Ivan Santana
MBA 11
MBA 11
Internship:
Sempra Energy
San Diego, California
Previous degree:
BS, Electrical Engineering and Economics
Northwestern University
Chicago, Illinois
Job prior to Haas:
Analyst
Arience Capital Management L.P.
New York
Ivan Santana is particularly proud of the accomplishments of the Haas Soccer Club in 2009-2010. Ranked third in the nation, the team obtained corporate sponsorship from Deloitte and traveled to two tournaments, one in Texas. According to Santana, the close-knit, collaborative nature of the team is not uncharacteristic at Berkeley-Haas.
"People in the Bay Area are optimistic and forward-looking. The whole culture seems oriented toward the future. I can't think of a better place to be starting a new phase in my life. Haas students are very intelligent, motivated, and inquisitive. They are ambitious, but not competitive with each other."
"Innovation permeates the environment here to the degree that you aren't even aware of it happening. It's just an organic part of the culture. People feel secure taking risks because this isn't a judgmental or cutthroat environment. Students have an immense amount of influence here, even in areas like recruiting future students. For example, the Latin American Business Association puts on two big events during the Days @ Haas. We are just as involved as the administration in shaping the incoming classes."
"My goal in getting an MBA is to get as broad an experience of industries and functions as possible. Here at Berkeley, I'm getting to do things I never would have been able to do elsewhere, like working on a project with the Wildlife Conservation Society in Bolivia. I never would have believed that I would be studying fishing in business school."
