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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
Growing up as a Black male from South Los Angeles, I was raised in a vibrant community surrounded by a diverse group of individuals who gave me guidance and taught me core values –such as curiosity, community, and persistence. My childhood experiences and the values that were instilled in me from being brought up in South LA are the foundation of my being, and I am proud to call South Central home. Yet, it was not often that I interacted with entrepreneurs or individuals who climbed up the ranks in the corporate world. Advanced degree holders were not always visible, and I thought that admission to a school like Harvard was a pursuit far above my head, something I had seen on television but not so much in my neighborhood. [...]
I’m a born and raised Detroit-native coming from a long line of incredible matriarchs. My grandmother, born in 1929 on a small rural farm in Arkansas, traveled to Detroit with four toddlers, each one a year apart, via train to meet her husband who had locked in a job in the automotive industry. She eventually was subjected to domestic abuse and did one of bravest acts a Black woman in the 1950s with six children could do: she left. As a first-generation college student, listening at my grandmother’s feet as she recounted lessons she learned throughout her life gave me the sense I could pretty much do anything. [...]
For years, I’ve been asking myself the following question: what is the most effective way for me to make a difference in the world? Is it through public service, impact investing, social entrepreneurship or even academia? The 2+2 program gave me the runway to actively investigate this question and explore a couple paths – politics and private equity. I first worked as a legislative fellow for my Congresswomen (now Senator) Kyrsten Sinema, who had recently been elected to office. I then pivoted to work in private equity at Cube Hydro Partners - a firm focused on renewable energy infrastructure investments. After 2+2, I decided to continue on the path of impact investing and develop my craft at Social Finance. [...]
While in undergraduate, I was hungry to learn more about leadership and having a positive impact on communities through business leadership. Outside of the classroom, I was very involved with entrepreneurship and small businesses on campus through Harvard Student Agencies (HSA). As a student business manager within HSA, I gained valuable business and leadership experience managing teams of up to 25 employees and helped launch a startup that was venture funded and is still growing today. As I approached my final year of undergraduate, I knew I wanted to get some real-world business experience after graduation, but eventually would want to pursue a management and leadership education. I applied to the 2+2 deferred admission program because it was a great fit for my long-term goals. [...]
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. [...]
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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.