From Management Consulting to Energy and Sustainability, The Value of an MBA from UNC Kenan-Flagler

/ Prospective MBA Students, UNC Kenan-Flagler / By

After working for five years as a management consultant, Anthony Miner (UNC Kenan-Flagler, ‘21) decided to get an MBA with a goal of transitioning into the energy industry with aspirations to help create a more sustainable world. Miner chose to attend UNC Kenan-Flagler for its infrastructure for learning, collaborative culture, and strong ROI. In this interview, Miner shares how he selected UNC Kenan-Flagler, some of the opportunities that have helped him toward his career goals and his advice for selecting the right school.

MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to come to business school?

Before business school I worked at PwC for 5 years in their management consulting practice. In that role I gained really valuable experiences and relationships working with large technology companies; however, I was always interested in the energy transition and using technology to build a more sustainable world. I chose to come to business school to enhance my knowledge of the energy and sustainability sectors with hopes of working in a role that leverages my technology consulting experience and passion for renewable energy.

MBASchooled: What were your big questions coming into making your decision on which school to attend?

There were three main factors that impacted which school I would attend:

(1) infrastructure for learning

(2) culture and

(3) return on investment.

First, it was important for me to choose a school where I felt the curriculum, extracurricular, and professional network would provide the skills and experiences I was looking for to pivot my career. Secondly, I wanted to attend a school where I could build friendships and a lifelong network, not just a place I experienced for 2 years and left behind.

Lastly, knowing that I was leaving a good consulting job, I was cognizant of the cost of an MBA and wanted to make sure two years of not making money was worth it.

MBASchooled: Why did you choose to attend UNC?

I chose UNC because I felt like Kenan-Flagler was the best combination of the three factors I outlined above: infrastructure for learning, culture, and return on investment. I was really impressed by UNC’s diverse and expansive curriculum, especially across energy, sustainability and technology, the family-like atmosphere of the students and staff, and the access to scholarship and jobs that would make the investment as valuable as possible.

MBASchooled: What about the culture and classmates stood out to you about UNC?

Throughout the admissions process I always heard about Kenan-Flagler’s collaborative environment. It was important to me to find a school where the students were smart and driven, but not cutthroat or overly competitive where the fun and sense of community would be sucked out of the room. After living it, I’m amazed by everyone’s willingness to support each other and the community. I’ve seen fellow classmates setup and lead tutoring sessions before big final exams in classes they excel at, as well as walk out of an interview and tell their friend all of the questions they were asked before their friend heads in to the same interview. I don’t think that happens at every school and it makes me proud to be a student here.

MBASchooled: How has UNC helped you work toward your own career goals and aspirations?

The students and faculty are extremely supportive throughout each step of the recruiting process. I was blown away by how many second years would reach out to me unsolicitedly offering their support. The faculty (professors, career & leadership, administration) are also very willing to help you. The professional connections I’ve made through faculty have been outstanding, and it speaks volumes that they offer up their connections to students. The internship recruiting process is a lot, so it was comforting having such a large support system to draw from for advice and help (e.g. interview prep, casing, making connections, etc.).

MBASchooled: What parts or aspects of the academic experience attracted you to UNC?

I was really intrigued by UNC’s expansive curriculum and impressive faculty. You can take classes in so many different and interesting subjects. I already had a business background, so while assessing curriculum it was important for me to find a school where I could go a few steps deeper than your standard MBA core curriculum. Taking classes on renewable energy, sustainability strategy and technology implementation, to name a few, has been really fun.

MBASchooled: What were some of the best aspects of UNC, outside of the classroom?

Living in Chapel Hill has been a blast. I’ve loved the weather, people, culture, and opportunity to step away from the hustle and bustle of a big city. Growing up in Seattle and knowing I’ll most likely head back to a big city after school, it’s been fun to live in an area that I most likely never would have made it to without school. There are also limitless happy hours, social events and trips for students to get involved with. The school and clubs do a great job at promoting community and relationship building outside of the classroom (Carolina Casuals and happy hours on Franklin Street are good examples).

MBASchooled: What’s something you wish you knew before starting your MBA experience?

There are clubs and affinity groups that you can join to make your application process and overall MBA experience a little easier. Through these groups you can apply to universities at discounted rates, become part of a community, and get access to valuable networking and scholarship opportunities unavailable to the general prospective students. A few examples of these groups are The Consortium and Forté Foundation. I had the opportunity to write about this, and a few other “what I wish I knew before applying” topics for UNC Kenan-Flagler – see here.

MBASchooled: What has been your favorite moment or experience during your first year of business school?

To celebrate the end of a Mod 1 final (think quarter 1), a big group of first years took buses down to Charlotte for a UNC football game. It was a great opportunity to begin developing relationships with students outside the classroom and have some fun. Pro tip: if you’re a kid from the northwest like me who is coming down to the south, make sure to bring some sunscreen and a hat. It was HOT…

Side note: (we had a really cool spring break trip to Israel cancelled because of COVID-19. If that wouldn’t have been cancelled I think my answer here would be different.)

MBASchooled: What advice do you have for those who are evaluating where they want to attend business school?

Review the school’s recruiting scene in depth and understand if the companies coming to campus are the ones you want to work for. This often means there is a recruiting pipeline and valuable relationships between the school and the company. If those companies don’t interest you, you’re going to need to work a lot harder doing “off campus” recruiting.

Next, get a true sense of the culture of the program by visiting campus and connecting with as many students as possible. Are these the people you want to associate with and have part of your life long network? Lastly, as mentioned above there are unique ways to make the price of an MBA more affordable. Consider scholarships and applying via affinity groups!

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