Duke Daytime MBA Student Blog

Although it feels like ages since I completed my MBA at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, that experience has never truly left me. It has shaped who I am, who I look up to and who I aspire to be.

Before coming to business school, I worked in the largest bank in Brazil. Choosing to enroll at the Fuqua School of Business, my goals were to achieve hands-on experience at a company where tech was the core business.

I knew that the prospect of landing a career in venture capital (VC) was risky, given the limited job openings but it was a risk I was ready to take.

I came to business school with many goals for my personal and professional development, but my career goal was singular: I was going to get a job in consulting.

Aruna is an impact-driven brand that creates lifelong freedom for victims of human trafficking through employment.

I decided to use my two years in business school to learn more about what it's like to work with smaller companies—especially startups—and try my hand as a founder, experimenting in entrepreneurship. Fuqua has turned out to be the perfect place to do this.

Growing up, I knew I wanted to attend schools that placed an equal emphasis on academic and athletic success. I pursued my undergraduate degree at West Point but I never forgot about Duke or those, “Cameron Crazies.”

Here at Fuqua, we believe that design thinking is a fun, creative way to answer questions, design products, and ideate process improvements. We strive to introduce these skills and provide a fun environment in which to practice them.

Needless to say that an entrepreneur's life is not all roses, and I learned a lifetime of lessons in this journey. Here are a few I think everyone should know at the beginning.

Even with 2020's challenges, our employment report boasts impressive numbers and tells the stories of what our Duke MBA grads overcame.