In my mind, the greatest thing about Goizueta is the community, and the opportunity to do unique and exciting things. Last year, I was elected as the President of the Graduate Business Association(GBA). In other words, I am the student council president if you want to relate it to something more that you might be more familiar with. However, unlike student Council in high school, the GBA actually has been instrumental in driving changes at Goizueta. Believe it or not, both faculty and administrators actually care about what students have to say, and oftentimes take feedback from the student body and incorporate it into classes, the curriculum, and other aspects of the MBA experience.
As GBA President, I have already had some really interesting and unique experiences that I feel exemplify the greatness and uniqueness of Goizueta. Over the summer I was invited to attend a reception at the end of Falcons University, an event that was put on by the Goizueta Business School in conjunction with the Atlanta Falcons. The highlight of the reception was getting to mingle with current and former Atlanta Falcons players. I spent some time shooting the breeze with Matt Ryan, current starting quarterback for the Falcons. Matt Ryan grew up not to far from where I did, so we had a lot in common. Okay, we really did not have that much in common, but it was still cool to talk with him.
For those who are not big fans of football, I had the opportunity just recently to have dinner with Jimmy Carter. Check out the
picture of Jimmy and me! The Presidents of the student bodies from all the schools under Emory University were invited for a dinner with him. Unlike Matt Ryan, Jimmy and I had a ton in common: he was a former president, I was a current president. :-) Not really, President Carter and I probably had even less in common, but the truth is what an honor it was to meet a former President of the United States. Politics asides, Jimmy Carter is real gentleman and humanitarian, and this really came across in my brief interaction with him.
I can’t say for certain that I would not have had these types of opportunities at some other business school, but I can say opportunites like these do happen quite frequently at Goizueta, and its not just for class president. I think these types of experiences are just a part of what makes us unique at Goizueta, and let’s be frank you won’t remember all of your classes, but you will remember your experiences.
Read the full article: Being GBA President: the first few months