Meet Harvard Business School’s MBA Class Of 2023

A woman wears a mask in the Stamps Reading Room at Baker Library on the campus of Harvard Business School Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2020. The School requires face coverings and social distancing during the coronavirus pandemic to help prevent the spread of Covid-19. Photo: Amelia Kunhardt

P&Q: In recent years, there have been several areas that have gained increased prominence in business school programming, including STEM, analytics, artificial intelligence and digital disruption. How does your full-time MBA program integrate these concepts across its curriculum?

MC: “HBS is constantly evolving its curriculum to include topics that both speak to current trends in the business world, as well as the interests of this generation’s students. This year alone the school has added the following courses to its Elective Curriculum (EC):

The MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences is a joint degree with the Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) for innovators who aspire to launch and lead technology ventures. The world needs more entrepreneurs and innovators with deep understanding of technology and management. To meet this need, this program builds upon students’ existing technical knowledge and skills and prepares them for leadership and founder roles in technology ventures.

The MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences is a joint degree with the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and Harvard Medical School through the Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. To effectively bring transformational discoveries in the life sciences to patients, the world needs business leaders working at the intersection of science and society, with deep understanding of biotechnology, life sciences, and management. To meet this need, this joint degree program builds upon students’ existing biotech and life sciences knowledge and equips them with the latest business and scientific insights. This empowers them to lead transformative organizations that will advance new drug discoveries and therapeutics.”

Spring on the HBS campus. Photo: Hensley Carrasco

P&Q: What is your most popular course among MBAs? What makes it so unique and so attractive to MBAs?

MC: “In their first year, students complete the Required Curriculum (RC), during which students take the same set of classes, establishing a common foundation in the fundamental practices of business including finance, marketing, leadership, negotiation, operations, strategy, and more. In the second, Elective Curriculum (EC) year, students have the opportunity to choose the courses they wish to take.

There have been several new EC courses that have been popular and reflect the changing nature of business and society, including:

There are also a few courses that over the past few years have seen several students enroll across multiple sections, including:

P&Q:  What are your two most popular MBA student clubs? What are the biggest events put on by these clubs? Why do these clubs resonate so deeply with your students?

MC: “With over 95 student clubs, there is something for everyone HBS. As a majority of students’ time in their first, required curriculum year is spent with their section mates, clubs provide an easy way to meet other classmates across sections and years. Each year, many clubs choose to offer a Club Conference, bringing global leaders to speak on topics relevant to the club, while allowing participants to network with key industry stakeholders. Considering the large size of HBS, clubs are a unifying way to meet others with similar career or personal interests, with partners also welcome to join.”

Harvard Business School Aerial View, ©Gren Hren for Harvard Business School

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL

1) Business Cases: “It puts you in the mindset of leaders facing difficult, complex, and uncertain situations.  When combined with the variety of perspectives that classmates bring to the classroom, it provides us with a powerful learning tool. I truly believe in having “skin in the game” as the best way to learn in the business world. Given that we can’t work in all industries and functions and face all of their most relevant challenges, the business case gives us a good sense of what it is like to be in the protagonist’s shoes, and learn from their own experience, successes. and mistakes.”
Michael Dantas

“My learning experience, until this point, has been traditional: read the textbooks, memorize the power points, correctly answer the multiple choice questions. The case method presents a daunting but exciting challenge: to confidently (maybe sometimes a little less confidently) reach and defend a conclusion, with limited data and time. You have to think on your feet and put yourself in the mindset of a CEO. I can’t think of a better way to prepare for business or management.”
Jack Heaphy

“The most fascinating part about the case method is that you get to know the points of view for people who come from very different backgrounds. You realize that what you take for granted in a particular scenario is not necessarily true for someone who performs a different role in society, or who comes from a very different culture. Learning by discussion definitely puts in a real world problem, trying to find real world solutions.”
Eduardo Cordova

Blue hour on campus. Photo: Hensley Carrasco

2) Entrepreneurship: “With my long-term goal of founding a retail company, I was inspired by HBS’s focus on entrepreneurship, specifically the courses and resources from the Rock Center for Entrepreneurship. A few of my favorite retail entrepreneurs like Jen Hyman (Rent the Runway) and Katia Beauchamp (Birchbox) are HBS alum and the companies they started as students have made profound impacts on the fashion and beauty industries.”
Kristina Brown

3) The Section Experience: “I have heard from many alumni that it gives you an extended family and unbreakable community. I wanted to a part of it the moment I learned about it.”
Michael Dantas

4) The Harvard Innovation Lab (i-lab): “It excites me because it’s an incubator for great ideas and cutting-edge technologies. HBS is the definitive leader among all business schools in fostering innovation, as evidenced by its exceptionally high yield of founders and its ample investments in entrepreneurial programs such as the i-lab. This was certainly an important consideration for me in choosing to apply and attend HBS as I hope to get involved in the i-lab to create technology that equips musicians and artists to retain ownership and maximize the value of their creative output.”
Jack Heaphy

5) The Career & Professional Development Office: “The office is wildly impressive. As a career switcher, the ability to reach out to CPD and have a blueprint laid out for how to effectively transition into new fields was important to me. I’ve never seen anything quite like it.”
Kareem Stanley

A Harvard Business School graduation

ADMISSIONS ADVICE FROM THE CLASS OF 2023

“Know your story from beginning to end, reflect on your values, and understand how HBS is going to help you on your path of life. Going to HBS is not an end in itself; it is means to an end – keep that in mind. If you don’t exactly know what the end is, HBS will help you on that – just be honest. Never lie and avoid overselling. Get GMAT out of the way as soon as possible. Prepare for the interview – it can be tough.”
Michael Dantas

“Don’t self-select out of the process! I almost didn’t hit submit on my application because I could only see the reasons why I thought HBS wouldn’t want me. In retrospect, I realize now that the admissions committee is truly looking for reasons to admit. So, what you assume is a sub-par component of your application may in fact be a strength of yours!”
Liz Plooster

“Take the time to understand your own drives and aspirations as well as who you are as a person. Boiling that down so that others can understand who you are and why you would be a good fit for a program. Think deeply about these questions and ensure that you can express the answers in a coherent and relatable manner. Your experience is only part of the equation. Your ability to convey this is also a critical skill.”
Daniel Park

How did COVID change how the Class of 2023 approached life? What do class members hope to do after graduation? What are their secrets for landing an acceptance letter from Harvard Business School? Click on the links below to get answers like these from incoming first-years. 

MBA Student Hometown Undergrad Alma Mater Last Employer
Leah Azeze Addis Ababa, Ethiopia University of Virginia Chemonics International Inc.
Kristina Brown Kingston, Jamaica Duke University Chanel
Eduardo Cordova Lima, Peru Universidad del Pacifico (Lima) Central Reserve Bank of Peru
Michael Dantas Brasilia, Brazil University of Brasilia Brazilian Ministry of Economy
Sibylle George Beirut, Lebanon American University of Beirut Disperse
Jack Heaphy Northport, NY Liberty University Societe Generale
Oscar Hernandez Los Angeles, CA Harvard University Freelance Film and Commercial Producer
Daniel Park Irvine, CA United States Military Academy United States Army
Elizabeth (Liz) Plooster Minneapolis, MN Bethel University Best Buy
Kareem Stanley Queens, NY Columbia University Zenith Energy Terminals
Amy Xu Plano, TX University of Texas BOGE Rubber & Plastics Group

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