MBA

Profiles

Damali Brown, MBA 2010

After her first full year of college at Spelman, Damali Brown returned to her hometown, as many students do, to find summer employment. But in Buffalo, New York, Damali says, "The best-paying job available was at a local brass mill, doing blue-collar work. That opened my eyes to the importance of top-tier education and having access to opportunities for advancement."

When she returned to school the following fall, she joined a student business organization at Spelman. "Many of my colleagues there had Wall Street internships that sounded amazing," says Damali. That year she applied and was accepted as a Fellow by Morgan Stanley, initiating a working relationship that began with a summer sales and training position and that led to five years of employment in various positions at the firm.

Equated with excellence

Damali began considering business school while an undergraduate. "A lot of the distinguished speakers who came to visit Spelman had MBAs, many of them from Harvard," she says. "I equated excellence early on with having an MBA from HBS." Reflecting on her background, Damali observes that while "my parents always stressed educational excellence, this wasn't usually expected of most students in the public schools. In Buffalo, expectations were low. I wanted to defy the expectations."

Her first visit to HBS proved favorable. "I was impressed by the people — faculty, staff, and students — they were extremely open and willing to talk to me. Despite the stereotypes some people hold about Harvard, this is a very collaborative, helpful place."

Stepping outside the comfort zone — and up a steep and distant mountain

Encouraged by her experience, Damali has been determined to "step outside my comfort zone. I want to do things I would never have done before. For example, I'm not an outdoors person — so I joined the Outdoors Club." Last December, she and her club colleagues climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro: "Seven days of hell," Damali says. "Six to seven hours of hiking every day. But it gave me a local perspective on global issues we had discussed in Business, Government and the International Economy (BGIE). Watching the Tanzanians who carried 35 to 45 pound loads for us every day — for just $40 for the week — gave me real insight into how they live and how hard they work."

In another example of stepping out, Damali says, "I've never been good at public speaking. Now I'm forced to defend my position to 89 other students every day. And in Sankofa [an annual live show at HBS], I pushed myself to be the narrator, even though there were times when I felt uncomfortable. Growth comes from pushing myself."

Taking the initiative

The biggest lesson she's learned from HBS involves leadership, Damali says. "Before, when I saw things that were wrong, I'd complain about them. But HBS has taught me to look for alternative solutions and apply a willingness to seize the initiative." Putting her beliefs into action, Damali recognized a need for the African American Student Union (AASU) to engage with black students in other business schools and other Harvard graduate schools. "So I helped invent a position that hadn't existed before," says Damali, "and became a co-Intercollegiate Representative responsible for building those connections."

During her summer internship, Damali plans to return to Morgan Stanley to work within the FrontPoint Partners hedge fund. Long term, "I'm interested in social entrepreneurship to bring educational and economic opportunities to underserved communities."