As a junior undergraduate finance major, I had just barely begun to understand the benefits of continuing my business education when I was first introduced to the Academy. I wasn’t sure how or where, but I knew I wanted to eventually push on in school and get my MBA. My Academy experience has helped clarify these previously clouded ideas and goals.
Most BYU students are like me and knew little of the Marriott School Academy. The Marriott School website explains, “The Marriott School Academy is a structured program designed to assist prospective graduate students with the MBA application process, GMAT preparation, and the post undergraduate job search. Its purpose is to attract talented college juniors and seniors who can offer a diverse perspective to the Marriott School MBA program.”
I feel the program successfully completed its purpose. The Academy is designed to help students who are interested in a graduate degree in business identify the best possible option and put them in a solid position to achieve that goal. This is done by helping students in various ways. I have discussed just two below:
Learn How to Network. “Networking.” This word is so often misunderstood. It’s the word that often conjures up emotions of resentment, fear, political correctness, and even fear. At the same time, I’ve come to understand how “networking” may be the most important factor in learning about career options, making professional connections, and ultimately landing a career position. Through the Academy, I learned that networking was more about building mutually beneficial relationships that can open doors to you. Although we discussed networking in class, most of what I learned about networking I learned outside the classroom. The Academy offered me significant networking opportunities which were great opportunities to practice this skill but also to build real, meaningful relationships with recruiters and other professionals from reputable companies.
At one Academy event, I was able to pitch myself to 10 different companies, such as Cisco, Deloitte, Union Pacific, KPMG, and AFLAC. Each company then gave me feedback about my networking, what I could build upon and what I could improve upon. This proved valuable at later events at which companies such as Ford, Intel, and Goldman Sachs exclusively invited Academy members to attend luncheons with their representatives. As a result of joining the Academy, I was able to take advantage of the pre-existing relationships the Academy has with many companies, to learn to build my own professional relationships, and to confirm a career-launching position before leaving school.
Understand How an MBA fits on a personal level. “Fit” was a common word in many Academy discussions. Although I knew an MBA would be beneficial, the Academy helped me understand how an MBA “fits” with my goals and endeavors. As a student with an undergraduate business background, my eyes were newly opened to the fact that most MBA programs seek diversity. Yes, this means different nationalities but it also means different backgrounds. In the Academy, I found myself among psychology, dance, engineering majors who brought a different perspective to light and who all were competitive MBA student candidates.
Learning about this MBA “fit” produced different results in the Academy. One undeclared-major-student decided she wanted to prepare for an MBA by becoming an undergraduate business student. Another member and fellow finance undergraduate student decided he wanted to move in a different direction. He later noted that his Academy experience was “just as valuable as it was for those who decided to pursue an MBA” explaining it was just as important for him to know what he didn’t want to do. The Academy is organized to help students decide if an MBA fits for them, and if it does, provide every resource possible to find a job that will prepare them for graduate studies, prepare to take the GMAT, compare MBA programs, and even choose a specialty tract – whatever “fits” for the student.
Joining the Academy was one of the most influential decisions I made during my time at BYU. It has proven valuable in every aspect of my future professional life by guiding me to current opportunities, preparing me for future education as an MBA student, and increasing my ability navigate a successful career.
Spencer Barlow, Marriott School Academy Student
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