Experience Darden

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alem Bello. Alem is a student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2027, and he is also the Admissions representative for the Darden African Business Organization (DABO). We talk with Alem about his decision to pursue an MBA, coming to the U.S. to study at Darden, the role DABO played in his MBA research process, what he’s enjoyed about life in Charlo...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Hannah Cho. Hannah is a student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2027, and she is the President of Darden’s Marketing and General Management Club. We talk with Hannah about her background in the beauty industry, her decision to pursue an MBA, her plans for this summer, what she’s looking forward to in her second year and more. For more insights, tips,...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Kelly Okun. Kelly is a graduate in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2025, and she is currently running her venture, Fairway to Green, an equitable media company covering the worlds of men’s and women’s golf. We talk with Kelly with what’s she been up to since graduating, winning the Kathryne Carr award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, how Fairway to G...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Anthony Palomba. Palomba is a member of the Data Analytics Decision Sciences faculty area at Darden, and he teaches Data Storytelling and Media & Entertainment Business to MBA, MSBA, and Executive MBA students. A media sch...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jingjing Li. Jingjing is an Associate Professor of IT and Innovation at the McIntire School of Commerce at the University of Virginia, and she is also one of the Academic Directors for UVA’s MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) program. We talk with Jingjing about Module 4, the module she leads in the MSBA program, how the program is incorporating AI int...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Rory McDonald. McDonald’s research focuses on how firms compete and innovate effectively in new technology-enabled markets. Drawing on a mix of in-depth fieldwork and archival data, he studies how executives develop viable str...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Blake Dietrick-Siefert. Blake is a student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2027, and we talk with her about her background in professional basketball, her decision to pursue an MBA, how her career goals have evolved during her first year, what she’s looking forward to in her second year and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Dar...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Grace Haffner. Grace is a first year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2027, and she also applied to Darden through the Future Year Scholars program, Darden’s deferred enrollment program for current undergraduates or students in their final year of a masters program who are yet to enter the workforce. We talk with Grace about her decision t...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Andrew Katz. Andrew is a student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2027, and we talk with him about his decision to pursue an MBA, what he’s enjoyed about his first year, climbing Mt. Everest in the summer before starting at Darden, his start-up venture, Katalyze LLC, and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be su...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professors Marc Ruggiano and Rob Phillips. In this hour-long conversation, we talk with Ruggiano and Phillips about what Darden means by ethical AI as well as some of the ethical considerations across the AI value chain.  For more insig...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Christina Zhu. Christina is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2026. We talk with Christina about her background, her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her Darden, her global experiences as a Darden student, what she’ll be doing after graduation and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Raj Venkatesan. Raj is a member of the Marketing faculty at the Darden School of Business, and he is also one of the Academic Directors for UVA’s MS in Business Analytics program. We talk with Raj about the MSBA program, how the faculty keep the curriculum current, the program’s upcoming fifth and final module, some of his favorite MSBA capstone pro...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Jared Harris. Harris’ research centers on the interplay between ethics and strategy, with a particular focus on the topics of corporate governance, business ethics and interorganizational trust. In this wide-ranging conversati...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alys Herbert and Katie Williams. Alys and Katie are Second Year students in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and they also led the Student Tutoring program this year. We talk with Alys and Katie about their journeys to Darden, what drew them to the Tutoring program, how many students take advantage this resource, their advice for future MBA...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Justin Hopkins. Professor Hopkins has taught various courses across Darden's programs and at the UVA Law School including electives on financial reporting and financial statement analysis. He has authored a number of cases hel...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Anna Caughron. Anna is a Program Manager with Darden’s Institute for Business in Society, and we talk with her about the Golub Capital Board Fellows program.  The Board Fellows program connects Darden students with local nonprofit organizations for a unique opportunity in board service. Fellows serve as non-voting board members while simultaneously...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Charlie Meyer. Charlie is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026. He is also the President of Net Impact at Darden. We talk with Charlie about what led him to Darden, what drew him to Net Impact, his experience with the Golub Board Fellows program and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be s...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with friend of the podcast, Whitney Kestner. Whitney is current co-leading Darden’s Admissions team, and we talk with her the recent announcement of waves for our Round 3 Full-Time MBA deadline, recent rankings highlights for Darden, forthcoming resources for admitted students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Scott Miller. Miller is an Assistant Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business, Director of the Democracy and Capitalism Lab at the Karsh Institute of Democracy, and Senior Fellow at the Miller Cent...

In this conversation, we catch up with Matt Ohlson. Matt is an alumnus in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2024, and we talk with him about his decision to pursue an MBA, applying to Darden through the Future Year Scholars Program, how the Darden classroom helped him build confidence and sharpen his communication skills, how he’s leveraged his Darden experience after graduation and more. For more i...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professors June West and Steve Soltis. West and Soltis teach classes across Darden's MBA formats, including Leadership Communication, and they are also co-founders of the Darden Leadership Communication Council. Their podcast series, CE...

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we are excited to share a recent conversation with Jennifer Hulvey and Reece Meares, two members of the Darden Financial Aid team. We talk with Jennifer and Reece about what they enjoy about financial aid, what students should be thinking about as they prepare financially for business school, upcoming federal loan changes resulting from the...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share audio from a recent webinar with Interim Dean Mike Lenox. In addition to serving as the Interim Dean of the Darden School of Business, Lenox is a member of the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship faculty, and he teaches the core MBA strategy course and an MBA elective on Strategy in the Digital Age, among other offerings. In this...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Doug Thomas. Thomas is the Academic Director of the Sands Institute for Lifelong Learning, and a member of the Technology and Operations Management faculty at the Darden School of Business. We talk with Thomas about his background, what...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Megha Kalyan. Megha is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2026, and we talk with her about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, her biggest learning curves as an MBA student, how she spent her first year summer, her tips for prospective students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden e...