After working in supply chain roles in the Oil and Gas and Consumer Products industries, Maya McWhorter (McDonough, ‘22) decided to pursue an MBA to move into a new function and broaden her business skillset. In this interview, Maya spoke about her decision to pursue an MBA, her decision on selecting Georgetown McDonough and her advice for prospective MBA applicants considering an MBA.
MBASchooled: What did you do before business school, and why did you choose to apply?
I worked in oil and gas at Shell doing supply chain operations while living in Houston, Texas. I then moved to Chicago and transitioned into logistics consultant work for Whole Earth Brands. I chose to apply to business school because I was ready to pivot from the supply chain industry, and wanted to improve my skill set and move into doing work that is more in line with my personal interests.
MBASchooled: What were the most important questions you asked in order to help make your admissions decision?
I spoke with current students to ask about their experiences, especially as it related to building relationships with classmates and the structure of the recruiting process. I also inquired about the course load, what it was like participating in their respective clubs, managing school with their personal lives and how the curriculum supported their goals.
MBASchooled: What sources of information (ex: people, resources, websites, students) did you evaluate when making your admissions decision?
I utilized everything! I think the school website is a great place to start, but then going a step further to look for articles and blogs that have a more personalized perspective was also valuable. For my top choices, I made sure to visit the school in person at least once or attend online events. I also talked to students, faculty, and people from the admissions team for each school that I applied to. This allowed me to hear diverse perspectives and compare them when strategically evaluating my admissions decision.
MBASchooled: After spending a semester at Georgetown, what’s something that you now know about Georgetown that you wish you knew when you applied?
I wish I knew about all of the entrepreneurial resources and opportunities available to McDonough students. At the time that I applied, I was not interested in that space, so I didn’t do my due diligence in diving into all of the things Georgetown has to offer that might be outside of my scope. However, since spending a semester at Georgetown I’ve been exposed to a lot of cool opportunities to stretch myself and have been able to take advantage of those resources.
MBASchooled: Who did you talk to that was most helpful in learning information to help you make a decision? What questions did you ask?
Talking to students was the most helpful for me, because they understood how it felt to have just gone through the application/decision process and typically gave raw, honest, opinions. With this in mind, I also found it particularly helpful to speak with Black students to hear their insights as a minority at these top programs to better understand if they felt a sense of belonging. I would ask about their school/life balance, do they feel supported by their professors, how would they describe the culture (competitive vs. collaborative), do they feel heard and represented by the faculty, was recruiting challenging for them, and unexpected issues that they encountered.
MBASchooled: Oftentimes, the word “culture” gets thrown around when talking about MBA programs. Can you characterize the culture at Georgetown? Can you share an example of an experience that you think personifies what this means?
Georgetown’s culture is very people focused. By this I mean that they do a very good job of hand selecting individuals that they are confident will join the program and contribute to the collaborative environment, foster creativity and learning by making others feel comfortable, and support their classmates in and outside of the classroom. A great example of this is when I mentioned in passing that I was interested in entrepreneurship to my classmate, Lauren Jordan. After this quick dialogue, she followed up with me and sent me information to speak with an Entrepreneur in Residence to gain mentorship and guidance.
Lauren made sure that I knew there was an entrepreneurship elective coming up in the spring and encouraged me to sign up for the course. She even went a step further and passed along information to apply for the Georgetown Ventures Launchpad program, which was the push that I didn’t know I needed! She could have kept those resources to herself, but she was thoughtful and kind enough to share them with me so that we could both maximize the opportunities available at McDonough.
MBASchooled: Now that you’ve been at Georgetown for a semester, is there a specific moment or highlight where you felt confident that you made the right decision?
In December, a group of friends and I did a virtual secret santa gift exchange to commemorate the holidays and celebrate making it through our first semester of business school. This was the moment where I knew I made the right decision because not only did I feel accomplished, but I also felt accepted and encouraged. It was a great feeling to have a community of people who quickly turned from classmates to friends and support systems, which is exactly what I was looking for in a program.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for admitted students on how they can make the best decision?
I would advise admitted students to speak with as many students as possible, attend online events, sit in online classes when the opportunity arises, talk with alum from the programs that you’re looking into, and ultimately, follow your gut!