Jonah Raymond

University of Texas at Dallas, Naveen Jindal School of Management

“A people-first leader driven by growth, service, and leaving every team better than I found it.”

Hometown: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Fun fact about yourself: I have run two half marathons and completed my first full marathon in 2025, despite running the final 10 miles (approximately) on a fractured foot.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Texas A&M University, History

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Dell Technologies, Account Executive

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025? JPMorgan Chase, Plano, TX

Where will you be working after graduation? Undecided

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Career Representative, MBA Leadership Council
• Graduate Assistant, MBA Program Office
• Scholar, Summerfield G. Roberts Foundation

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of winning the 2025 Raytheon Business Case Competition. The competition took place just two months into my MBA and brought together students from top programs across the country. Leading my team through a fast paced, problem-solving process pushed me to step up early in the program. Winning was a moment of arrival for me and confirmed that I belonged in a highly competitive MBA environment. It helped eliminate the imposter syndrome I felt at the start of business school and gave me confidence that carried through the rest of the program.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? During my six years in the Texas Army National Guard, I participated in six humanitarian missions, with the most impactful being a food bank support mission during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. Alongside 60 other soldiers, we supported the East Texas Food Bank by packing and distributing nearly 3 million meal boxes over a two-month period. We also partnered with local law enforcement to operate drive through distribution sites, serving food to roughly 1,000 underserved families per event. Receiving the Humanitarian Service Medal for this work remains one of the proudest moments of my career because it reflects both tangible community impact and my personal commitment to service.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose UT Dallas for the intimacy and design of its full time MBA program. The environment here fosters a myriad of benefits, but this stands out the most to me. With a class size of roughly 50 students, the program enables meaningful access to faculty, career staff, and peers in a way that larger programs cannot match. The small cohort allowed me to build deep trust with classmates and staff, creating a collaborative culture that elevated my academic experience.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor was Shouqiang Wang, who taught Statistics and Data Analysis. While that course and the material is inherently challenging, he brought consistent enthusiasm and pride in his work to every class session. It is always a refreshing experience to be around someone who is truly passionate about their work. Beyond his teaching style, I was inspired by his personal journey from rural China to an elite Chinese academic institution and ultimately to UT Dallas. His story reinforced the importance of perseverance and lifelong learning, values that strongly resonated with me.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course was Marketing Management taught by Ram Rao. It was my first exposure to rigorous case-based learning, where we collaboratively analyzed real business problems on a weekly basis. The course sharpened my critical thinking by requiring me to justify assumptions, evaluate tradeoffs, and consider long-term strategic implications when making business decisions. Learning how to quantify these variables fundamentally changed how I approach these strategic decisions moving forward.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA event was the sunset boat cruise on Lake Grapevine here in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. It was an ideal way to begin the academic year, bringing together first- and second-year students in a relaxed networking environment. Sharing conversations, music, and experiences outside the classroom helped break down barriers early. The event reflected the collaborative, welcoming culture of our UT Dallas MBA that I’ve come to know and set the tone for strong relationships throughout the program.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I would have participated in even more case competitions earlier in the program. Case competitions challenged me to think quickly and communicate clearly in time constrained situations. While I gained significant value from those I entered, engaging in more would have further accelerated my development as a leader and problem-solver while broadening my exposure to different industries.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? The most impactful case study for me was “How Should Netflix Add an Ad Supported Tier” by Elie Ofek and Olivier Toubia at Harvard Business School. The case highlighted the complexity behind strategic decisions that appear simple on the surface. Most importantly, it exposed me to conjoint analysis and demonstrated how data-driven tools can clarify tradeoffs between pricing, customer segmentation, and branding. These were all such new concepts for me. But this framework of analysis fundamentally changed how I would evaluate strategic options. It is a skill I plan to carry forward into my professional career.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What I love most about Richardson and the UT Dallas campus is the diversity of perspectives it offers. The strong international presence created daily opportunities for me to learn from classmates with different cultural, professional, and educational backgrounds. Combined with the university’s emphasis on research and innovation, the environment felt intellectually dynamic, making Richardson an ideal place for me to study and grow.

What business leader do you admire most? I most admire Dana White, CEO and President of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He transformed the organization from a regional promotion that struggled for legitimacy in the 1990s, into a global sports powerhouse valued at over $12 billion today. His leadership reflects relentless self-belief, resilience, and a willingness to challenge established norms. Beyond the elite business acumen and financial success, he has built sports platforms that bring people together through competition and entertainment. This resonates with me deeply and aligns with my own appreciation for the power of sport to inspire and unite communities.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? UT Dallas has integrated AI into its curriculum through faculty guided use across our courses, beginning with foundational seminars prior to the start of the program. Students can also pursue electives focused specifically on AI in business applications. This exposure emphasized AI as a tool to enhance decision making rather than replace our own human judgment. The lessons reinforced the importance of understanding both the potential and limitations of AI as it becomes increasingly embedded in professional environments.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The MBA classmate I most admire is Chad Dixon. As an experienced supply chain professional, he consistently brings thoughtful and practical insight into our class discussions. He is approachable, positive, and genuinely invested in supporting his peers. In his role as our Leadership Council’s social representative, he actively plans events to foster connections and strengthen the sense of community within our class. Personally, we have built a great friendship over the course of the program.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? One goal on my professional bucket list is to create and lead a veteran-focused organization within a future employer to support veteran recruitment, development, and retention. Throughout the military and my civilian work experience, I have always found great value in giving back to underserved communities, veterans especially. My second goal is to reach the C-Suite. I pursued an MBA to challenge myself at the highest level, and I am committed to pushing my career as far as possible while representing my program with integrity and excellence.

What made Jonah such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“I am pleased to recommend Jonah Raymond from the Full-Time MBA Class of 2026 at the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management. Jonah has been a strong contributor to our program through his work as a Graduate Assistant in the MBA Program Office, his involvement with the MBA Leadership Council, and his support of recruitment efforts as a student ambassador.

Jonah regularly meets with prospective students and represents the program at recruitment fairs. He is dependable, thoughtful, and well respected by both students and staff. He also stepped into leadership early in the program, including leading his team to a win at the 2025 Raytheon Business Case Competition. Jonah brings a calm, team-first approach to everything he does and represents our MBA program well.”

Andrea Burdman
Program Manager, MBA Programs
The University of Texas at Dallas

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