The MBA Students In The Class of 2020

Who gets into the world's most selective business schools? What have they got to make the cut? What types of contributions will they make in class…and beyond? 

You'll find answers to those questions and many more in Poets&Quants’ Meet The MBA Class of 2020. Each fall, P&Q profiles the incoming classes at over 40 elite graduate business programs, including Harvard, Northwestern, Wharton, Columbia, and the London Business School. Aside from delving into each program’s unique culture and resources, P&Q also profiles 12 standout members of the incoming class. In the process, readers find role models and strategies to boost their odds of being accepted into the MBA program of their dreams. 

MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN THE PRIVATE AND PUBLIC SECTORS

Harvard Business School’s Bridgette Taylor offers one path to follow. She undoubtedly impressed the school’s adcoms by starting the consumer insights division at Stuart Weitzman, a $180 million dollar women’s fashion brand. After pitching the company CEO, Taylor built a 600,000 customer database that became a cornerstone of strategy and sales alike. Ironically, the division and team she nurtured has only grown more prominent since she left. 

“The team has implemented sophisticated and powerful techniques to analyze and act on customer trends – far outside my knowledge base and basic data understandings,” Taylor admits. “Ironically, I am likely now unqualified to work in the very division that I built.”

Georgetown’s Michael Cox chose the public sector to leave his mark. After working as a Congressional staffer and Obama administration official, he decided to run for office. Barely 30, he challenged a 32-year incumbent for State Senate, driven by his experiences with income and educational inequality. Aside from the usual handshaking and baby-kissing, Cox raised tens-of-thousands of dollars to fund his campaign, with his donors ranging from his mother to legendary venture capitalist Arthur Rock. Turns out, it wasn’t enough as he managed 5,000 votes.

Such setbacks in the public sector forced Cox to consider a new way – the MBA way – to make the differences that government couldn’t. “I realized I could not count on regulations, incentives, or public investments to do this important work anymore. Instead, I committed to creating the type of company and value—through advisement or entrepreneurship—that I wanted to see, and I realized that a MBA is uniquely positioned to help me achieve this goal.”

HUMANITARIANS, ADVENTURERS AND ATHLETES

Those are just two of the most memorable members of the 2020 Class. Halle Morse enrolled at Columbia Business School after working as a “Broadway actress, singer, dancer turned producer/director” – including a 1,000 show stint playing a bridesmaid in Mamma Mia! Emory Goizueta’s David Hinshillwood calls himself a “bumbling, beardy, boisterous, and kind-hearted oaf, passionate about social justice, company culture, and trash television.” After six years in China, Kenya, and Nepal, Vanderbilt Owen’s Cali Livingston has emerged as a “humanitarian data geek, passionate about triple-bottom lines.”

Alas, this class took the road less traveled long before business school. Notre Dame Mendoza’s Michael Wall could fly before he could drive. Toby Mills is the new Ferris Bueller. In one day, the Chicago Booth first year “surfed, skied, skated, and snowboarded in the same day.” And what’s left to say about Yale SOM’s Elizabeth Davidson? “I have summited Kilimanjaro, hung out with 400-pound gorillas in Rwanda, swum in Devil’s Pool at the edge of Victoria Falls, and eaten more questionable street food than I care to consider from a public health perspective,” she rattles off, “but I am actually quite risk-averse by nature.”

Looking for some good stories? NYU Stern’s Sami Abdisubhan once gave Vice President Joe Biden a tour of the dorm during his visit to Georgetown. At 12, Tim Cooney made ESPN as a player on a Little League World Series team. And it wasn’t the last time – as the Wharton MBA played professionally with the St. Louis Cardinals and Cleveland Indians. Whatever you do, don’t pick a fight with Cooney’s classmate, Thurgood Powell. He won the Pennsylvania State Judo Championship three times. 

STEVE SPIELBERG OFFERS YALE MBA THE ULTIMATE PRAISE

Their professional accomplishments have also been noteworthy. After hurricanes Maria and Irma, Michael Wall, a U.S. Army mechanical engineer and Notre Dame Mendoza MBA, was among the leaders who helped set up headquarters for the recovery effort. Chances are, he crossed paths with Vanderbilt Owen’s Curtis Lake. A mechanical engineer, Lake led a team that “removed over 100,000 cubic yards of debris, installed more than 2,000 temporary roofs, and installed a multitude of generators for critical public infrastructure.”

In finance, Michelle Forman was the sage behind the scenes as VP of TMT investment banking at Houlihan Lokey. This Columbia MBA candidate’s team managed the due diligence that paved the way for Univsion’s $135 million dollar purchase of Gawker Media. Across town, NYU Stern’s Rodrigo Acuna Cervantes developed asset allocation models for offshore clients that, in his words, are now the base for my team’s advisory business. The project has captured more than $100MM in new investments.”

Looking for honors? U.C.-Berkeley Haas’ Tiffany Tran was named one of Greenbiz’s 30 Under 30 Sustainability Leaders. Columbia’s Morse produced a theater piece, 3/Fifths, that enjoyed a sold out run and was hailed as a Must-See Show” by the New York Times. When Yale SOM’s Courtney Miller worked in business development for Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Lucasfilm’s visual effects division, she received the ultimate validation – one even bigger than enjoying credits in films like Doctor Strange and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. 

“I worked on the team responsible for bringing films into the visual effects studio. This would often involve producing CG tests for filmmakers, sort of an exercise in proof of concept. One such test I oversaw was for Steven Spielberg, which was an incredible honor and really a master class in filmmaking, as you can imagine. When we showed him the finished test he was thrilled, and gave us some stellar feedback I will never forget…To have been a part of that, and to have that moment with Mr. Spielberg be the payoff...well, it’s the sort of thing you see in the movies.”

Who are some of the most promising MBAs in the Class of 2020? Click the link below for in-depth profiles of over 30 first years. To get an in-depth look at the 2020 classes for over 40 top graduate business programs, check out Poets&Quants beginning in September. 

MEET THE CLASS OF 2020 PROFILES