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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
The biggest impact HBS had on me was to greatly develop my listening skills. Thanks to the case method, I completely re-learned how to listen to people and understand their arguments. In the case method, everybody has to get in; you do not get to speak very often (once every three class on average). Therefore, you learn the value of listening and trying to get the most out of what the people are saying. These skills prove essential when I try to sketch new processes and new ways of working in my current role because I have to take into account every idea, opinion, and need on subjects in which I have little knowledge or experience. [...]
Hi, my name is Heather Jackson, and I am not supposed to be at Harvard Business School. No, I don’t mean I was an ‘admissions mistake’ (though every single admit, myself included, has thought this countless times). I mean, by every possible statistic, I shouldn’t be here. I grew up in a low-income single-parent household in rural Kentucky - I am talking about a town of 4,000 people and one incredible Betty’s OK Country Cooking restaurant with an out-of-this-world catfish buffet. My parents did not graduate from college, neither did anyone in my family or most other families I knew. Growing up, I did not have any idea what an MBA was or why anyone would need one. [...]
I decided to apply to HBS via the 2+2 deferred admission process because I knew I wanted to be a leader, and I believed HBS was the best place to grow and learn. I’ve always been entrepreneurial and loved to build things. I was excited about the case method and how it continually pressure-tests your ideas and forces you to think critically. There aren’t many other environments where you present and defend your ideas daily in front of 90 people. [...]
Education has always been very important to my family, and I believe it was the best ROI you can get. Thus, an MBA was already on the table for me while at Purdue. Applying while I was still in my undergraduate studies had two unique advantages: 1) I was already in the academic mindset to be competitive with the GMAT and my application, and 2) it provided clarity on my career planning for the next 4-5 years. [...]
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. [...]
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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.