The UW MBA Consortium Class of 2015
Posted: May 7th, 2015
The Class of 2015 is evenly divided--male and female. Not surprisingly, the majority are 30-somethings with years of work experience. While they are concentrated in the Midwest (WI, MN, IA), they live as far east as NJ, as far south as TX, and as far north as Canada.
Many work in various areas of finance -- controllers, financial analysts, etc. Others are product or project managers. There are also consultants, massage therapists, engineers, and business intelligence specialists among the graduates. Employers range from Fortune 500 to owner-operated companies, from large equipment manufacturers to small universities, from major medical centers to the military.
Where did these students originally come from -- some are still right where they started, in or near the town where they were born. Others have found their way to their current home from places as far away as Bangladesh or Zimbabwe. As one student put it, I don't have a "hometown." I have lived in New York, Saudi Arabia, Texas, Las Vegas, Colorado, and South Dakota."
They find little time for entertainment, but when they do, they watch TV that ranges from Big Bang Theory and The Office to Dexter and "anything HGTV." And their taste in movies ranges from Shawshank Redemption to the Lord of the Rings to Star Wars/Trek to Gone with the Wind (this classic was mentioned by at least three different grads!)
The majority are family-oriented, referring frequently in their profiles to their husbands/wives and children (only one dog was mentioned) in reference to their hobbies, their most memorable learning experiences, or their future plans. But they also listed working out, any kind of sport, outdoor activities, rooting for their favorite teams, and remodel/home improvement projects as things that occupy the free time they have left over.
Goals are broad and varied. Some want to move into administration or become CFOs or CEOs. Some want to own their own companies. Most mention being good, productive, successful people. While some have very altruistic plans (opening a school for the underprivileged) others want to "make money."
Their memorable learning experiences that did not revolve around family often came from other individuals or from work or life situations, not classroom education. Individuals mentioned being inspired by the favorite sayings of bosses and the helpful support of teachers. They also listed plunging into business ownership, being lost in a foreign country, tackling self-learning, and sometimes just simply failing at something as their most valuable experiences.
More individuals filled out their favorite quotations in their profiles than in the past and they were all great! Ranging from the thoughts of a modern Race Car enthusiast to a Greek Philosopher, here are just a few:
- "The harder you work, the luckier you get." - Samuel Goldwyn
- "Insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results." -Albert Einstein (Several liked this quote).
- In a similar vein but with a positive spin: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." -Aristotle
- "Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it." - Mark Twain
- "Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication" -Leonardo DaVinci
- "Knowledge is knowing a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is knowing not to put it into a fruit salad." - Miles Kington
- "Your twenties are for doing the things you wanted to do when you were 19, minus the stupid." -Patrick Bedard
So, ending with those bits of wisdom, the faculty and staff of the UW MBA Consortium say
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE CLASS OF 2015, JOB WELL DONE! |
