Joey Griffith

Washington University in St. Louis, Olin Business School

“I am a lifelong Bostonian who is an avid singer and social entrepreneur.”

Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have sung and performed for audiences across the world in six continents.

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, A.B. in Sociology with a secondary in Music

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Project Manager, Shah Family Foundation

What has been your favorite part of St. Lous so far? makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? St. Louis is such a unique city with so many hidden gems. I’ve really enjoyed all the various things to take part in, from the Festival of Nations to just exploring the distinct neighborhoods. As an avid coffee drinker, I have also loved trying out new cafes and finding the best gooey butter cake.

St. Louis is a spectacular place to earn an MBA. The WashU alumni network is incredibly strong across St. Louis, and there are so many opportunities to explore and take part in a growing city that is proudly home to more than a dozen Fortune 1000 companies.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Washington Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? When I was considering my options for business school, Olin consistently stood out for a variety of reasons, but its small, tight-knit class size and strong entrepreneurship program set it apart.

Olin’s MBA cohort is smaller, which gives you the opportunity to truly get to know and learn from all of your classmates. It’s a unique feature that allows my classmates and me to engage in thoughtful collaboration that isn’t just surface level. This cultivates a warm and supportive community among students, faculty, and alumni that is nearly impossible to find in other programs.

The entrepreneurship program also stood out; consistently ranked as the top graduate program in the field, the opportunities to not just learn but build and get support for student ventures are vast. It’s these opportunities that let you go “all in” and feel supported in ways I couldn’t have imagined.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Olin? I have really enjoyed my Entrepreneurship Seminar course, which has brought in different practitioners and leaders in different areas of entrepreneurship. From exploring entrepreneurship through acquisition with a WashU alum who is a leading speaker in the space, to hearing more about venture capital through the lens of local VCs, the course has given me a deeper understanding of the different layers of what it means to be an entrepreneur.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Before business school, I worked for a small family foundation in Boston, helping to lead our education investments, as well as for an edtech startup. I was fortunate to collaborate on diverse projects helping to improve educational outcomes and inspire innovation in schools throughout Massachusetts. One of my favorite projects was leading the development of a podcast series in partnership with NPR that interviewed every living former superintendent of Boston Public Schools. While the podcast received great coverage, what was more meaningful to me was the impact the series had in raising awareness about key issues in the city I grew up in and creating constructive public discourse.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: Coming to WashU, I had never taken any formal coursework in business, so I was slightly nervous about the rigor of the classes. However, after my first marketing class, those nerves were calmed immediately. Professor Sam Chun is a fantastic teacher who deeply cares about the content and his students; he presents material in a way that is easy-to-understand and clearly applicable to real business practices. Because of his clear instruction and the collaborative nature of our coursework, I was able to apply these lessons directly to my work with an edtech startup, helping us expand to new areas of the country. It is these practical insights, combined with the collaborative culture of the program, that make Olin so special.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? I am an active professional singer, and since moving to St. Louis, have been singing at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis. At our annual Christmas concert, a large contingent of my cohort came to support me and see me sing. Seeing nearly a third of my total cohort at the concert reiterated to me how special the Olin community is, and how Olin students continually show up for each other, both professionally and personally.

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