Experiential Learners

Inspirational students who embrace the power of experiential learning!

Brandon Schlette

MBA Graduate
What was the company and project or challenge you were involved with? What was the purpose or goal of the project?

Envrmnt was the name of the entity within Verizon. The purpose/goal of this project was to evaluate the current landscape and evaluate opportunities and verticals for future successes.

What were your roles and responsibilities? What did you do?

I was part of a team tasked to analyze, research, and develop a presentation with recommendations on a real business problem.

What kinds of outcomes or work products did you deliver to stakeholders? How did the company benefit from your contribution to the project?

After meeting with the Envrmnt team, conducting market research and analysis, and looking at market projections, our team has concluded that there was an opportunity for Envrmnt to return value to the business.

What key skills and knowledge did you gain, and how are they relevant to your professional and personal goals for the future?

Some of the primary insights that I have obtained in this class as well as throughout my MBA experience include the ability to network and utilize the resources that been given to us to truly take advantage of. Also, as we conclude this program many of us have developed the confidence to sit in the same room as C-Suite executive and have a meaningful conversations, enhance our presentation skills, as well as even work effectively to enhance leadership capabilities that allow for many of us including myself to efficiently and effectively deal with every type of person.. With this MBA experience it has allowed me to take the next step in my career to really hone my skillset. Some of the obstacles that are required to be overcome through this experience is to truly understand that it is a “process” and it will take time but eventually the output is worth it. Understand that everyone including yourself has strengths and weaknesses and this program/class will help in some of that Self-Awareness and to hone some of those utilization skills. Some examples of business content that has been applied from my MBA thus far is many of the leadership courses that have given us the context to truly understand that no matter the business situation there is always a solution to resolve it. For my particular situation, the critical thinking piece seemed to rise to the top as these issues that business face utilize the “ice-berg” concept we learned about in a few classes that states that most impactful issues are never the most obvious, so it important to dig deep to truly understand problem facing the situation.

What's the most rewarding part of being an #ExperientialLearner?

This consulting project and MBA program was critical for me to apply my learning from throughout the program especially for my leadership skills in learning to deal with many different personality types, critical thinking skills, and enhancing and practicing presentation skills in front of senior executives. This will serve as a major benefit to me in my career.

Tanner Karp

BBA, Business Management & Marketing
What was the company and project or challenge you were involved with? What was the purpose or goal of the project?

Business Case Study Competition, developing a B2B marketing strategy for Coinsource, the worlds leader in Bitcoin ATMs.

What were your roles and responsibilities? What did you do?

My responsibilities included industry analysis, competitive analysis, forming the marketing strategy tactics, and designing the presentation.

What kinds of outcomes or work products did you deliver to stakeholders? How did the company benefit from your contribution to the project?

Our team delivered a plan write up in conjunction with a formal presentation. Coinsource benefited from the marketing strategy and other important information included in our report to justify the strategy such as customer personas and industry analysis.

What key skills and knowledge did you gain, and how are they relevant to your professional and personal goals for the future?

Throughout the competition I gained a better understanding of how important background research into the industry, company, and it’s competitor is forming a successful marketing plan that positions a business successfully.

What's the most rewarding part of being an #ExperientialLearner?

The most rewarding part of being an experiential learner is having an awesome job at the company we did the project for because of the relevant experience!

Lixin Zhu

BBA, Operations Management
Baruch College

What was the company and project or challenge you were involved with? What was the purpose or goal of the project?

Our team worked as an outside marketing consultant for Coinsource. During the internship, we had to come up with a marketing campaign for Coinsource's upcoming product. The goal of the project was to increase the brand's influence on the unbanked and underbanked population.

What were your roles and responsibilities? What did you do?

I was responsible for conducting market research and creating slideshows.

What kinds of outcomes or work products did you deliver to stakeholders? How did the company benefit from your contribution to the project?

In the final competition, our team won 2nd place out of the six teams. The "Selfmade" campaign contributed a new idea to the marketing director of Coinsource.

What key skills and knowledge did you gain, and how are they relevant to your professional and personal goals for the future?

The key skills I gained through the project were communication and conflict resolution. They are relevant to my career path because many of the positions involve interaction.

What's the most rewarding part of being an #ExperientialLearner?

I could repeatedly test my ideas and experiences under different scenarios, and the feedback I received is various.