• Hundreds of reputable companies.
  • Thousands of smart and ambitious business school students and professionals.
  • Lights, sounds, free giveaways, logos, cars and tractors, and prizes in a giant convention center.

The National Black MBA Conference held in Atlanta, Georgia, from October 5 – 8, was all of that and so much more. I’ve never been to something so overwhelming and inspiring at the same time.

Though primarily a venue to match top minority business school talent with top companies, anyone is able to attend. People come prepared with resumes, business cards, and elevator pitches about why they should be considered a potential job candidate. Some of these pitches lead to on-site job interviews, and in some cases to job offers. It’s an incredible opportunity, but also really intense.

Group at the conference
Team Fuqua at the school's booth at the convention.

I’ve been preparing for this conference for several months with BLMBAO (Black & Latino MBA Organization) and Fuqua’s Career Management Center. Second-year students spent their Saturdays and Sundays sharing their experiences with us first years, giving us tips and best practices. They reviewed our resumes, and we practiced our pitches and created a strategy to interact with the companies that we were most interested in.

So on top of all the typical first-year work and adapting to business school, I’ve been juggling a job search and company interactions. Phew! But I also think this is where Team Fuqua shines. My teammates have been very understanding and supportive, and club members have been super helpful in getting me ready. Now that the conference is over, I can definitely say that I wouldn’t have been successful without their guidance and input.

Now, of course since this is business school, the days were a very serious affair, while the nights were full of network receptions, dinners, and parties where we were all able to mix and mingle. Fuqua hosted a reception for alumni and current students which helped create connections and was an overall good time.

And now, it’s back to Durham for one more week of class before finals. B-school is nonstop!