Real Humans of the Miami Business School
The idea of a business school, for many, conjures images of rigidity: stuffed shirts, properly tuned haircuts, and brutalist, monochrome buildings—foundational visions of the business school stereotype. But these observations can be fairly limited, if not completely outdated. While some schools are still defined by business traditionalism, the University of Miami Business School offers a decidedly less obtuse vision.
The Miami Business School, overlooking Lake Osceola in Southern Miami, defies business school assumptions. Alongside the city’s effortlessly pleasant weather, potential students won’t find the the limited, formal degree options, with more choices than the vast majority of business schools virtually anywhere, including: three full-time MBA programs; three different Executive MBA programs; a part-time MBA option; Online MBA option; and five different dual MBA opportunities. In addition, the school offers eight on-campus specialized master’s options and two more online specialized masters degrees.
Simply stated, when it comes to a wealth of choices, you won’t find many schools that offer more.
Expansive opportunities also means an immensely diverse class of students. Statistically, Miami is considered the most “international” city in the United States, according to U.S. Census Bureau data, inviting a truly global array of career opportunities that few business schools can try to match.
When talking with several Miami Business School MBA students, the diversity of choices and Miami’s undeniably friendly international appeal is certainly reflective, including a French-born fitness expert, a clothing line founder, and a Venezuelan marketing guru, among others. Read on to see their stories and what the future may hold for life after an MBA.
National Black MBA Association Picks Leaders of Tomorrow
The National Black MBA Association has announced its picks for the leaders of tomorrow. Five teams of young men and women from around the nation were awarded a total of $30,000 in prizes for their accomplishments during a recent conference held at Boston’s Bentley University.
“At a time when so much media attention is about how non-competitive Americans are, especially minorities, these extraordinary young people have proven just the opposite,” Kim Wilson recently told PRNewswire.
The award was part of the Leaders of Tomorrow program, a youth mentor program with chapters across North America. Each year the program hosts the Business Case Competition, which challenges minority eighth to twelfth grade youth to practice their analytical thinking and presentation skills.
The students this year spent the two day conference at Bentley University, where they were offered tours including access to the school’s full-time MBA program.
Students in teams of five worked to analyze MBA-level business cases, before presenting their findings to senior executives and Bentley business school faculty, who served as judges. Among the techniques the students learned was the SWOT analysis, an approach to planning that identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats involved in a business case. They also used “Porter’s Five Forces,” a technique often used for to analyze industries and evaluate competition.
The Leaders of Tomorrow Case Competition is just one of many programs and events organized by the National Black MBA Association (NBMBAA). With over 40 chapters, and nearly 10,000 members, NBMBAA was formed in 1970 to create intellectual and economic wealth in the black community. Its Boston chapter holds events for the Black MBA community every few months.
