After playing professional soccer and running a soccer company, Jon Okafor (Yale, SOM ‘21) decided to pursue an MBA to transition to a career in investment banking. Upon selecting the Yale School of Management, Okafor found the diversity of the student body, ability to take classes, and collaborative culture at Yale SOM to be valuable aspects of his MBA Experience. In this interview, Okafor shared his journey to Yale, some of the challenges he encountered and overcame, and his advice for how admitted MBA students can make the right decision.
MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to come to business school?
I played soccer professionally before coming to business school. I was lucky enough to leverage my experiences and started a soccer company with a very close friend of mine.
I chose to get my MBA because I was ready to pivot into investment banking. During my time as a business owner, I was also in an investment division of a small company and got to interact with banks with issues pertaining to financing. I enjoyed interacting with various groups and wanted to get into the industry.
MBASchooled: What were your big questions coming into making your decision on which school to attend?
I did not do as much research as others did. (I quickly found that out in Fall 1!) That said, my primary goal was that I wanted to go to a school that I felt would best position me to achieve my goals.
MBASchooled: Why did you choose to attend Yale SOM?
It was important that I went to school close to my home in New Jersey because I planned to continue running my business while I was in school. Additionally, I wanted a small class size because after attending Brown for undergrad, I knew that a similar environment would be most beneficial for my development.
MBASchooled: What about the culture and classmates stood out to you about Yale SOM?
The culture is very collaborative and my classmates are extremely diverse. I feel like a broken record saying that so I will try my best to elaborate. At Yale, there are tons of international students, students from different careers and students from vastly different walks of life. The school does a good job of throwing everyone in a tight knit environment and incentivizing everyone to work together.
One week you may find yourself in 5 different groups working on very divergent projects. It forces you to engage with your classmates on a very intrinsic level and you learn about their motivations and their goals as well. By connecting with others and resonating with their experiences, I was able to expand my emotional and intellectual range.
MBASchooled: What resources, programs or information were helpful to you in making your decision?
While I did not do as much research prior to attending business school, I applied to Yale through the Consortium which made the application process seem more manageable but apart from that I did not do much. I did also have the occasional conversation here and there which certainly helped.
MBASchooled: How has Yale SOM helped you work toward your own career goals and aspirations?
I was able to land an internship at Credit Suisse in their Investment Banking Division. I was given all the resources I needed to recruit effectively for the position so I am grateful.
MBASchooled: What parts or aspects of the academic experience attracted you to Yale SOM?
I loved the idea that I could take classes outside of SOM. I was an Applied Math Econ major at Brown. Brown has an open curriculum so I decided to never take any history or writing classes because I disliked writing. I never understood why I got points off papers! Math seemed to make a lot more sense so I did not branch out. However, I am committed to learning new skills so I plan to take History and Psychology classes to expand my intellectual range.
MBASchooled: What has been a surprise, or an unexpected element of your experience at Yale SOM?
The speed of everything at Yale SOM caught me off guard. I did not think that would be an issue because I am used to moving in fast paced, multi-faceted environments. I lived in 5 different countries and was used to radically changing my life in a moment’s notice so I thought I was amply prepared.
On day 1, you have to switch all of your processes into Outlook. Soon after, you have to get used to Campus Groups and all the other networks that Yale SOM uses to disperse information. I can get carried away with creating efficient internal processes so changing everything around was a pain. By the time I got that under control, classes kicked into high gear and then came recruiting. In the end, I just got used to being ready for things to blow up in my face. It is fun once you get used to it though. I promise!
MBASchooled: What’s something you wish you knew more about before starting your MBA at Yale SOM?
I wish I knew more about what the recruiting process looked like beforehand. I felt like a fish out of water for the first couple of weeks and it was very stressful.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for those who are evaluating where they want to attend business school?
I will go against traditional thought here and argue that it is good to look for a place that you really see yourself enjoying the next 2 years. I know there is a lot of pressure to go to the top ranked institutions and that pressure is certainly not unwarranted but it is also important to go somewhere you will enjoy. Realistically, most people will enter the workforce and be there for the next 30-ish years after business school so finding a place you will enjoy will likely give you the fuel you need to work effectively in corporate America.