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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
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. [...]
On the last day of exams of my first semester of the Required Curriculum (RC) year, I walked out of Aldrich with my sectionmate, Dan. We had gotten to know each other through section, playing intramurals together and enjoying the rollercoaster of our first semester at Harvard Business School. On our way to Shad, we struck up a conversation about recruiting as most RCs do around that time of year. Dan knew that I was trans because I had done a MyTake earlier in the semester on National Coming Out Day, organized by the PRIDE Club. I talked about bridging my personal identity with my professional background in health tech. [...]
In January, we heard about the Coronavirus in China; by the beginning of March we had classes moved online and shortly thereafter we saw stay-at-home orders issued across the state, the country and the world. As the virus spread, hospitals became overrun and PPE supplies dwindled, PPEople First became a way for all of us contribute to the community in a meaningful way. Each order we placed and each delivery we dropped off we saw immediately put to work on the front line. The urgency of it all was at times stressful but this same urgency is what has made the effort so rewarding for all of us. [...]
There are several ways to switch careers, such as directly changing jobs or pursuing another advanced degree in a new field. Among the choices, an MBA is not a typical option for people with a technical background. I had very few friends and colleagues who had gone the MBA path, and yet, the more I talked to those friends, the more I realized that an MBA was the perfect fit for me as a next step. [...]
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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.