#wearemsb

By the time our first semester fall break rolled around, I won’t lie: I was beaten down by every finance quiz, strategy assignment, and case reading that had come at us. Re-acquainting myself with fancy calculators and learning a new language (accounting) after many years in the nonprofit world gave new meaning to the number of things I could cram into a day. And to top it all off, my first-year class and I did this while trying to soak up every recruiting happy hour and Thursday evening Kegs.

I couldn’t put my finger on exactly what I was missing, but after just a couple of months of barreling forward on this fantastically colorful train that was business school, I was drained. That’s why, when an email announced the chance to take part in an MBA student retreat — a two-day respite from our lovely Hariri building where I spent all my waking hours — I jumped at the opportunity.

If you love, or want to learn more, about how MBAs can drive environmentally-sustainable development, this is the course for you! Each week, we discuss a key sustainability issue by analyzing 1-2 cases in depth, such as furniture logging at IKEA or organic cotton clothing at Walmart. Each discussion topic is driven in a very lively manner by Professor Vishal Agrawal, who truly encourages students to challenge assumptions, raise controversy, look for signs of “greenwashing”, and find the hidden profits embedded in sustainable strategies. 

Whether you’re new to the topic or experienced in the field, you’ll find yourself surrounded by like-minded MBAs from all sorts of functions, sectors, and industries; I guarantee that you’ll learn as much from them as from the course material. To practice our analytical MBA skills, we build up a portfolio of three individual essays and one group project over the course of six weeks. In the individual essays, we’re guided with a series of questions that require knowledge from our core MBA courses such as Finance, Operations, Marketing, and Analytical Problem Solving; for example, performing an NPV analysis for obtaining LEED building certification. 

During my initial weeks at McDonough, I would often pause in astonishment as I realized that I was actually in an MBA program. Until a few years ago, I had never planned to attend a business school in the United States, so occasionally, I would be amazed that I’m really here. 

As with many international students, I, too, was anxious about many aspects of my MBA experience, primarily revolving around transitioning into a new city in a new country, job recruiting, and classroom academics.

The social experience really stood out to me. I was surprised at how many events are taking place both formally and informally. Beyond the school-sponsored events, students took the initiative to organize activities amongst ourselves. These events definitely helped me transition to my new lifestyle as an MBA student and also allowed me to explore the amazing place that is Washington, D.C.

The Georgetoen McDonough School of Business prides itself on its community. While the pandemic has taken a heavy toll on MBAs across the globe, McDonough made preserving and enriching their community a priority.

Kerry Pace is an associate dean of the MBA program, responsible for the whole of the student experience. She has worked at the university since 1997, focusing on graduate students for her entire career.

“Our students quickly adapted to the virtual learning environment at the onset of the pandemic, yet they were missing the connections with one another,” said Pace. “Our MBA team sought out ways to create that sense of community and support in a virtual world.”

Pace felt the pandemic had escalated the need for mental health and well-being to a critical point, and the university’s overarching philosophy of cura personalis was the core value needed to help students cope.

Building a community during your MBA program can give you lifelong benefits: after all, these are your peers and future coworkers. It is our human instinct to come together socially, but MBAs had to overcome even more obstacles during the global pandemic — finding themselves physically apart. Sherif Shabana (MBA’21) created HQHQ.ai, a student networking platform where MBAs can routinely be paired up and interact.

“The pandemic stole so much for the MBA experience and as amazing as the efforts were to overcome these obstacles, we saw the urgency to amplify the networking and mentorship experiences for students,” said Shabana.

This platform allows current students to be “on the market” for connections and professional relationships so they can pair up with colleagues for developing our networks at Georgetown McDonough.

Business leaders are asked to flex their communications skills every day, whether it’s to ask a board to change the direction of an organization, add investors to a new business, or to manage a difficult labor relations situation. That’s why Georgetown McDonough MBA students are asked to do the same as part of their Leadership Communications final exam.

Our application deadlines for the upcoming admissions cycle have been finalized!

Opening Term. If you say those two words to any former or current student at McDonough, they’re likely to elicit a visceral reaction as memories of rapid-fire classes, beginning the challenge of career search, community service opportunities, social events, and even the occasional couple hours of sleep play across their minds. Opening Term is your introduction to the MBA program at McDonough and it foreshadows the rest of your experience here. You work hard and you play hard, all while meeting the rest of your incredible colleagues and setting yourself up for success over the coming years of your MBA. So, given the excitement of all that’s about to happen, how do you prepare for Opening Term and how can you ensure that you not only survive but thrive in the early steps of your MBA experience?