Why did I choose UC, Lindner College of Business to do my MBA?
When I was looking to choose a school to do my MBA, my biggest criteria was Return on Investment. An MBA is not what it used to be and I did not want to be 100K in debt after my grad program. Since I already had a bachelors degree in business from the top school in Canada, I wanted to pick a school that offered a one year business program.
With the goal to challenge and push myself out of my comfort zone; I wanted to do my grad school somewhere other than Toronto. At the time, the UC Lindner MBA program was ranked one of the best for ROI in the USA. It was also ranked as one of the top programs in the state of Ohio. In addition to the low out of state, tuition cost (~$35K), I was able to snag a very generous scholarship (~$10K) based on my vast international business experience.
I liked that Cincinnati is an underrated business city. It has large number of fortune 500 companies in various industries headquartered in the city. (P&G, Kroger, GE Aviation, Cintas, Fifth Third Bank, AK Steel etc.) Cincinnati is also one of the oldest cities in the country with a rich history and a really low cost of living. I figured that this would give me a new opportunity to establish myself in a new city, in one of the largest economies in the world.
How was the UC, MBA experience?
The best part of the UC MBA experience was the small cohort model. At a class size of 44 students, you really get to learn and work with your classmates at a personal level. You learn more from your peers than the instructors. The 1 year MBA style is fast paced and intense and you really do it together collectively as a team just like you would in the real world.
My favorite part of the program was the cultural immersion business consulting trip to China. We had the opportunity to visit Shanghai and then Beijing and learn about the way business is conducted in China. It was an incredible opportunity to see first hand, the cultural differences and how far ahead they are in technological advancement. As part of this trip we also had the opportunity to consult and provided branding and positioning solutions for GE Additive (3D printing division) in a hyper competitive market.
The other highlight for me was the final capstone with Castellini group of companies. Castellini group of Companies is one of the largest distributors of fresh produce across the United States. We spent a whole semester analyzing the evolving nature of the Fresh Produce industry and came up with creative ways for the company to improve their value add in this extremely low margin perishable industry.
I also have to give a shout out to our world class faculty in the business program. I feel like I have become a much more strategic thinker and now processes a lot skill sets and tools that will propel me further in my career.
Was I able to get a job?
So during the program I had the opportunity to work as a Graduate Assistant at the Lindner Career Center. The team here is incredible. If you go and seek help and ask the right questions you have a lot of resources and networking contacts at your disposal.
After I graduated, I had multiple interviews with a variety of companies. In such turbulent times most of them didn't want to sponsor and was worried about Visa issues. Although, as a Canadian I was technically able to work under the TN-1 visa, I was surprised how few HR professionals knew how to use it in Cincinnati.
I did eventually get lucky. The key was to be patient and persistent and not settle for the first opportunity. After a a couple of months of lengthy interviews, I was successfully able to get a job as Marketing Manager at Cintas. An opportunity to work at Cintas was one of my main driving forces in choosing Cincinnati as a city. My B2B Marketing skill-sets and their requirements as an organization was a perfect match. Shortly after being hired, I was requested to move back and fill a position on their Canadian team.
The city of Cincinnati really grew on me. I was able to make some lifelong friends and incredible professional connections in the City. Unfortunately my journey required me to move back to Canada (for now). I really hope I can return someday and continue to cherish what the Queen City has to offer.
The University of Cincinnati Lindner MBA is what you make of it. No one is going to line up and give you a job and nobody is going to do the work for you. There are outstanding resources available at your disposal. It is up to you to take advantage of it.
Go Bearcats!
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