Meet Washington Foster’s MBA Class of 2019

Afa Malu 

University of Washington, Foster School of Business 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Curious mind dedicated to surpassing other’s expectations. Doing it with as much fun as possible.

Hometown: Jos, Nigeria

Fun Fact About Yourself: The only thing I enjoy more than business and technology is sport. My passion for soccer (especially Real Madrid) sometimes leads me to take impromptu hours long trips on the slight chance I might catch them in action.

Undergraduate School and Major: Calvin College, Mechanical Engineering

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: Leland International – Quality Manager, Office for Nigerian Content Development – Ecosystem development team member

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment thus far has been leaving a secure job to explore a product idea a friend and I had. The successful creation of our product without any prior experience has been the most positive aspect of my profession and has altered the trajectory of my career. That process was a completely enthralling experience and the lessons I learned are probably more valuable that if I had stayed at my previous job.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? The one piece of advice I would give to future business school applicants is not to sell themselves short. I was skeptical about my ability to get into a top business school. Once I took stock of my accomplishments thus far – and my motivation for pursuing an MBA – I realized I was in a perfect position to get into a school like Foster. I have encountered a lot of people who do not try because they do not think they are qualified; self-doubt has denied them potentially great opportunity. There really is little to lose if they just believe in their ability and taking a chance.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? The key factor that led me to choose Foster is its history of producing a large number of students that end up in top technology companies. This was important to me because my career goal is to have a good blend of business and technology; Foster offers exactly that. 

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? Since I come from a non-business sector, success would be achieving a level playing field with my classmates who have prior business experience. To develop my skills to a point where I attract top companies would be a good metric of success.