Tag Archives: Reflections

Veterans MBA Conference 2021

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Smeal MBA students at the Veterans MBA Career Fair and Expo

Left to right: Nathan Lewis ’23, Patrick Higgins ’22, Matthew Robles ’22, Gabe Eshleman ’23, Miles O’Keefe ’23, Andy McKenna’22 on October 1, 2021

By Andy McKenna, MBA Class of 2022

Transitioning from any job or industry is difficult and challenging. Transitioning from the military into the business world however involves unique challenges. The professional recruitment cycle is unfamiliar and can be overwhelming. It is difficult to communicate and explain to recruiters how military work experience relates to the business world. Fortunately, the veterans’ Continue reading →

Steve Cummings on the EMBA & Military background

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by Steve Cummings, Captain, U.S. Army, Executive MBA Class of 2021

Steve is an active duty infantry officer transitioning from the military after 10 plus years of service. He is a 2010 graduate of the United States Military Academy (West Point) and has deployed twice in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Inherent Resolve. As a current student, Steve has accepted a position with Johnson and Johnson in their Military Veterans Leadership Development Program (MVLDP) with a July start date. Continue reading →

Kayleigh Semion: Student Athlete Q&A

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Kayleigh Semion, MOL Class of 2020 and Penn State Women’s Basketball #12

Undergraduate Degree: Kinesiology at Penn State

Favorite Creamery Ice Cream flavor: Alumni Swirl

Job Accepted: Still hunting in the sport industry

Q: What brought you to the MOL Program/encouraged you to stay for your fifth year? How did a Kinesiology degree prepare you for it/what are you looking for from it? Continue reading →

Job Hunting: An MOL perspective

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by Tommy Slotcavage, MOL Class of 2020

Job hunting is daunting – there’s no other way to put it.  That process is made even more intimidating when you’ve never had an internship nor even been to a career fair.  Thankfully, I had some vague work experience, but it didn’t necessarily pertain to what I wanted to do – a career on the business side of healthcare.

With that, I came into the year with a confident exterior, but an anxious interior.  I knew the first weeks of the semester were going to be tough – adjusting to classes, innumerable career fairs, and trying to make friends, and to be honest, they were. Continue reading →

The 7th Annual Deloitte Supply Chain Challenge Case Competition Final Round 2019

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By Dan Nichol, MBA Class of 2021

Four of us had the honor of representing Penn State Smeal in Final Round of the 7th Annual Deloitte Supply Chain Challenge at Ohio State University. Our team consisted of Sanath Adiga, Andrew Marshall, Dan Nichol and Declan Smith, all First-Year Smeal MBAs were given the opportunity to represent the Smeal at Columbus Ohio. After a 7-hour car ride from State College to Columbus filled with good Continue reading →

10th Annual MSU Bowersox Graduate Supply Chain Challenge

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From Left to Right: Alex, Thompson, Uzo, Declan

By Uzo Ukaegbu, MBA Class of 2021

We had the opportunity to compete in the Donald J. Bowersox Graduate Supply Chain Challenge a two-day event involving a three-hour supply chain simulation. The experience allowed us to exercise our supply chain knowledge and Continue reading →

Veterans MBA Conference 2019

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By Bobby Ettorre, MBA Class of 2020

One of the greatest challenges facing Veterans who transition from the military service into the private sector is a lack of business acumen. Speaking from personal experience, when I left the service, I didn’t know how to communicate my work experience to recruiters and was unfamiliar with the professional recruitment cycle. I remember being completely lost at my first career fair; figuring it out as I went along. Continue reading →

OMBA Alum shared the experience with his Father

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By Matthew Zackschewski, Online MBA Class of 2019

Matthew joined the Penn State Online MBA program in Fall 2017 as part of the first residency class since the program’s redesign. He earned a concentration in Project Management. While Matthew went back to school to earn his MBA, so did his father, George Zackschewski, with the American Military University and earned his concentration in Information Technology. Below, they have reflected on their father-son experience! 

Continue reading →

Three Days in the Life of a Second-Year MBA

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By: James Babb, President of the Supply Chain Management Association (for one more day), MBA Class of 2019

Being at the end of the MBA program is an interesting spot. I’m very much looking forward to a full-time job, a paycheck, the start of my new career in supply chain management. Yet I’m also keenly aware of how this unique experience in coming to a close and will soon be a reduced to a memory.  It’s a bittersweet ending, and I say “ending” now even though it’s only the end of January because us 2nd years have the opportunity to conclude our studies after Mod 7 (if we have enough credits) to spend a Continue reading →

2018 Net Impact Conference

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By Sophia Schuster, MBA Class of 2019

At the end of October, six MBAs from the Net Impact Graduate Chapter had the opportunity to attend Net Impact’s National Conference in Phoenix, AZ. Aside from getting some much-needed and well-deserved time in the sun, we had the opportunity to connect with students from across the country who are committed to fusing their sustainability and social responsibility with their business expertise. Continue reading →