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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
I applied to the HBS and Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) MBA/MPP (Master of Public Policy) Class of 2023 to learn about the interplay between the public and private sectors in health care. Health care spending in the United States will soon make up one-fifth of the country’s GDP and over the past decade, legislators have passed countless health care policies that impact how hospitals, insurance companies and pharmaceutical manufacturers deliver services to patients. Even more, the ongoing SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has uncovered major cracks in the health care infrastructure that will certainly lead to substantial policy change over the coming months and years. At Harvard, the combination of renowned faculty, endless student resources and a location at the epicenter of biopharma R&D made it the perfect place for me to learn more about these issues and identify how I can be at the forefront of effective solutions. [...]
I had some idea early on in my career that I wanted to get my MBA, but to be honest I did not have a plan or roadmap for when I wanted to pursue this goal. I graduated from the University of Michigan with degrees in Psychology and Business. My first job was with Cardinal Health in their leadership development rotational program. My time at Cardinal Health exposed me to the healthcare world and gave me the chance to work functionally in Corporate Finance and Corporate Strategy. The rotational program was a great fit, as I moved around to different places while learning about a new part of the business each year. [...]
One of my mentors in college, Professor Barry Johnston, always encouraged me to seek out and solve the hardest problems. Another, Professor Emeritus Charles Cooney, taught me that the hardest problems often occur at interfaces between multiple sectors. The 2+2 program offered me a way to learn the language and tools I would need to tackle tough problems at the interface of science and business. [...]
Paxton Maeder-York is a proud member of the MBA class of 2019, Section G. He deferred between his RC and EC years to complete an additional master’s degree in Computational Science. Having studied Biomedical Engineering as an undergraduate and working as a Product Manager at Auris Health building surgical robotics to treat lung cancer, the intersection of medicine and technology was a deep interest of his prior to HBS. He is now the Founder and CEO of Alife Health, which uses machine learning to help assess the healthiest embryo to transfer during IVF. [...]
A couple years later when I was ready to apply to grad school, I once again did a search for any MS/MBA programs. To my surprise, I landed on the new HBS MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences website. I read every word about the program and was absolutely thrilled. I couldn’t have hand crafted a more perfect program. Its mission is to cultivate leaders who can assess potential therapeutic value, create sustainable business models, and understand the ethical implications of novel therapeutics or policies. I am so excited to be part of the inaugural cohort. [...]
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The views and opinions expressed in the MBA Voices blog are those of the authors.
Any political views shared by students are their own; HBS does not endorse a
particular party or candidate.