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MBA Voices
MBA Voices
In April of 2020, Sarika Mendu (MBA ‘20) and Amina Mohamed (MBA ‘20) watched their EC year turn upside down due to a sudden global lockdown and saw an opportunity for MBA students to get involved and help small businesses stay afloat in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The soon-to-be graduates recognized that many struggling organizations could benefit from those with MBA skills -- marketing, finance, strategy, etc. -- to navigate unprecedented challenges. As they spoke to friends about this, they found hundreds of MBA students eager to help, but who didn’t know where to begin. Seizing this opportunity, they founded “MBAs Fight COVID”, an initiative that matched HBS students with business owners seeking help. [...]
Short Intensive Programs (SIPs) are courses that offer students a great opportunity to think about career choices, gain practical skills, and explore topics you might otherwise never get to study. These courses run for one week in January before the start of the Spring term and are often focused on a faculty member’s area of expertise or passion.
We caught up with Professor Hakeem Belo-Osagie, who taught the Africa Rising: Understanding Business, Entrepreneurship, and the Complexities of a Continent. This course was designed to introduce HBS students to the complexities of Africa – economic, sociological, and historical – and the ways in which these Africa-specific trends impact the opportunities and challenges in undertaking business and entrepreneurship ventures on the continent today. [...]
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. [...]
When it became clear that my summer internship with Maverick Ventures, an early stage Venture Capital firm based in San Francisco, was going to be remote, I had a lot of questions on my mind.
What would it be like to work with a team I had never met in person?
Having never worked in VC before, would I be able to pick up the necessary skills to succeed in a new role and build meaningful relationships with the team and the entrepreneurs?
Would I enjoy this experience?
I had some previous experience working remotely, but being new to VC and to Maverick, this was uncharted territory. [...]
In the spring of 2020, Kenneth Chenault (MBA 2019), Kevin Chenault (MBA 2021), Carter Lewis (MBA 2023), Lindsey Ferguson, Nicolle Mora, and Sesana Allen were each pursuing their own careers, utilizing their skills and interests to make an impact on the world. Then they witnessed a series of heartbreaking events, watching alongside the rest of the world as Ahmaud Arbery, Christian Cooper, George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Tony McDade were targeted in public places for the color of their skin. These were not the first incidents of racial injustice of this kind, but the six friends and talented professionals wanted to do their part to make them the last. [...]
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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.