Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog

When I came into my first year at Fuqua, second year of my dual-degree overall, I had decided it was time to embrace something different. Fresh off an internship at WeWork, I had entrepreneurial inspiration and an idea for applying techniques I learned during my internship to a new context.

I had heard how fast time flies once school starts, but it only really registered in mid-December while I was walking out from my last exam of the term. Time and tide wait for no man, but man did I wish I had known a few things before the craziness came and went.

Since March, our team has been working diligently to help our students, alumni and employers to navigate the many challenges of virtual recruiting during COVID-19. Along the way, we’ve seen firsthand how job seekers can succeed despite the uncertainties and rapid changes. Here are a few insights that can make a big difference.

When I was a prospective student, I remember reading marketing materials about Fuqua. Now that I have graduated, I have seen how the elements of that content have been brought to life.

At Fuqua, we believe that all of our students and alumni have the potential to lead positive social change. This is exactly why the Center for the Advancement of Social Entrepreneurship works to build our students' competencies, connections, and community so that, when they graduate, they have an impact—wherever they go.

As I was boarding my flight for a spring break ski trip in early March 2020, I thought our class had already been tested. And that had nothing on what was yet to come.

2020 is anything but boring. That’s what I always say to my friends and family. When we think we might finally have things figured out, there’s always something that takes us by surprise. And as an international student at Fuqua, I can say that has a special connotation.

This was not the spring and summer my classmates and I envisioned. As MBAA Vice President for Student Life, I was excited to get started with several projects on campus that appeared to be on hold.

In February, I started to consider taking on a leadership role at Fuqua during the second year of my MBA to be able to give back to a community that had given me so much up to that point.

The 2019–2020 application year was truly the most tumultuous in my nearly 15 years of working in MBA Admissions. Like you, we had to adjust to a lot of the challenges that COVID-19 presented.