Student Perspectives

Gaining private sector perspective

After six years in the social sector I could feel my learning curve flattening out. I saw business school as an opportunity to steepen my learning curve once again, and extend my impact by gaining new skills and perspectives in the private sector.

The difference between studying business administration as an undergrad and as an MBA candidate has everything to do with ownership. I had clear goals for my MBA, and I could tailor my experience at Berkeley Haas to realize these goals.

Learning consulting by doing

I learn best by doing, so International Business Development was a great opportunity to apply classroom lessons in a real-world situation. We were given a challenge and had to use our wits and skills to figure out the best solution.

My project working with a human capital software company in Pretoria, South Africa was a terrific warm-up for the consulting world—how you work in teams, structure processes, how to work with a client and answer the questions they care about and encourage them to consider other questions as well.

Mapping what you care about into a career

The Career Management Group doesn't just ask you what sector you want to work in and look at a list and help you do a resume and cover letter; they started several steps earlier, helping me think about what things in the past have given me energy, what do I really care about, how might I map that to a career?”

I admire my classmates’ commitment to pursuing their deep passions. Beyond the financial ROI, I’m now part of a network of incredible people.

The community: Smart, capable, humble.

When I visited Berkeley Haas, I was struck by how warm and welcoming the students were. They were eager to answer my questions and to get to know me. Everyone took such obvious pride in the community here.

You can find smart, capable people anywhere. Here, you find smart, capable people who are also humble. That humility, the Confidence Without Attitude, makes all the difference.

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