Completing an MBA has always been a demanding and rewarding accomplishment. With a global pandemic and a year long quarantine- there were more challenges to overcome for the MBA students in the class of 2022. Most of their first year of business school was spent in a virtual or hybrid MBA program. As the students of the Class of 2022 begin their second year of their MBA’s they enter yet another altered academic year into the transition of pre-pandemic life. Four of our MBASchooled Alu, Contributors, Nilay Abjani, Joey Parker, Alli Jaeggi, and Marlo Abramowitz have kindly participated in answering a series of questions and gave their insightful advice for 2nd Year MBA students, for how they can make the most of this school year, and the final year of the MBA Experience.
How Can 2nd Year MBA Students make the most of their final year of Business School
Invest in Building Relationships (Nilay Ajbani, USC Marshall, ‘21)
From my perspective, there wasn’t as much camaraderie and bonding in the ‘22 class during their first year. COVID, the virtual environment, and the fact that many students didn’t move to Los Angeles all contributed to that. With that being said, I highly encourage all 2nd years to really take time and invest in building relationships with classmates they haven’t met or spent time with. For many of you, a big decision to come back to school was to build your professional network so don’t lose sight of that.
Say yes, as much as possible (Joey Parker, UC Berkeley, ‘22)
My biggest piece of advice would be to say YES to as much as you can, particularly when it comes to opportunities to spend special moments with your classmates. In my final semester, as things began to open up and people got vaccinated, it felt like we crammed an entire year’s worth of memories into just a few short months. In the moment, I would always go back and forth on whether to join some of these activities; in hindsight, I am so grateful that I (almost always) relented and said YES.
On campus, I would encourage you to participate in as many of those “typical” business school experiences as you can. Spend time in the classroom with your peers, grab a coffee with one of your favorite professors, get to know your academic and career advisors. My class had just three quarters’ worth of those kinds of interactions before everything shut down, but I’ll always remember them with fondness and appreciation.
Work On Passion Projects and Connect Away From The Computer (Alli Jaeegi, USC Marshall, ‘20)
Spend your time committing to things that will help you reach your goals. Especially if you are wanting to re-recruit or build skills. Prioritize passion projects that are separate from your professional career. Another good developmental skill is mentoring others, giving your time to first year or pre-MBAs. Pass on knowledge and lessons that you have collected from your MBA experience to help with theirs. And lastly, do in-person events if you are comfortable and it is safe for you to do so. It is much easier to create long-lasting relationships with your MBA cohort if you have a chance to bond away from your computers.
What is something that you would recommend or advise 2nd Year MBA students to do in their final year of business school?
Try New Courses – Nilay Ajbani (USC Marshall, ‘21)
I recommend students use this time to take courses you’d never thought you’d take or courses that you might be “afraid” of like advanced data science or finance classes. This is your final year of school, maybe ever, so get outside your depth and learn new things in a relatively risk free atmosphere. Additionally, enjoy this next year: travel, meet new people, and take up a new hobby. Many of you will have a lot of free time so enjoy it before you jump back into the hectic path of life and work.
Plan and Workout Your Goals- Joey Parker (UC Berkeley, ‘22)
Make sure to remember and write down whatever BIG GOAL(S) you had for yourself coming into business school. Have you accomplished everything you came here to do, or did some things fall by the wayside while you gave your whole self to recruiting? Did you have high hopes for your internship, only to find yourself still lacking in those skills you had hoped to build? For me, rounding out my second year meant taking coding courses on the side to build my technical skills, working a part-time internship to help me better position myself for the right full-time opportunity, and maximizing time with my peers before we went our separate ways. Take a moment before your second year begins to reflect and prepare for what’s to come – it’ll be over before you know it.
Utilize Being an MBA Student- Alli Jaeggi (USC Marshall, ‘20 )
Take advantage of the “I’m an MBA student” card and try to coffee chat with as many professionals as you can to build relationships, you never know when it might come in handy
Get Comfortable with Working Outside Your Comfort Zone – Marlo Abramowtiz (Tepper, ‘21 )
I’d recommend that second years focus on going out of their comfort zone more and exploring projects that they may not be able to work on once they’re working full-time. One example is exploring entrepreneurship even if they’ve already gotten their full-time job lined up – find competitions or look for another in-school internship. I’d also recommend spending time solidifying the friendships they’ve made over the last year to be the type of friendship that becomes long-lasting past graduation.
The MBA journey for Joey Parker, Marlo Abramowtiz, Alli Jaeggi and Nilay Abjani has been rewarding and challenging. However each of them have been able to be successful and with only a year ahead of them to go. Though experiencing an MBA program during the ups and downs of a global pandemic was not ideal, Joey, Marlo, Alli and Nilay are continuing to put their best foot forward and graciously provided us with keen advice on how to utilize every aspect of an MBA program in order to meet and achieve personal and professional goals. Small moments of connection with teachers and colleagues as well as centering in on focused goals and always looking for a way to go a little further in professionalism are all key takeaways on how to be successful in any MBA program.
Written by, Julia Posz