The same time last year, I was short listing business schools that I wanted to apply to in the fall. In addition to the reputation of the various MBA programs, I was interested in learning more about each school’s alumni network. I spoke with several students at the Johnson school, including my friend Srikanth Babu Tummala who was enrolled in the AMBA program. The fact that the students were willing to spend take time off their busy schedules to answer a prospective student’s (my) questions was an eye-opener. I was thinking that if these students were representative of the Johnson and Cornell alumni network, then I could only imagine the lengths that they would go to help their fellow “Cornellians”.
As a student at the Johnson school, I have had the opportunity to experience the generosity of alumni who are willing to help us in any way they can. The fall recruiting season at the Johnson school is in full swing with corporate briefings four days a week. On Monday of this week, Citi’s Global Transaction Services Group was here for their annual briefing. Johnson is a core school for Citi and the school’s alumni network at Citi is huge. Paul Gallant, the CEO of Citi’s GTS group is a Cornell alumnus who promotes the school and university in any and every way he can. Sean Day, a Johnson 03 alumnus was also here to talk about Intel’s new Accelerated Leadership Program (ALP) for graduate MBA students. Sean ensured that Intel included the Johnson school in its list of core recruitment schools for the ALP program. The same can be said for GE’s Rebecca Cain, Chad Schmidt and Monica Schmidt who come on campus every year to recruit for GE’s world famous Experienced Commercial Leadership Program. The list goes on and on, and I am sure that I will get to know more alumni in the coming weeks.
On a personal note, I have contacted several alumni across the globe for help and information about consulting and general management positions. Johnson and Cornell alumni can be found at every major consulting firm and almost all companies across industries. The school and university maintain a fantastic database that contains background and contact information of all alumni. The response from the alumni has been nothing short of outstanding. They have called and e-mailed me and offered invaluable company and career advice. Now, I finally understand what it means to have a powerful alumni network backing you up. Please consider this when applying for an MBA program. Its importance and usefulness cannot be overstated. I cannot wait to give back to the school once I have graduated. Some of you have read my blog and contacted me for information. I apologize if I have not responded as my schedule was all over the place. Rest assured I will get in touch with you shortly.
I found out this morning that I have been elected as the VP of special events and planning for the General Management Association (GMA). I will be working with my fellow AMBA classmate, Tayfun Uslu over the coming months to organize corporate events on campus. I hope that when some of you start the AMBA program next year, you will find the GMA as an even better resource that what it is now. My case interview practice comes along thanks to Dhruba De. It is time for me to get started on my cover letters. So till next time, goodbye.
