Sara Bartczak - Why I chose the UMD Smith MBA

The following is an computer-generated summary of the video transcript.

A first year here at the Smith School of Business in the full time NBA program. So I have actually lived in the Maryland, DC region before applying to business school. I lived in Pittsburgh where my parents still reside. Now, um, and right now I am taking classes remotely. Usually I have just a little desk and I post up there with Zoom and hang out with all my classmates and professors. Yeah, one thing I do want to brush on is the top three reasons why I chose this new school. Like I said, I do live in the heart of D. C. And I really love University of Maryland in general because it's actually in the heart of the D. M. V. So D c. Maryland, Virginia region. A lot of networking opportunities, a lot of headquarters around here, and obviously the the government. University of Maryland Smith is very inclusive. So with the I am actually on the board of the Women's Association called samba. It's been a great experience, you know, having open conversation. The woman's side, uh, their perspective in business and creating opportunities for mentor ship. Um, you know, international students, um, of Asian descent and Jewish people. Um, you know, veterans that the list goes on and on. Aside from all of these different clubs, we encourage everyone in the cohort to participate across the board. Whoever's club you're in, even if you are personally not Jewish, you go to those events and you get to know what their cultures like. Um, so with that, I've definitely already learned, um, and had a lot of these, uh, I guess cultural insights. Um, while at home, which I think is fascinating, I've gotten to see so many different walks of life already in the school board. Lastly, I will say my last year reason for going to Smith and enrolling in Smith is how data driven they are. Um, I never thought a year ago that I'm rolling in the Smith school, I would be conducting coding for my class work. Uh, that is a wonderful experience, and I'm sure the second year will be just as great diving into more of the analytical framework. So along with that, you know, your first course and my first semester here at Smith. We all took a data class, you know, making sure everyone's on the same page. You have a advisor, you know, a mentor and a coach, just making sure you succeed, but also allowing you to be uncomfortable to grow. So this first year has been wonderful, and I'm really excited to see wrapping up the first year going into the second year what's going to what's going to change and how we're going to develop.