Anna Eckhoff

MIT, Sloan School of Management and Harvard Kennedy (Dual degree)

“Adventure-seeking dual degree student interested in the intersection of business and sustainability.”

Hometown: Elmhurst, IL

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’m a certified yoga instructor!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Chicago, double major in Economics and History

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Bain & Company, Senior Associate Consultant

What word best describes the MIT Sloan MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far and why? Energized—everyone has something they are passionate about and is excited to be at Sloan.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of MIT Sloan’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Sloan’s sustainability initiative (and the related sustainability certificate) offers me a chance to explore my passion for environmental sustainability within my MBA experience.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at MIT Sloan? Snow Club! While I’m no expert (yet), I’m looking forward to the annual ski trip with my fellow classmates.

Action Learning Labs are one of MIT Sloan’s biggest attractions. Which lab interests you most? How does it fit with your interests? S-Lab (a requirement for the sustainability certificate)— the real-life, hands on experience working with businesses on sustainability topics will be invaluable for understanding my future career goals.

When you think of MIT, what are the first things that come to mind? How have your experiences with the Sloan program thus far reinforced or upended these early impressions? Sometimes highly quantitative schools like MIT carry negative stereotypes of being “nerdy.” Even though everyone is indeed wicked smart, I’ve been continually impressed with how open, friendly and down-to-earth everyone is.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I spent 6 months on externship to help The Nature Conservancy and the Republic of the Marshall Islands launch a new sustainable tuna company.

How did COVID-19 change your perspective on your career and your life in general? COVID and Work From Home (WFH) reinforced the importance of being passionate about your work. For many, WFH stripped away all the ancillary job benefits and forced me to reevaluate if I found the core of the work itself inspiring or not.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation? I will be returning to Bain after graduation and hoping to help build out our emerging sustainability practice. Beyond that, I want my time at Sloan to help me clarify exactly where I see my career in the long term.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Stanford, HBS, Wharton

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into MIT Sloan’s MBA program? Be honest about where you are at in your career journey. It’s okay if you don’t have a 100% clear picture of the exact job you want after graduation, as long as you can compellingly express where your passions lie and why!