MBA Graduation Tomorrow

Tomorrow, I’ll join 600 of my Kellogg classmates at Ryan Field to officially finish off my MBA degree.  More than simply one defining moment, tomorrow will be the cumulative result of many engagements in opportunities and challenges, many of which we never imagined before coming to campus.

This achievement was especially gratifying, as much for the sense of being getting through classes like finance, marketing and operations as it was for thinking about things like teamwork, leadership and decision-making under pressure.

It was also immensely satisfying because I’ve also had to balance Kellogg with also graduating from law school.  One of the 600 students to graduate this year, only 27 will have had to make that balance. At times it was tough. We often felt busier than many of our peers. But we all passed the “test” with flying colors.

We look forward to walking across the stage tomorrow. To getting our official degrees a few days after. And being part of the Kellogg family for a long time to come.

Stay tuned for more updates and pictures over the next few days.

Tags: ,

Thursday, June 14th, 2012 Business School, Careers 4 Comments

Voto Latino’s Education Matters Project mix video

The Voto Latino conference took place in Southern California a few weeks ago. I went to Los Angeles, CA along with the Education Matters Project to speak on a panel at Voto Latino’s Power Summit and to participate in their inaugural Power Summit.

As the 2012 election campaign season is under way, VotoLatino is launching their first annual conference to give participants the skills they need to organize and remind them of the importance of voting. Organized by Rosario Dawson and Maria Theresa Kumar VotoLatino’s goal is to empowers American Latinos.

Voto Latino also allowed us to collect videos at the conference. See below for the video and below that for some of the quotes from the videos.

 

 

  • “Because of education, everyday I feel stronger, more powerful and more optimistic.” -Emanuel Pleitez
  • “Because it’s the foundation of the American Dream.” -Juan Cuba
  • “Give everyone here in the United States an opportunity to create the life that is their dream.” -Rosario Dawson
Wednesday, June 13th, 2012 Business School No Comments

The (twenty five) Golden Rule(s) of achieving success

There’s no formula to doing well. In fact, nobody does well all of the time. On the other hand, there are some things you can do to ensure you maximize your chances of doing well.  The more you do, the better of you might be. But you don’t need all of them. Maybe not even most of them. Also, you can’t MAKE some of them happen on your own.  In fact, you may not even want to try some of them because it would be out of character for you.

Either way, these are some things I’ve seen work for a pretty good number of people. Without further ado, here is the list.

  1. Have a WILDY IMPORTANT GOAL and work on it daily
  2. Spend time with people that will be very successful – they say you’re an average of the 5 people you spend the most time with
  3. Find someone in college (or business school) who makes it big, and become friends
  4. Be born with a unique talent, that nobody else has.
  5. Start practicing a skill, sport, or talent when you are five years old (think Tiger Woods)
  6. Network your way to the top. Go to as many events as you can until you meet a critical mass of people
  7. Do a really good job at work and earn the promotions that get you to the top
  8. Work on important projects that nobody else wants to take on (due to fear)
  9. Do a good job a promoting yourself and your work. Get noticed by the people that count.
  10. Work harder than anyone you know
  11. Work on a lot of things at the same time to gain a lot of different but valuable skills
  12. Work on one thing and learn to do it REALLY REALLY well- better than anyone else
  13. Study and work when everyone else is going out and having fun
  14. Go out and have fun and maintain a happy health attitude that attracts a lot of customers and supporters
  15. Be lucky!
  16. Inherit a large sum of money and invest in your own venture
  17. Jump from company to company, or startup to startup, until you find the right one
  18. Stay at your company for many years to gain access to its most important work, like many Fortune 500 CEOs
  19. Tell great stories that make people listen to you and your work
  20. Give credit to other people, then they will enjoy working with you and giving you more credit
  21. Be tall and good looking (it has worked for past Presidents)
  22. Once you achieve your WILDLY IMPORTANT GOAL, find another one
  23. Have a high degree of persistence, live by the motto, “survive and advance” when necessary
  24. Live by the motto, Done is better than perfect. Sometimes you just have to get things done
  25. Sometimes, things need to be done really WELL. Be thorough. Avoid typos and easy mistakes.
In sum, there is not single formula for success. But some things do work pretty well. At times, it just depends on the time and place.
Tuesday, June 12th, 2012 Business School 2 Comments

2012 Kellogg Grad Week

The last few years have definitely been fun. Unfortunately, we only have one week of school left so it feels a lot like the end of our time in Evanston. While all good things must come to an end, they don’t have to come to an end just yet.  Before that happens, we just have one more thing to take part in before graduation. And it is Grad Week.

In short, Kellogg puts on a a series of events during the week of graduation for the graduating class to have a good time together, for one last week. The events start today, on Monday, and go through graduation and include a cruise on the lake, a trip to a Cubs game, and a formal.

Unfortunately, JD/MBAs have to balance this with studying for the bar. And those of us with summer jobs (very very few of us), have even less time. But tonight is the boat cruise, so I’ll be sure to make it out to this event.

See below for our schedule this week for grad week.

Monday, June 11th, 2012 Business School No Comments

Kellogg Volunteers

The end of the year is finally here! Everyone I know finally finished studying for finals today. To everyone out there, congratulations on finishing. To all those about to start summer jobs, safe travels and good luck. And to all those about to start in the fall, you’re in for a great ride.

But this post isn’t dedicated to talking to the recent grads or admits, instead it’s to quickly highlight some volunteer activities that Kellogg students got involved in this year.  Courtesy of Kellogg’s volunteer club, Kellogg Cares, I wanted to share some of the activities that many students in the Kellogg community achieved this past year. Many of which I participated in myself.

1. Blood Drive – 64 units of blood collected, helping to save 192 lives in the Chicagoland area, and coming in 107% above goal (and 15 units above last year’s total)

2. KelloggCares – ~250 Kellogg students, staff, and faculty joined together to help dozens of local organizations for one day

3. KVOL and Run|Bike|Swim Shoe Drive – collected over 25 pairs of shoes for those in need

4. Gift Drive – Collected $1300 in cash and gift donations for delivering 240 holiday gifts for local Evanston children

5. Food Fight – Raised almost $7,000 for Greater Chicago Food Depository

6. Organ Registration Drive – 35 donors registered; talked to hundreds of students who were already registered about spreading the word

7. Marrow Registration Drive – 32 donors registered, spread the word about this lifesaving opportunity

8. 5K – Over $4,000 raised for Children’s Oncology Services to send four kids to camp

9. Clothing Drive – 1,200 articles of clothing collected to help Chicago area adults find employment (over 70% increase in donations from last year)

10. JA in a Day – 16 students volunteered to teach classes of Chicago students on economic and business principles

11. Ten Minutes at TG – 200+ cards made and donated to Children’s Memorial Hospital; 150+ cards/ letters written to women at Deborah’s Place homeless shelter

Not only has it been a fun year, but it’s been a pretty great year of service at Kellogg. We look forward to continuing the trend upon graduation.

Friday, June 8th, 2012 Business School, Leadership No Comments

Studying for the Bar Exam

You start out with a lot of energy. You go to every class, read every page, and do every assigned problem before class. And all of a sudden, after the 1st week, you feel like you are making huge strides toward your goal.  You’re excited and motivated. Only 7 more weeks until the end. But then all of a sudden it happens ….

Then you hit the wall. You get bored. The material gets more dense.  The reading seems longer.  And all of a sudden, things get a little tougher.

At this point you have to start doing the work. You can’t just get by going to class. Now, you have to do practice problems. You have to write sample essays. And you have to read supplements, all while its 85 degrees outside and while your MBA friends are planning trips, weddings and vacations.

You tell yourself just a few more weeks of this. And that at 5pm, you’ll be done for the day. But you come to find that progress is slow and you need to allocate more time.

At this point, a lot of people want to give up, you want to hang outside with friends. But you see the future beyond the bar. Six figure salary, a job at the firm you pursued the past two years. And paying down that lingering debt.  So you keep working.

Fortunately, one day soon, everything clicks. You get in the groove of studying. And then you can see it.  You’ll be amongst the few who not only graduated from one of the best schools in the world, but who also passed the bar, and can legally practice law in your state.

And when you look back, you’ll say that the time you spent studying was worth it. The trick, is to figure out how to feel that way now.

Sunday, June 3rd, 2012 Business School No Comments

Merger Article: Kellogg Matters (My Last Article)

2012 is shaping up to be a historic year. Not only are hundreds of incoming students leaving high paying jobs to come to Kellogg, but they’re doing so in record number. Likewise, the class of 2012 can’t wait to take what they have learned here and start working again. And what perfect timing! The financial crisis feels like an event of the past. Facebook’s recent IPO had the highest valuation in history. And the prospects of making it big loom again.

Meanwhile, Dean Sally Blount continues to raise millions of dollars for our new building, where she has been featured in Forbes, Fortune and several other magazines for her fundraising efforts. And Barack Obama is about to run for a historic second term right here in own back yard in Chicago. As the momentum continues to build, many of us cannot wait to see what the future has in store not just for us here in Evanston, but for the country as a whole. But the one thing we must keep in mind is just how much Kellogg matters in all of this.

Think about all the great lessons we have learned at Kellogg – things you just cannot learn anywhere else. We’ve learned the value of teamwork – even though at times we may have hated it as much as we liked it. We’ve learned the importance of not always discussing careers and salaries during KWEST – throwing our pre-conceived notions out the door. We’ve learned what it feels like when our most prized establishment temporarily shuts down (e.g. mandatory KEG reference). We’ve learned and experienced the ups and downs of recruiting – and we’ve made it through with flying colors. And finally, we’ve learned the value that Kellogg places on thinking bravely – whether you like the motto or not.

See, the question is NOT whether we will do well after Kellogg (or during summer internships for 1st years) – Kellogg students always do. The question is what we will do with our great education. Whether we’ll step up to the plate and try something new. And if we’ll work to come up with game-changing, innovative solutions rather than just work for that paycheck. Because with our Kellogg education, we will have that opportunity within our grasp more than ever before.

The problem is that many organizations may teach us to do the opposite. They will “do things by the book.” They will prioritize consistency over change. And they are organized to put your head down and say, “that is not my job.”

The reason for this is that, oftentimes, bravery in the typical work environment is often punished, not rewarded. Most places today are organized around avoiding risks and instead doing what they can to keep their “sustainable revenues.” That’s why nearly every top business school turns out management consultants in far greater numbers than it develops successful entrepreneurs. And why law schools produce lawyers who are phenomenal at giving options but not so great at providing real “here’s what I would do” recommendations.

Think about it — how often do we hear stories from those who have changed the world, telling us that they learned how to become brave and did something new because of work, rather than despite work? Not many.

And that is precisely why a Kellogg education matters.

During times of change, the great leaders are those that want, actually need, to change things. And that only happens when an organization encourages individuals to take brave steps forward. When they are compelled to do things differently. And when they have a great education to help them take that first step. And that is exactly what Kellogg promotes.

In a recent talk I had a few weeks ago, Carter Cast, Kellogg advisor and former CEO of Walmart.com, said the same thing. That “it is important to understand your purpose…to use your time at school to learn what your true north is and be sure to working towards it, even when you’re asked to change the business model.” He ended by saying, “Who cares if some people don’t believe in your idea? Do it anyways.”

Megan Kashner, founder of Benelovent.com in Chicago, reiterated the same thing on her panel at the Social Impact Conference. She shared how she worked in nonprofit from a young age and went straight into the industry after getting an MBA. And unlike the advice of her fellow panelists, she said, “You don’t have to wait. You can go work at a nonprofit right away after business school.” In short, be brave.

And it is no coincidence that both pieces of advice come from Kellogg alumni. Why – because Kellogg opens up new possibilities. Possibilities that only a great education could make available.

Don’t get me wrong. Many Kellogg students will also lead highly successful lives at traditional jobs, and that is fantastic. The world needs us to think bravely in those roles as well. We need CEOs to lead their companies where they have never gone before. We need socially-minded bankers to work on deals that could change the landscape of the industry. And we need investors to take risks on the next big company that will also provide social value. And Kellogg gives them the tools to think of new models, create new types of teams and come up with new ways to solve problems.

On the other hand, Kellogg’s new campaign gives us a platform to also be brave with our career choices. Whether it is starting a business, joining a nonprofit, or running for office, it teaches us to remember that even though making your mark on the world is hard, that with patience, commitment and courage  we can take what we learn to do really big things.

So to the graduating class of 2012 – let’s embrace the idea of how much a Kellogg Education Matters. And as we graduate, let’s reach back, convince another budding MBA to come to Kellogg too. And if you have leveraged your degree in areas where we need more MBAs — like social enterprise, entrepreneurship and government— reach back and persuade another student to do the same. If you are going into industries where we need more Kellogg alumni, reach back, hire someone from Kellogg and be a mentor for them.

Now more than ever, the world needs Kellogg students to help bridge the gap between what business is today and what business could and should be. America needs Kellogg MBAs to reach higher and dream more. And if we all agree to set a better example, not only will we succeed, but that, through Kellogg, our businesses will all become a beacon of light to business people in every corner of the globe.

So as the year ends, let’s be sure to remember how much #KelloggMatters and let’s be sure to show the world just how much #EducationMatters. That today, it gives us the privilege and opportunity to take on leading roles in society. So we should treat it as such. We should use it as a platform. A way to give back to those that helped us. And a way to improve access in our communities.  For every one of us that got into school, there are tens of thousands of people across the world who would love that same chance – the chance to take that exam we complained about. The chance to have a conversation with a fellow classmate. The chance to have a seat in a classroom as a proud Kellogg student. So let’s show the world we were the right people for those seats.

For those interested, you can learn more about the Education Matters national campaign here: www.educationmattersproject.org

Friday, June 1st, 2012 Business School, Diversity, Education 9 Comments

Run through the finish line

We are 20 days away from changing our lives. Yes, just 20 more days until Kellogg and the JD/MBA program officially come to an end. But for those who are getting excited, don’t get too excited just yet.  Because I’ve got two words to temper you just a bit. Two words that are making most JD/MBAs wish they had a bit more time to relax.  Bar Exam.

One thing I’ve learned right here in the JD/MBA program (that applies to any program) is that you can’t let up.  Because often times, we have to keep moving forward, we have more work to do, we have to learn more about our jobs, we have to keep fighting for every customer. In short, we’ve got to keep running through that finish line.

With just one more paper to go (on the Kellogg side) I find myself still working harder than ever.  For many of my classmates, they are more focused on one thing, whether school, graduation or work. But for JD/MBAs, we not only had to finish law school but then we had to finish business school a few weeks later. Meanwhile, we started bar exam prep before Kellogg ever ended. Fortunately, most of us don’t have classes at the moment, but a few of us do have a few lingering projects.

For me, I also have a lot of side projects going on. This weekend, I am working with Latino Legacy Weekend in Austin Texas. We’re still working to move Education Matters forward. I’m also in the process of redesigning my website in a really big way. And I’m also starting to do a bit of work with the campaign in Chicago.

So for me, the year, or even the week doesn’t end with finals. I’ve got to keep moving things along for a few weeks after finals and in reality will be just as busy up until the bar ends at the end of July.

In short, I’m running through the graduation “Finish Line.”

Saturday, May 26th, 2012 Business School 2 Comments

The Most Important Question

One thing I tell everyone that I speak with about the admissions process is that there is one single question that is more important than the rest. Important to ask students when you visit schools. Important to answer when writing essays, even when they don’t ask you. And important to answer in your admissions interviews. And the question is ….

The question is “Why?”  No doubt about it, why is the single most important question you should answer in the admissions process. It’s what’s most compelling things you can give your audience. Sometimes it’s the only compelling thing.

Your readers don’t care if you want to be a consultant, if you want to become an entrepreneur or if you want to become a health care executive. They care why you want to.  They care that you want to pursue the dreams that you dad never could pursue. Or that in your home country, there is not enough access to the health care devices to keep the country safe.

So next time you’re writing essays, I propose that you consider answering the following:

  1. Why is that our goal?
  2. Why did you say accept that job (or reject that job)?
  3. Why do you care about leadership?
  4. Why did you pick them as your mentor?
  5. Why do you want to start this business?
  6. Why do you want to go back to school?

The more compelling your answer, the better off you’ll be. In spite of the “what” you write down.

For more information on why the question “why” is important, I recommend a Ted Talks by Simon Sinek done about one year ago.

Monday, May 21st, 2012 Business School No Comments

Working on the right things

 … is critical. In fact, a lot of people believe that it doesn’t matter how smart you are or how hard you work. But what matters is whether you work on the right things.

I just got back from interviewing a student for Education Matters. At the end, she mentioned how smart the people are in her class and also how competitive they are. She was shocked at how tough things can seem sometimes as a student.

But this doesn’t come as a total surprise. Especially at the Medill School of Journalism, where there are fewer jobs than ever. Where the industry in some ways is changing, maybe collapsing. And where jobs are hard to come by.

The same thing holds true at Kellogg and you see it pretty clearly in the recruiting process. Where you apply to a job alongside everyone who has similar backgrounds, who took all the same classes, and who worked as consultants before Kellogg. How can you distinguish yourself that way?

The same thing happens in law school, where everyone is forced to take the same classes, where everyone wants the exact same job after graduation (big law firm) and where many students are light on work experience.

So I propose the idea that it’s not always important to be better, smarter or faster. And sometimes it’s not even important to have more creativity. Instead, I think, it’s because they understand what work actually matters.

The problem is … what matters isn’t obvious. In fact its nearly impossible to tell.  It changes by person, by vendor, and sometimes every day of the week. Sometimes what matters is working on the right task. Other times working the right person. And sometimes it’s simply good timing.

The most successful ones are those that somehow find it, capture it, and then proceed to ignore everything else that gets in the way.

But this is easier said then done. Especially in business school when most students want to get involved in everything, and in work, where you want to learn everything about your job.  But many of those things are not nearly as important as you think.

Friday, May 18th, 2012 Business School, Careers 2 Comments

Expert or Generalist?

Success is often the combination of knowing a lot about one thing, while also knowing a little about a lot of things.  It’s about understanding the value of being a generalist and also being an expert. Many times though, we can only opt to be on one side of the fence or the other.

In business, often times people are referred to as generalists. These are the general managers who touch multiple functions, work with multiple teams and work across boundaries and geographies. On the other hand, companies also have specialists. These are the consultants who know a lot about their industry, sector, business unit, or specific task at hand. There is not always a clear cut answer on which one is the preferred route. Even in business school.

Deep knowledge and understanding of a topic surely helps you in a variety of ways. It helps you create better analyses. You gain more access  to the numbers. You refine your ability to understand how a particular system works. And once you do that, you can begin to master other similar topics with overlapping content.

At the same time, it’s impossible to become CEO or political leader without also being aware of the wider world. That’s because we have countless interactions with people from different backgrounds, geographies, interests and beliefs as we navigate our daily lives.

On the other hand, the problem today is that the world is getting bigger every single day. The Internet makes the large world larger than ever and for now, it continues to expand. There is also more news available and more issues that we have access to given the world wide web.  And there is no way to manage it all. So how can you remain a generalist today?

It’s tempting to spend ever more time pursuing that goal. On the other hand, being an expert hasn’t changed. It’s still equally as hard as it used to be. But still doable?

Which one should we pursue?

Does it make a difference if you have a high paying job or low one?

Does it matter if you have an MBA or a JD?

Every single person still has to answer the question.

Tuesday, May 15th, 2012 Business School, Careers 2 Comments

MLT Support Education Matters Campaign

I spend a lot of time talking about one non-profit I am part of: Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT).  MLT is a great organization and our Education Matters campaign is working closely with them. Not only because we share a similar mission but also because MLT is one of our strongest allies.

MLT is committed to preparing minority students for careers in business by prepping them for college, graduate school and beyond. By providing students with networking opportunities and career coaching, MLT is making leadership positions available to a much more diverse group of people.

A few weeks ago we attended an MLT conference in Houston to talk about grad school with up and coming fellows as well as to talk more about the education matters campaign. At the conference, we collected videos from some MLT’s rising stars, who shared not only their own personal stories but they also answered the question that everyone answers, “why does education matter to you?”

See below for the video.

And as always, visit http://www.ml4t.org/ to learn more about how you can get involved with MLT.

Tags: , ,

Sunday, May 13th, 2012 Business School, Diversity, Education No Comments

It feels impossible to sprint later

This theory is true much of the time.  Imagine running a one mile race.  You start off in the middle of the pack and pace yourself.  You bet on the idea that in another lap or so, you’ll shift gears, catch up and eventually win.  But there’s just one problem. The moment you try, you don’t have as much left in the tank as you thought.

This happens all the time. In track meets, a runner starts off running to slow and then when they try to sprint and catch up, the runner can barely maintain their speed, let alone run faster. Especially in really long race.

It happens all the time in basketball too. A team plays half heartedly before playing hard in the 4th quarter. Then they start making a run but before they can catch up, the game ends. Or the team doesn’t have enough energy to make it all the way.

The same thing is true in business. You start off doing just enough,  but when you try to push something through later,  execution issues in slow you down. And you don’t have the time to attend to everything.

In law firms, the deadlines come up too fast and you may not have enough time to do all the research.

In the start up world, too many issues surface and you don’t have the time to take care of them all.

I propose the idea that in some cases, it might make sense to start off faster. To run harder. To do more. To spring NOW. Because when the time comes to “turn it on” you may not have as much in the tank as you need.

Sunday, May 6th, 2012 Business School, Leadership 2 Comments

Clear Admit Best of Blogging Winner

After a few weeks of voting, the results for Clear Admit’s annual Best of Blogging competition are finally in!  According to Clear Admit, the purpose of the BoBs is “to identify and celebrate the applicant and student bloggers who have shared their lives with the online MBA community over the last year.” Without further ado …

I recently got an email informing me that I had won first place in Clear Admit’s Best of Blogging awards as well as in two of the four additional sub-categories.  Thanks to everyone that has visited (even if were only by accident – we have good keywords here).

Going forward,  we’ll be expanding rapidly.  Right now, we’re redesigning our website to more organized and far more powerful. And in a few weeks we’ll launch a video Q&A web series, where I can speak with more of you at an even faster rate.  So as applications and job season begins to heat up and as kids get ready to head off to college this summer, I look forward to speaking with many of you.

Click here to see Clear Admit’s website.

Top Student Bloggers
Jeremy: http://www.jeremycwilson.com/
Bayo: http://nigerianintobschool.blogspot.com/
Julianne: http://julianneharty.blogspot.com/

Most Entertaining Student Blog

Bayo

Best Job/Internship Advice
Jeremy

Best Representation of Academics
Jeremy

Best Representation of Student Life
Bayo

Friday, May 4th, 2012 Admissions, Business School 1 Comment

Rosario Dawson and Voto Latino on Why Education Matters to them

Rosario Dawson is not just a beautiful actress—she also co-founded Voto Latino, a non-partisan group that advocates for Hispanic voters and voter education. She recently held her 1st annual Power Summit Conference out in Los Angeles, where she talked about voter education and bringing people in the community together. She and some of her friends/supporters were also kind enough to give their thoughts on why education matters.

This activist credits education with everything she has: “The more I know, the more choices I have, the more things I can experience and enjoy, understand, compare, the richer my life becomes,” Dawson says.

Dawson is not satisfied to just sit back and enjoy a celebrity lifestyle—rather, she uses her status to promote multiple causes and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to reach the same heights she was able to reach.

See below for her #EducationMatters video. And below that for a few other videos.

Rosario Dawson

 

David Hernandez

 

Jennifer Castilla

 

Steve Alvacan

 

Thank you Rosario and Voto Latino for sharing your ideas with us!

Thursday, May 3rd, 2012 Diversity, Education No Comments

Cristo Rey’s 2012 VIVA Fundraiser

Just a two days from now, more hundreds of people in Chicago will come together at Millenium park to attend one of the best run events of the year.  It will be a chance where many of the attendees can support a game changing organization.  Where staff and donors can celebrate a very successful year of hard work. And where the organization is sure to have its best fundraising day of the year.  On Thursday, Cristo Rey Jesuit High School will have its 2012 annul fundraiser event VIVA:

Similar to last year’s VIVA fundraiser this one is taking place in downtown Chicago and should be a pretty good time. As a board fellow with the organization I’ll be attending the event along with all the other Cristo Rey Board members to celebrate the end of a good year.

The event will be filled with food, fun and networking. There will be a great raffle, music and announcements. There will also be high profile speakers and news coverage, just like there were last year. In fact, to learn more about the event this year CLICK HERE.  Personally, I am a big fan of what Cristo Rey is doing and look forward to staying involved and attending future fundraisers.

At Kellogg,  business students seem to be increasingly seeking jobs in the education industry and specifically at strong schools and school systems. One place to consider is Cristo Rey, who many consider to be  a pioneer in their field.

See below for a video clip from created by one alumni of the school.

 

Tuesday, May 1st, 2012 Business School, Education 1 Comment

Education Matters to attend 2012 US Empowered Gala

Later this week, Education Matters Project will have the pleasure of attending US Empowered’s annual gala ceremony.  Each year US Empowered hosts its annual Graduation Gala to celebrate the achievements of our Fellows and Program Directors, and offer an opportunity for community leaders to learn more about US Empowered, meet the Fellows and pledge their support.

On Wednesday, Marquis Parker and I are looking forward to joining the innovative nonprofit in welcoming the largest group of graduate to date.  The team and Board of Directors for US Empowered have worked hard to create the event so we look forward to showing our support.

Founded by Jeff Nelsen, US Empowered is “the nation’s only teacher-led college persistence program, that identifies and trains highly effective teachers to lead students attending non-selective high schools in low-income communities to enroll in and graduate from college.”

To show just how far they have come, in 2007, US Empowered served 30 students at three Chicago high schools and this year, we are working with nearly 1,000 students and 44 teachers in 20 high schools. They really are doing great work here in Chicago, and will soon be expanding to a number of other cities.

At Kellogg and other leading MBA programs,  business students seem to be increasingly seeking jobs in the education industry.  For those considering that option, I highly recommend that you consider getting to know US Empowered. It’s a great organization with a great mission, and a strong team of staff and board members.

See below for a video clip from last years gala!

 

Sunday, April 29th, 2012 Business School, Education No Comments

Merger Article on The Education Matters Project

If you look anywhere on the web today, you’re almost guaranteed to find a story on education reform. In fact, many of my blog posts talk about the same topic. While this is not necessarily a main factor that MBA applicants use in picking a program, today business schools are spending more time and resources on their social enterprise departments. Schools like Stanford that offer the joint MBA and M.Ed. Schools like Yale, reknowned for their nonprofit recruiting. And schools like Kellogg that have an entire department dedicated to Social Enterprise.

Well just last week the latest edition of the Merger came out. Written by Medill student Nicole Koetting, this version featured an article written about the Education Matters Project. See below for the article.

———

Title: Fortune Favors the Bold

Author: Nicole Koetting

 

It all started when Jeremy C. Wilson read an article by Peter Thiel that said that going to college didn’t matter. It was the spring of 2011, and I was bothered by the article. Education had been very important in Wilson’s life, and he didn’t agree with Thiel’s argument that higher education was essentially useless.

“I wish I could talk to every student for five minutes to tell them, education matters; and education is worth fighting for. I know because I fought for it myself,” Wilson said  He talked with other people about the piece and Thiel’s ideas. Then, suddenly, an idea came to Wilson in a flash. He should do something about it.

Now, Wilson, along with a team of Northwestern students and a host of volunteers, has started the Education Matters Project, a non-profit organization with a pretty big mission: “To change the way humankind views the benefits of education and to help fund a better education for students who need it most.”.

Modeled after the It Gets Better campaign, the Education Matters Project website uses videos of role models and students who tell their stories and why they believe that education mattered in their lives.

The Education Matters Project’s aspirations seem to be three-fold: At the organization’s core is changing how the world views education. If everyone had equal access to receive a good education, the Education Matters Project posits, the world would be a better place.

Secondly, the Education Matters Project wants to inspire disadvantaged junior high and high school students to continue their education. “It’s always going to be easier to quit,” a “Welcome to the Education Matters Project” blog post says. “It’s always going to be easier to say no, to stay home, and to stop trying. The problem is, it’s also easier to fail than it is to succeed. That’s what makes it success. We here at Education Matters want to help you understand that working hard and getting the best education you can is critical to becoming the best version of yourself.”

Of course, it’s not that easy: even if disadvantaged high school students stayed in school and were accepted by a college, going to college costs a lot of money. Wilson and the other Education Matters Project team members understand that. Their third objective reflects that discrepancy: the organization wants to be able to give underprivileged students who want to go to college the money to be able to do it. The Education Matters Project will eventually crowd-fund scholarships for students from low-income families who cannot afford it. Donors will be able to give money to specific students through the website, and will be updated on their student’s success.

As of today, the website hasn’t officially launched yet, but the project has over 100 videos and written pieces, as well as hundreds of photos from people who say that education does matter, and those numbers are growing more every day. Wilson’s video was the first one.

Education is a very personal subject for Wilson. He grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, where the poverty rate was nearly 50% and very few people considered going to college.. Wilson’s parents were the ones who pushed him through school. Wilson says, “They imagined me and my sister getting a good education and attending the best schools in the world, even though nobody game them the same opportunity.” He noted that they jumped on a greyhound and fled Youngstown and moved to west to Arizona in search of opportunity..

They were right. Wilson ended up going to Stanford University, where he majored in Anthropology. Now, as a graduate student who knows how difficult it is for students from low-income families to go to college, he’s made it his personal mission, through the Education Matters Project, to inspire students to go to college, and fund them.

For the short term, Wilson wants the Education Matters Project to target junior high and high school students to show them the potential they can achieve if they pursue a higher education. But in the long run, he wants to make education more equal – he wants all students, whether from high-income or low-income families, to be able to go to college if they want to.

As for what the start-up organization needs right now, Wilson says, “At the heart of what we want to get is as many stories as possible. After that, we need to find a way to get the world’s attention. Because the more people that look, the more fundraising we can do.”

Wilson ended by saying, “There’s never been a more pivotal time to show the world that education still matters.”

Friday, April 27th, 2012 Business School, Education No Comments

Reflecting After 2012 Day at Kellogg Admitted Students Weekend

Just a few weeks ago, many of you found out you were one of the lucky ones who got a call from Kellogg admissions.  They told you that you’d been accepted into the MBA program.  Some of you may have been pretty confident you would enroll here in the fall.  But for others you were uncertain, so you wanted to go check out the schools and see what they had to offer. And just a few days ago, when you thought you couldn’t be more excited, many of you come to Evanston to visit Kellogg during DAK (Day at Kellogg), which is Kellogg’s version of Admit Weekend.

First off, congratulations on your acceptance to Kellogg. I remember my acceptance to Kellogg a few years ago . I hope you are thrilled to get in. Second, congratulations to those of you who made it to the admitted student weekend. That was a great decision.

Feedback after the DAK 1 was that everyone had a blast.  And the point of this post is just to quickly to say that I think the same thing was true for DAK 2.  Many of you have already decided that Kellogg was the place for you during your stay, which is great news. And others have been making those decisions all week.

But don’t take it from me, take it from the feedback emails we’ve been getting since DAK ended:

–First Email

Julia, Jessica, Jeremy, Carrol and Daniel (“these were the section leaders”)

Thank you all very much for an incredible weekend! After recovering from my hangover, I left Evanston incredibly excited about the opportunities and fun I will have over the next two years. You guys did a fantastic job at giving us an understanding of the academic, extra-curricular, career and social aspects of the school. I am incredibly energized and excited, and wanted to let you know you were a huge part of that.

Good luck with the rest of the quarter and in your internships this summer. See you in September!

(Name)

 

—Second Email

Thanks guys, hats off to you for helping to make DAK such a memorable experience.  I was committed to Kellogg before, but now I’m excited.  See you around campus next year!

(Name)

 

— Third Email

Jeremy!

You guys were great! Thanks for taking the time out for us and for talking to me more about entrepreneurship at Kellogg. Was great meeting you too!

(Name)

— Fourth Email

I just wanted to thank each of you for a great weekend – Nursery Rhymers had the best leaders!  You were all fun and extremely helpful, answering the many questions we posed while simultaneously entertaining us with your stories and informing us about Kellogg’s resources.  Spending time with such a great group of people set such a positive tone for the whole weekend, and it gave us all a taste of the phenomenal Kellogg culture.  Your enthusiasm for the school was contagious too – I think I can speak for the rest of the section in saying you made us even more excited about being welcomed into such a unique community.

 

— Email from Sally Blount 

Now that you read “some” of the feedback from the participants, why don’t you read the email from Sally Blount that also gives the entire DAK team a bit of good feedback.

DAK II Leaders –
Thank you for your tenacity and hard work to create a great DAK II experience this past weekend. The energy, the buzz, the excitement — they were all wonderful.
Your commitment to Kellogg means a lot. I appreciate each of your investments of time and energy and the resulting impact you made over this special weekend..
My heartfelt thanks –
Sally

 

— CONCLUSION

In short,  DAK is definitely worthwhile. Some come to your admit weekend next year. Then come to Kellogg.
Thursday, April 26th, 2012 Admissions, Business School 2 Comments

www.educationmattersproject.org is ready to view and share

How can we fix the education system today? My readers, friends, and colleagues talk about that question all the time, and many of them ask me that same thing. To answer this question, we have to understand what’s broken and what people care about in the education system. So here’s my question right back to them: Why does education matter to you?

Over the past few weeks we’ve gone out and asked the world this single, straightforward question. To compile the responses, we’ve created a forum for people to lend their voice and a multi-media technology platform to get the word out in a meaningful way.

Our website is totally free to read, share, translate, print and, most of all, use to start an essential conversation about why education is important.

It took a lot to get it to you. We’ve gotten help from a few MBA students, law students, journalism students and undergrads. So I’m encouraging you to take a few minutes to check it out, and  after you read it, I’ll ask you to put up a story of your own.

There’s never been a more pivotal time to move our communities forward by showing how much education matters. Please help us in spreading that message.

Saturday, April 21st, 2012 Education, Leadership 2 Comments

Join the conversation

Join the conversation

#AskJeremy

JCW

Jeremy C Wilson is a JD-MBA alumni using his site to share information on education, the social enterprise revolution, entrepreneurship, and doing things differently. Feel free to send along questions or comments as you read.

#EducationMatters

Share your education story

Share your education story

Thank you Chicago for the nomination

Thank you Chicago for the nomination

Apply to Join MLT

Apply to Join MLT

Apply to Join NLC

Apply to Join NLC

Learn about the JD-MBA program

Learn about the JD-MBA program

Please Vote

Register To Vote

Twitter Feed

Disclaimer

The contents of this blog are mine personally and do not reflect the views or position of Kellogg, Northwestern Law, the JD-MBA program, or any firm that I work for. I only offer my own perspective on all issues.
March 2024
S M T W T F S
« Jun    
 12
3456789
10111213141516
17181920212223
24252627282930
31  
Get Adobe Flash player