Alek Woltjer

Harvard Business School

“Creative and sarcastic with a love for big ideas and taking risks.”

Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m named after the Russian author Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

Undergraduate School and Major: Wheaton College, Mechanical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Dukane Corporation, Account Manager

What makes the case method so attractive as a means to learn and become a better manager? I think the best way to learn something is by doing it, and the best way to be a manager within the constraints of the classroom is the case method. At HBS, you’re not given the answer. Instead, you’re expected to take a stance and defend it to your professor and your classmates. The uncertainty is key, as it forces you to grapple with the countless variables that complicate each decision a manager has to make. Using the case method, you learn how to think through the 2nd and 3rd order effects present in each managerial decision, and you prepare to make well informed decisions in the real world.

Aside from your classmates and cases, what was the key part of Harvard Business School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I had a unique admissions experience in that I visited HBS well before the admitted students weekend, when I was deciding where to go to business school. Because of this, I was able to attend a session of the Startup Bootcamp program held each January. I was blown away by the passion of the instructors and students and the breadth of opportunities available at HBS. Seeing students collaborate with successful entrepreneurs to build their own ventures inspired me and made me eager to join such a vibrant learning environment.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at Harvard Business School? The Christian Fellowship Club has been an awesome resource for me here at HBS. It’s been great to connect with people of the same faith from outside my section and share about our lives outside of the world of business. I meet with a group of guys each Friday morning and it’s one of my favorite times of the week.

When you think of Harvard Business School, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? The word that comes to mind for me is “Commit.” HBS is all about committing to a stance, committing to a rigorous class schedule, committing to your section, and committing to investing in the experience. The beauty of the program is that we all get so much out of it as students because of our commitment to making HBS an incredible learning environment.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized Harvard Business School was the right program for you? Why? Shadowing a class at startup bootcamp was the moment I knew I wanted to come to HBS. Seeing the passion of the students and faculty along with the immense number of opportunities here made up my mind.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: As an account manager, I was able to help close one of the biggest deals in our company’s history the year before I came to HBS. It was a great win for our team and I was happy to be a part of it.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? During our section retreat, we held a canoe race in which I anchored the winning boat which was pretty awesome.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Harvard Business School’s MBA program? I would say have a coherent vision for how your past experiences shape where you want to go in your career (it’s okay if you change your mind later). Be candid about how you see the world and how you plan to shape it. Taking stances on issues is a huge part of the case method and sharing your opinion will help your application a lot!

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