to deal with the fallout after,” Wright says.

ALUMNI AS A ‘LIFELINE’

If one theme draws unanimous agreement, it is the importance of alumni.

“That’s literally our lifeline right now,” Perry says. “For BIB (Scheller’s Blacks In Business Club), for every other minority group as well.”

She credits Scheller’s tight-knit culture with making outreach easier. “Being able to make those connections – whether they’re cold, warm, or anything in between – has been a mostly positive experience.”

Malcolm echoes that sentiment. “I don’t think I’ve ever asked an alum for a meeting, or to contribute, and gotten a no,” she says. “Everyone is so willing to come out and support.”

Still, the pipeline is not immune to broader shifts.

“With the cutbacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion, some of our alum have been affected – like, have been laid off,” Malcolm says. “So if we have alum getting laid off, they aren’t able to help us.”

RESILIENCE – AND REALISM

Despite the challenges, students frame the current moment less as a crisis than as a test of adaptability.

“The issues that students are facing isn’t just a Scheller problem – this is public universities around the country,” Perry says. Private schools may operate differently, she adds, “but the tradeoff is that you’re going to be spending three times more.”

What has surprised her most is the strength of the community itself.

“Although the U.S. is going through many changes, our community is at its strongest place,” she says. “We have the largest numbers right now, we are still having people being placed. This is just really showing the strength of the African-American community.”

ADVICE FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS

For applicants considering Scheller – or any MBA – the students’ advice leans toward preparation rather than hesitation.

“I’m a personal empowerment person,” Perry says. “I would recommend having a strategy and having pre-preparedness when it comes to embarking on the MBA journey.”

Odom, a native of Birmingham, Alabama, emphasizes geography and trajectory. “If you’re looking at somewhere for your MBA journey to grow, what better city than Atlanta?” he says. “Yes, times are hard right now, but if you’re thinking about the future, this is the perfect one for that.”

Wright offers perhaps the most durable perspective. “The economy is going to change, the job market is going to change, the geopolitical landscape is going to change,” she says. “But what’s not going to change is coming to a top program, getting the education, being involved in communities like this, meeting these people.”

“You come,” she adds, “and we’re going to make it work regardless.”

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