After working in Deloitte’s Cyber Risk Advisory Group, Baldwin Luu (Rice, ’21) decided to enroll in Rice University’s MBA program. After packing up his things in San Francisco and moving to Houston, Luu began his first year in the MBA program at Rice. During this interview, Luu shared his journey to Rice, his guidance on how to prepare for business school and tips for navigating the virtual MBA Experience.
MBASchooled: What did you do prior to business school, and why did you choose to come to business school?
Prior to pursuing my MBA, I worked as a Senior Consultant in the Strategy and Governance group within Deloitte Advisory’s Cyber Risk practice, with a focus on the technology industry in the Bay Area. Most recently, I analyzed security incident response trends for a Social Media company and helped with building out their security incident response processes and procedures. Additionally, I served as a project manager by directing and organizing meetings with senior management in Legal, HR, Communications, IT, etc. by presenting key findings and status updates for related security incidents, determining the next steps within the security incident response process.
I decided to pursue my MBA because I wanted to learn more about business as a whole and work in a strategic/operational capacity where I also could transition careers.
MBASchooled: After you decided to attend business school, what was your timeline like leading up to business school? What did you do leading up to coming to school, and when did you arrive on campus?
I decided to apply to business school early 2018 and applied to schools in Round 2. Throughout that time, I worked on gathering my references, building out my apps, and of course, studying for the tests.
Following my acceptance into Rice, I was still based in San Francisco, so I spent the remaining months finishing up my work at the client/Deloitte, traveling around California, and packing up our apartment to move back to Houston where I’m originally from. Once we were in Houston, I just got settled in and got ready for school. Classes began in mid-August!
MBASchooled: The first semester of business school can be an exciting but challenging time. How did you navigate these challenges early on, and what resources, programs, etc at Rice were helpful in your transition?
Get to know as many people as you can in your class! My biggest resource was having a great group of people around me who were ALWAYS willing to lend a hand whenever needed. They are such a great resource and support group that I can always rely on. Our Career Development Office (CDO) was very helpful with getting us up to speed with the recruiting process, and our Student Program Office (SPO) was great with getting us everything else we needed in order to succeed.
MBASchooled: What part of Rice has been most enjoyable to you so far?
It goes without saying that the most enjoyable aspect of Rice is my cohort, but on top of that, Rice has something called Partios where the entire Rice Business school comes together every Thursday to have a party on the patio, hence Partio! What makes this unique is that not only do the full-time students come out and mingle, but also the PMBAs, EMBAs, and professors and staff. It’s a really fun way to just bond collectively and get to know everyone in the Rice family.
MBASchooled: What did you want to do when you came to business school and what did you end up recruiting for? If it was different what changed?
I went to as many information sessions as I could fit because I wanted to see all of the different options and companies I would want to recruit for. I knew I wanted to do something strategic with business operations but explored investment banking, yet I ultimately recruited and signed an offer with a technology company as a Product Management Intern.
MBASchooled: Knowing what you know now, what else would you have done prior to business school to prepare for the first semester?
I would have researched more about the post-MBA opportunities to be fully prepared for what I wanted to recruit for. I had an idea of what I wanted to do, but I would advise prospective MBA students to put a little bit more thought into it because you don’t have much time once school starts. For instance, recruiting for Consulting and Investment Banking start the first couple of weeks.
MBASchooled: What advice do you have for how prospective MBA students should prepare for going to business school?
Asides from building a strong network and bond with your cohort and having an idea for what you want to do post-MBA, I would strongly advise future students to take some time off before school starts and travel, have fun, and spend time with friends/family. The first year is absolutely a time-consuming grind, and you won’t have much time to do anything once you hit the ground.
MBASchooled: What was the academic experience like? What helped you manage the classroom experience?
As expected by most, the first semester experience goes by fast and can be difficult to manage. It was really difficult for me to get out of the “work” mindset and transition to a “school” one. I really relied on my teammates and classmates at certain times and had to work on my prioritization/time management skills. Learning how to prioritize all of your assignments and school activities is important early on. I created an Agile Sprint board with Trello to keep all of my things together and in order, and I found that to be very helpful.
MBASchooled: Even though we are still learning what the MBA Experience will be like this fall (ex: virtual, in-person, hybrid) how can incoming students prepare for first year recruiting? Is there anything different they need to be prepared for?
Regardless of what your MBA experience will look like in the fall, if you’re still thinking about what you are interested in recruiting in, I’d recommend you to reach out to your second years and talk to them about their recruiting experiences in that industry or career. You want to be best prepared because some recruiting schedules start right in the beginning of the school year and you may not have enough to learn about them.
MBASchooled: What tips or best practices do you have to help incoming MBA students prepare for a virtual MBA Experience?
If you find yourself in a virtual MBA experience, I’d highly recommend you to still network as much as you can with your classmates. The student organizations will most likely host various Happy Hours and other Zoom networking sessions, and as awkward as they might be, you’ll find yourself learning more about your peers and having fun, while actually enjoying the Zoom calls.