My Experience Adjusting to Life in the US

By Sreekanth Boppana, MBA Class of 2015

I came to the US on August 1st, which was twelve days prior to the start of MBA program as I wanted to settle down and get over jet lag before the start of classes.  I leased a house by the end of June as advised by the admission committee and having a house leased even before arriving in US made things easier to settle down.

The biggest challenge was to get adjusted to the food. I belong to the southern part of India and being a big foodie myself, I knew I couldn’t survive for long without the spicy Indian food. So I asked second year students about Indian stores and they informed me Continue reading

What The Smeal MBA Program Means to Me

By Nahom Woldemariam, MBA Class of 2015

I was fortunate to attend Penn State for my undergrad, and it was a no-brainer for me to decide to join the Penn State Smeal MBA Program thereafter. Penn State is truly like a big family. Everyone is willing to support and contribute to my growth, both academically and non-academically. Lots of resources are available to elevate one’s knowledge on a range of issues. In a lot of ways, the Smeal MBA Program is undoubtedly a perfect representation of the Penn State brand. Nevertheless, the Smeal MBA is even beyond the Penn State experience I had when I was a student before joining the MBA Class of 2015. Continue reading

Smeal MBA 2nd Year Spotlight – Joshua Mathis


mathisName:
  Joshua Mathis

Concentrations: Finance/Supply Chain

Internship: Air Products and Chemicals

Future Plans: Senior Consultant at Deloitte

Why did you choose Smeal:  It’s supply chain program had an excellent reputation.  Also, the small class sizes would lead to better relationships with classmates and more access to professors.

What has been your favorite Smeal MBA memory thus far:  Spending time with some great friends in Prague for the Global Immersion

University of Michigan Ross School of Business Case Competition

On November 15th Penn State won the Global Operation Case Competition at University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business. The 5 person MBA team comprised of Iqbal Aasim, Andrew Driscoll, David Benton, Tatiana Kuzmenko and Ankit Mahajan.

  

For the first round we had to prepare a five slide deck and an executive summary. We made use of techniques taught in the Six Sigma and Manufacturing strategy courses to Continue reading

Wayne Balta, IBM, visits Smeal MBA Net Impact

Smeal MBA Net Impact was fortunate enough to be paid a visit from Wayne Balta, VP of Corporate Environmental Affairs and Product Safety at IBM. With decades of experience at IBM, many of which he spent working on environmental issues, Mr. Balta provided an insiders’ perspective from one of the world’s largest and most respected companies.

The open Q&A session addressed some of the key management issues in corporate responsibility. IBM has been reporting on environmental issues since 1990. Their robust Continue reading

Congratulations to the New WMBA Board!

By Angela Shershin, MBA Class of 2014

On January 14th, the WMBA held its elections for the 2014-2015 WMBA Board. The 2014-2015 WMBA Officers are:

IMG_1249President: Beth Robinson

VP Finance: Jeannie Estock

VP Marketing & Communications: Lauren Rizzo

VP Corporate Relations: Jenny Montague

VP Community Relations: Judith Egbas

Congratulations to the new WMBA Board!  From the 2013-2014 WMBA Board, we are confident that these ladies will do a wonderful job this year!

Things Are Getting Crazy In Net Impact

Some of us in Net Impact are doing something very different. Ten of your fellow students and dedicated Net Impacters are taking an extra course over Mods Two and Three. This is going to be difficult, and it may sound a little crazy. But like many sustainability ideas, we think this is worth it.

We are partnering with the Sustainability Institute on a project to help various Penn Continue reading