Columbia Business School photo 10154189174393784
The Wingman Foundation, which honors the sacrifices of fallen air warriors and supports the families they've left behind, was co-founded by Jack “Chili” Guevara ’17 and Philong Duong ’17. This Memorial Day, the foundation is hosting a 32-mile walk around Manhattan to honor and remember those lost in naval aviation mishaps, both in training and in combat, in the past 10 years.
Donate or register at http://wingmanfoundation.org/walkathon
Every Wednesday, we share a round-up of the latest news from admissions blogs at the top business schools. With summer fast approaching, we’re slowly turning our attention to summer internships and the 2016-2017 application season.
At Dartmouth / Tuck, the adcom advises that it’s never too early to start planning ahead to prepare for your MBA. While the post is geared towards those that have just graduated from their undergraduate institution (congrats!), the same holds true for those of you with a couple of years work experience. Especially since you may have some free time this summer, it’s the perfect season to plan. “It’s a great time to start thinking about whether graduate school could be the right move down the road. Unlike some other graduate opportunities, many MBA programs prefer—if not require—full-time work experience before matriculating.”
In IESE adcom office, the feeling is mutual! IESE Director of Admissions Itziar De Ros notes that while their “first deadline for the fall 2017 intake will be in October 2016,” that’s not that far away. “ It sneaks up on you very quickly! Also, there are always unexpected work demands that creep up and distract you from studying. Start studying now for the GMAT or GRE exam to allow yourself time to get the score that you want.”
And, if you’re considering your options and weighing a one-year program versus a two-year program, consider it carefully. INSEAD MBA Winnie Van posted some words of wisdom to those considering the format. While the one-year program comes with many benefits, not to mention opportunity cost (you’re only out of the workforce for one year instead of two), it is a hectic, busy year. “What I’ve learnt is that you can do the things you really want to do, but you can’t do everything else. Every choice you make on how you spend your precious time this year is a trade-off. It’s up to you to work out what you really want to achieve from this year. Make it count.”
For current MBA students, the admissions blogosphere has something for you as well. The UNC Kenan-Flagler blog offered up some insight into “rocking” your MBA internship. “Hit the ground running by doing research ahead of time. It takes a new, full-time hire an average of six to 12 months to become fully proficient at a job. Internships only give you 10 to 12 weeks to prove your skills to a potential new employer.”
That’s all for this week. Catch you next week on another MBA Admissions Mashup.
At The Lisbon MBA, students learn techniques on how to relax and manage stressful situations. Here’s an example: http://ow.ly/4mIVeF. #WorkOnYourCareer
HBS student speaker Marcelle de Souza Goncalves Meira
It was only a year ago when Marcelle Goncalves Meira sat on the Baker Lawn watching the graduation ceremony at the Harvard Business School. At the time, the 27-year-old Brazilian woman had just completed her first year in Harvard’s MBA program with her husband, Pedro.
“I remember I was worried about taking final exams and anxious about whether I had chosen the best summer job for my envisioned career path,” she recalls. “Little did I know that the news I would receive that same week would drop a bomb in my life. A bomb much more devastating than I could ever have imagined.”
Her husband soon would be diagnosed with an incurable form of stomach cancer. Four months later, on Sept. 21, he would die at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston at the age of 28. Both of them had left consulting jobs in Rio De Janiero on their journey to HBS, she coming from Boston Consulting Group and he from McKinsey & Co. A member of Section D, Pedro quickly gained affection for both his warm and witty personality. With him gone, Meira would then complete the MBA program on her own.
ON THE DAY SHE DISCOVERED HER HUSBAND WOULD DIE, ‘THE WORLD MELTED BELOW MY FEET’
The late Pedro Meira died at the age of 28 last September
Today (May 25), she bravely stood before her classmates at Harvard Business School’s Class Day and shared her tragic experience and what it meant to be part of a community that would rally around her. She delivered the address exactly as she had prepared it with confidence and poise–never once breaking down.
“On that day, my world, as I knew it, melted below my feet,” she told the graduates and their guests. “We were far away from home, far away from our families in Brazil. All we had here was HBS. And in my journey since that day, I have discovered what makes this community so special. Students, faculty and staff, friends and people I had never met. All of you worked together, tirelessly, to help us through our hardest days.
“You cried but you also bravely laughed with us in that cold, but also very vibrant hospital room, where four months later Pedro passed, knowing how loved he was. And in the many months that followed, you kept me from drowning. By listening, by understanding, by engaging me in every possible way. You led me to rediscover fun and ended up helping me to reinvent a complete new life for me. A new life, full of new dreams, new passions and new revelations about myself and what I am capable of. I could never thank you enough.”
HBS AWARDED AN MBA DIPLOMA TO HER DYING HUSBAND JUST A FEW DAYS BEFORE HIS DEATH
Meira recalled that only a few days before her husband’s death, HBS presented Pedro with his own graduation diploma. “To the astonishment of all our friends who rallied around us that day, he held it and said ‘HBS is a place for development. I learned and accomplished a lot here. There are many things that I still wish I could do, but I know there are many people here that will do it for me.’ And he smiled to his mom, and to me.”
Her touching reflection occurred on a beautiful, sunny Boston day, 24 hours before the university’s actual commencement. Marcelle was chosen to speak through an audition process that included more than 50 student speeches. Besides her long-awaited speech, Bridgespan Chairman and Co-founder Tom Tierney returned to the campus from which he graduated with an MBA 36 years earlier to share a pair of what he called “intense personal struggles” (see When Bridgespan’s Tom Tierney Was Told He Was Crazy).
Class Day speeches at Harvard are among the most emotionally stirring delivered by any graduating student in or around commencement exercises every year. Last year’s address was given by a self-styled “bohemian idealist,” graduating MBA Adeola Ogunwole, who is black, a Southerner, and a lesbian (see The Black Lesbian Who Wowed HBS). Two years ago, Harvard MBA Casey Gerald spoke movingly about a near-death experience with armed gunmen in his hometown of Dallas, and how that changed his life forever (The Most Stirring Speech Ever By An MBA).
‘I WOULD NOT BE HERE TODAY IF IT WERE NOT FOR YOU’
But the backdrop to this year’s student speaker made for an extraordinary unusual speech. “I cannot overstate just how proactive, resourceful and impactful you all were in our battle,” said Meira. “You gave us access to the best available treatments and to the best doctors in the world, some of them here today. You coached me on how to best advocate with the medical teams to make absolutely sure we tried everything possible until the very end, which I am confident we did. Your affection created an environment around Pedro that inspired him and captivated an entire hospital. You even kept us fed sometimes, perhaps, a little too well fed.
“But the most important present you gave us was your presence. You were truly there for us, always caring, ever selfless. I truly would not be here today about to receive my diploma with this class, if it were not for you.
“If I may share one thing I learned after emerging from complete darkness, it is that the world is so full of colors that we fail to appreciate. There is so much happiness all around us that we take for granted. As overachievers, we have a tendency to over plan towards huge end goals, and to allow all our happiness to be just a function of their conquest.”
The entire written transcript of her speech is here:
Dear HBS friends and family.
I am here today to thank you for saving my life.
One year ago, I was sitting there at Baker Lawn watching the graduation ceremony, as a happily married, 27 year old, RC student. Like you, I remember I was worried about taking final exams and anxious about whether I had chosen the best summer job for my envisioned career path. Little did I know that the news I would receive that same week would drop a bomb in my life. A bomb much more devastating than I could ever have imagined.
As many of you know, after endless medical tests and huge uncertainty, my husband, our classmate Pedro, from section D, was diagnosed with an incurable form of stomach cancer.
On that day, my world, as I knew it, melted below my feet. We were far away from home, far away from our families in Brazil. All we had here was HBS. And in my journey since that day, I have discovered what makes this community so special. Students, faculty and staff, friends and people I had never met. All of you worked together, tirelessly, to help us through our hardest days.
I cannot overstate just how proactive, resourceful and impactful you all were in our battle. You gave us access to the best available treatments and to the best doctors in the world, some of them here today. You coached me on how to best advocate with the medical teams to make absolutely sure we tried everything possible until the very end, which I am confident we did. Your affection created an environment around Pedro that inspired him and captivated an entire hospital. You even kept us fed sometimes, perhaps, a little too well fed.
But the most important present you gave us was your presence. You were truly there for us, always caring, ever selfless. You cried but you also bravely laughed with us in that cold, but also very vibrant hospital room, where four months later Pedro passed, knowing how loved he was. And in the many months that followed, you kept me from drowning. By listening, by understanding, by engaging me in every possible way. You led me to rediscover fun and ended up helping me to reinvent a complete new life for me. A new life, full of new dreams, new passions and new revelations about myself and what I am capable of. I could never thank you enough.
I truly would not be here today about to receive my diploma with this class, if it were not for you.
Pedro gave us an example of kindness, courage and resilience. But also of someone who was able to really engage in each experience and to deeply empathize with each person. Just a few days before his passing, HBS was kind enough to present him with his very own graduation diploma. Upon receiving it, to the astonishment of all our friends that rallied around us that day, he held it and said “HBS is a place for development. I learned and accomplished a lot here. There are many things that I still wish I could do, but I know there are many people here that will do it for me.” And he smiled to his mom, and to me.
I wish I knew what those things were but I know he would be so proud to see us today bravely welcoming our new challenges ahead, in new industries, in new geographies. And he would be proud of me facing my fear of public speaking outside the comfort zone of my native language. In fact, I even wore high heels, which I truly hate, just to prevent me from shaking. Because nothing would stop me from pouring my heart out to you with my most sincere beliefs. He would be proud because Pedro was a dreamer. Because he believed in our potential, even when we did not see it ourselves, even when we were each certain that we were that one admissions error. But as I am sure you have heard by now, Dee Leopold does not make errors.
Ironically, the only quote I used 5 years ago in my 2+2 admissions essays was “what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger”, or the funnier Brazilian version of it “O que não mata, engorda” – which translates to “what doesn’t kill you, makes you fat”. Back then, I was relating to my mom, my personal superhero growing up, who has been successfully battling MS for almost 40 years. But I only fully understood the meaning of this simple quote after getting to know you and your stories. All of you have known suffering and even so, the brightest smiles I have seen in the hallways in Aldrich have been worn by those who survived the most difficult situations, those who have conquered their own personal battles. May your hard won smiles that I am seeing right now, continue to inspire people, as they have inspired me.
I hope you know how strong you are and that failure or loss won’t stop us from moving forward, even as we leave this amazing place behind, even as we might be no longer together. As we learnt in BSSE, disruptions will continue to reshape our realities. But I hope you know that we do have what it takes to lead the change to succeed, to readapt ourselves, our companies and even our countries. And I hope you know that to be true, that you can actually make a real difference in the world. You certainly made a real one in mine.
If I may share one thing I learned after emerging from complete darkness, it is that the world is so full of colors that we fail to appreciate. There is so much happiness all around us that we take for granted. As overachievers, we have a tendency to over plan towards huge end goals, and to allow all our happiness to be just a function of their conquest. A function of big moments such as today, graduating from Harvard Business School. Well, yes, we definitely need to celebrate a lot today, because we did it, and we did it together!
But in the end what will have made this entire experience is not the framed piece of paper we will hang in our office. Rather, what made these past 2 years so transformational were the simple things, our day to day…the small group dinners, the many new perspectives from class discussions that we had never before considered, the amazing treks abroad that opened our eyes to different realities, the failure story of that inspiring guest that came to our class.
2016 Class Day student speaker Marcelle de Souza Goncalves Meira
The sections’ basketball games (even when it was against section B), the witty jokes from our beloved professor Sophus, the successful summit of Mount Everest, all the late night delicious tasty burgers, the future Fortune 500 CEOs dressed in neon spandex at the 80s party, the very, very, very dangerous scorpions at the Kong, and of course, the cold call the morning after, and that beautiful smile of our classmate’s newborn baby.
Those were the moments that made us a real family. And [G], [G] believes the bonds they created within our section, our discussion group or with our fellow nationals are truly unbreakable. And we had a blast!
So let’s fully appreciate moments like these in our brave new journeys ahead, instead of wasting our lives paralyzed by the fear that we won’t achieve our next target, or have that perfect happy ending we so desperately hoped for. Because life is not about its endings. Because life is much more precious than that.
And I invite all of you here to cherish each and every day as a big bonus you have just been awarded, to live your life with an intense passion and gratitude for this opportunity. To never stop pursuing your dreams, whatever they may be, but also, and more importantly, to make the pursuit itself meaningful for you and for those around you. Do it for your loved ones and for yourselves.
Today, I would also like to praise our families, wherever they are, those who taught us what family means, and those who have always been there, cheering and believing in us. We are here today because of you.
Finally, congratulations class of 2016, now Masters in Business and in solidarity. Thank you for being an integral part of this incredible community that I am so deeply proud and grateful to belong to!
Parabéns e muito obrigada! Congratulations and thank you!
The post A Harvard MBA Widow Tells Classmates ‘You Kept Me From Drowning’ appeared first on Poets and Quants.
We are very excited to welcome Peter to the Rice University community!
The Darden community offers our deepest thanks and warmest congratulations to Prof. Peter Rodriguez, an exceptional teacher and colleague. We know you will be do great things as Dean at Rice's b-school and you will always have a Darden family. Thank you, Peter!
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