Before coming to UNC Kenan-Flagler, Ryan Hughes (’17) researched and prepared for business school life as much as he could. Now on campus and fully immersed in the first year, Ryan shares with MBASchooled that business school has exceeded his expectations. He discusses how sometimes the most impactful experiences and learnings are those that you least expected.
MBASchooled: You’ve been in business school now for a few months. What was the transition like and how does it feel to be back in school?
Ryan: For me the transition was easy. I was so excited to come back to business school because I wanted to expand my business knowledge, meet new people, and pursue a new career that I had a passion for. That excitement opened up my mind to learning about new subjects and learning from new people. The people around you are key to the transition because everyone is in the same boat, and as long as you work together the change can be painless. It feels great to be making new friends, expanding my horizons and learning so much at the same time.
MBASchooled: What’s an assumption you had about business school that you were right about?
Ryan: I always assumed business school provided you ample opportunity to pursue so many passions and that is certainly true. There are so many opportunities to learn about different career paths, hobbies, help the community and so much more. UNC Kenan-Flagler does a great job making sure that no matter what your interest is there is something for you.
MBASchooled: What’s an assumption you had about business school that you were wrong about?
Ryan: I always assumed that subjects such as Operations, Accounting, and Finance would not matter that much to my career aspirations of working in Marketing and Brand Management. I learned rather quickly that no matter what career path you pursue, a basic understanding in all the core business subjects is necessary to succeed at your job.
MBASchooled: It’s only been a few months, but have you learned anything interesting or gained additional knowledge that you didn’t previously know?
Ryan: With core classes in so many different subject areas you learn so much very quickly. Many of our classes use real-life business examples and cases to boost our learning experience and being able to apply the concepts we learn to the real-world enhances the classroom learning exponentially.
MBASchooled: How would you describe UNC Kenan-Flagler to others?
Ryan: UNC Kenan-Flagler is truly a place of community and teamwork. These traits are key pieces to the school’s core values but they exemplify them each and every day. And it isn’t just the school faculty that exude these values, it is all the other students. Second years at UNC Kenan-Flagler are so happy to help you with questions about the program, companies they interned at, and the career process. Their help has been a huge help so far.
MBASchooled: What’s been your favorite class so far?
Ryan: Right now it is Business Strategy. I have learned what makes some of the most successful companies in the world so successful and more importantly how intricate each corporate strategy is. It is very interesting to take the information we have and try to put yourself into the shoes of corporate executives and make the decisions they had to make. You realize how hard, but interesting, it really is.
MBASchooled: What has been the most enjoyable aspect of business school?
Ryan: Making new friends with such diverse cultural and professional backgrounds. I don’t think I’ll ever have the opportunity to be surrounded by such a diverse group of highly motivated people again and I am making sure I take advantage that I can get to learn from those around me.
MBASchooled: What has been the biggest challenge you’ve had to deal with so far in business school?
Ryan: Wanting to do so much with so little time. As I mentioned before there is so much going on that it is impossible to do everything. You need to be selective, which can be rather challenging because there is always a trade-off, but it also helps you make sure you are participating in activities that you are most passionate about.
MBASchooled: What opportunities ahead are you most excited about?
Ryan: I’m most excited about the opportunity to start picking my own classes and really hone in on my interests and career aspirations so I can prepare for my eventual summer internship. There is just an abundance of opportunities to learn here and I cannot wait to continue to take advantage of what UNC Kenan-Flagler provides us.