Experience Darden

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we share the fifth installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Mike Lenox. We talk with Lenox about what led him to Darden, why he thinks lecturing is dead, and why he’s so passionate about Darden’s high-engagement learning environment. Lenox also shares insights from his extensive work...

In this episode of the podcast, we chat with rising second year Full-Time MBA student, Chris Kraft (Class of 2022). Kraft is originally from Minnesota, and she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, as well as the challenges and the highlights from her first year as a Darden student. Kraft also hosts her own podcast –  The Career Queer  – and we even managed to find t...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we share the fourth installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Greg Fairchild (MBA ’92). We talk with Fairchild about what it’s like to teach at Darden as an alumnus, why he’s passionate about entrepreneurship in rural and inner city communities as well as his work with the Resilience...

Where some people see problems, other people see opportunities. We chat with Coco Woeltz (MBA ’21) and Isabelle Kayal Larsen (EMBA ’21) about Hummingbyrd, their sports bra and athletic apparel-focused venture. Woeltz and Larsen reflect upon their MBA journeys, what led them to Darden and how the venture courses and resources of the Batten Institute brought them together. Woeltz and Larsen  also sh...

File under: Essential listening. Executive Director of Admissions Dawna Clarke chats about the innovations for this year’s application, including essay optionality, the continuation of the test waiver pilot, and an update to the number of required recommendations. Dawna also shares her favorite tips and advice for Darden applicants, including the importance of approaching the application process w...

DeMario Moore (Class of 2022) and Jen Bundy (Class of 2022) are the newly elected Darden Student Association (DSA) President and Executive Vice President. We chat with DeMario and Jen about their background, how they decided to pursue an MBA and what led them to Darden. They also share more about drew them to DSA leadership as well as their vision for the DSA in the year ahead. We also discuss the...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we share the third installment of our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Dennie Kim. We talk with Kim about his background growing up in New York City, how he knew he wanted to be a teacher, what attracted him to healthcare and how COVID-19 has highlighted challenges and inequities in the US heal...

This year, UVA Darden has three Consortium co-liaisons – Chisom Omenyinma (Class of 2022), Rafael “Rafa” Rivera (Class of 2022) and Sarah Rumps (Class of 2022). We talk with Chisom, Rafa and Sarah about how they decided to pursue an MBA, what attracted them to the Consortium liaison role and what their goals are for the year ahead. We also find time for a few time management tips, TV recommendatio...

We continue our spotlight on student founders with an interview with Megan Nash (Class of 2022). Megan‘s venture, Rayna, is an electric hair trimmer made for women, by women. We talk with Megan about the inspiration for the product, what her research says about the potential market opportunity, how the Darden community have helped her along her entrepreneurial journey and how her venture has gone...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we share the second installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Kinda Hachem. We talk with Hachem about growing up in Toronto, what initially sparked her interest in Economics, her “Economics of Money and Banking” course and more. We also check in about a number of hot topics in Economi...

Purvaj Dharia (Class of 2021) is the outgoing VP for International Affairs for the Darden Student Association (DSA). We connected with Purvaj earlier this year to talk about his MBA journey and how the DSA has supported international students during the pandemic. Purvaj also shares why he thinks people and culture should be top of mind for any prospective MBA student.

Did you know the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions? However, Darden First Year student Elizabeth Blankenship (Class of 2022) has a solution. Her contemporary fashion venture, Coton, uses only existing materials, bought directly from other luxury fashion brands and mills across Europe, to produce its clothes. We recently connected with Blankenship to talk...

Alex Zorychta (Class of 2021) is a connector, and his venture, Zalence, allows connectors to curate pools of people they think should meet one-on-one. We chat with him about his entrepreneurial journey and how the Darden community has helped him explore and refine his venture.

We caught up with Director of Venture Programs for the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (and friend of our Admissions podcasts) Jason Brewster to talk about the current state of the venturing at Darden. He also shares insights about effectuation, resources available to Darden student entrepreneurs and reading recommendations for aspiring venturers.

Harsha Gummagatta (Class of 2021) and Eric Linde (Class of 2021) are good friends, but they are also the hosts of a brand new Darden-inspired podcast, Third Coffee. As our listeners may know, First Coffee is a popular tradition at Darden – it’s a dedicated time each weekday when the community convenes for coffee (or tea!) and conversation. We chat with Harsha and Eric about the inspiration for the...

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we’re pleased to share our recent Office Hours conversation with Darden Professor Rich Evans. We talk with Evans about his background, what led him to Darden, what he enjoys about teaching Finance through the case method and more. We also find time to hear Evans’ thoughts about a number of Finance-related “hot topics” – SPACs, GameStop, Bi...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Katherine Alford and Merav Frazier, two members of our Admissions Committee at the Darden School of Business. Katherine and Merav work closely with our Future Year Scholars Program (FYSP), Darden’s deferred enrollment program for college seniors and fifth year Master’s students, and we recently connected with Katherine and Merav to learn more about...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Tre Tennyson. Tre is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and he is also Chair of the UVA Graduate and Professional Council and the Graduate Affairs Chair on the UVA Student Council. We recently connected with Tre via Zoom to talk about his MBA journey and how he is advocating for graduate and professional students across g...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up Ann Joseph. Ann is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and she is also the President of Darden’s Global Business and Culture Club. We recently connected with Ann to discuss her MBA journey, what led her to Darden and how the Global Business and Culture Club has found creative ways to offer programming, like the always popular G...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Larry Murphy. Larry is President, Custom Solutions, for Darden’s Executive Education and Lifelong Learning group, and we recently connected with him to talk about a meal initiative that was piloted this year to help foster community during the pandemic. Larry also shares an update about the Darden Inn construction project as well as the School’s pla...

What’s it like to live in Charlottesville? In this episode, we catch up with three second year students in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, Emma Coogan, Tejaswi Kambalapally and Louis Margules about their respective MBA journeys as well as their favorite things to do in Cville. Thumbnail image by Saadiq Hasan, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons

In the special episode of the podcast, we catch up with Bobby Parmar. Bobby is an Associate Professor of Business Administration and the Shannon Smith Emerging Scholar in Business here at the Darden School, and we recently connected with him via Zoom to talk about the movie he recently produced,  Fishing with Dynamite , why he thinks stakeholder theory is gaining traction with more and more busine...

In this episode of the podcast we catch up with Lauren Wallace. Lauren is an Assistant Director of Student Affairs and Global Engagement Manager at the Darden School of Business, and she has also been the key point of contact for the section of full-time MBA students who just matriculated in January, Section J. This section was created as a one-time offering to give students enrollment flexibility...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Alex May. Alex is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and he is also VP for Darden Cup, Darden’s annual section-wide competition featuring extracurricular, athletic and artistic events. We recently connected with Alex via Zoom to talk with him about his MBA journey and how Darden Cup has adapted and adjusted in response to COVI...

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Debbie Wilson. Debbie is the Staff Psychologist at the Darden School of Business, and we recently connected with her to talk about students’ adjustment to life at Darden. During this wide-ranging conversation, Debbie shares a host of insights and tips for incoming students, including self-care strategies, how to prepare for the start of school and m...