My path towards an MBA

“If it was easy then everybody would be doing it,” couldn’t be truer when applying to business school.  My journey to business school started in 2002 during my sophomore year at University of California Davis, and like most teens, I was wondering what to do with my life. My cousin and mentor, Vero, put me in contact with Andres, a business school friend, and we hit it off.  I shadowed him at UC Davis business school and I knew right away that I wanted to be a business student.

I graduated from UC Davis in 2004 and was promoted to the Wells Fargo corporate headquarters in San Francisco from a branch position. I attended my first MBA fair a year after graduation. Walking into the fair was exhilarating and after speaking with various representatives, I was excited to apply.  I was excited to hear about job and study abroad opportunities.  Most of the schools explained they were seeking applicants with an average of five years work experience. The experience that I could obtain over the next five years was vital to my professional development and acceptance into business school. I decided I would try work my hardest and set goals for myself.

After over four years of working at Wells Fargo in San Francisco, I decided pursue my passion in entertainment and move to NYC.  I was warned that NYC would be hard. I was even told that I would be “back in San Francisco in 3 months.” The thrill of living and working in NYC was worth the risk.  I packed my things, broke the news to my dog and moved to the big city with only a starter apartment lined up. I was confident I would find a job quickly, and, as luck would have it, I did. Within 3 months, I was hired as a project coordinator at WNET (a PBS affiliate).

Working at PBS was a great experience. I worked in facilities management which was OK but exciting when I worked with on events like our Galas and the grand opening of our new studios at Lincoln Center.  While working at PBS, I was recruited to work at Vme Media, a Spanish, nationally syndicated start-up television station. I enjoyed working among a talented group of people and learned a great deal about running a TV station. With only 50 of us running the entire station, one of my favorite parts was my involvement in our creative meetings. The best part of the job was seeing the use of my ideas live on TV or our website.

During this time, I revisited the application process for business school. I quickly became involved with the National Society of Hispanic MBA’s (NSHMBA). Soon after, the president of NSHMBA, Manny, asked if I was interested in joining the board. I was slightly intimidated at first because I would be serving on the board with other proven MBA’s. Manny told me I would bring a lot of value to the board through my social media and marketing experience. I decided to run for the position because I knew I could learn a lot from my peers. The board members ended up mentoring me throughout the entire MBA application process, which was invaluable.

It seemed as though everything was going great, but then Vme decided to downsize and cut half the staff. I was without a job due to the changes and it was devastating. Even worse, I was just about to submit my MBA applications. It also happened to coincide with taking the GMAT. It seemed as though my world was crumbling.  The stress of my career and this test which I felt determined my future increased my stress levels.  Needless to say, I did not do well on the GMAT and was not accepted into any of the B schools I applied to.  But I’ve never let obstacles stop me before so I decided to remain positive and move forward.

I began doing freelance marketing jobs in San Francisco and New York, and continued serving on the board of NSHMBA.  I decided to take a prep course for the GMAT. I studied for months and ended up improving my score and moving up drastically in the rankings.  I knew that I would need a very strong application to compete with the other candidates. I networked, met with alumni from the different schools and traveled across the country.

My efforts paid off and I was accepted into not only one, but two schools.  I will never forget the moment I walking down Madison Avenue in NYC and the admissions director called to congratulate me on my admission and welcomed me to the Irish family.   I chose Notre Dame because of their strong brand and, more importantly, the alumni network. After all the work, struggles, and tireless networking, I was finally an MBA student. Those close to me knew how important this was for me. I knew what I wanted and did not let anything get in the way of attaining my dreams.

It has truly been a blessing come true attending Notre Dame. I had the opportunity to work for one of the most iconic brands (IBM) over the summer, and now I am applying for full-time positions in San Francisco. None of this would be possible if I had not come to Notre Dame.  My journey towards attaining an MBA is proof that hard work pays off. And I am sharing my journey because many people do not like to share their past failures. But, I want to demonstrate how my past failures have made me stronger and helped establish the person I have become.