S3E4 - Talking Technology Strategy and Product Management (TSPM) with guests Alp and Pablo
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week hosts Mike and Rosa Maria are joined by Alp Erbug and Pablo Gomez, both first-year international MBA students in the technology space. Pablo grew up in Mexico and came to the US for his undergraduate degree. He focused on finance before pivoting into analytics and technology during the pandemic. Alp was born in Turkey, and also came to the US for his undergrad to study engineering before moving into the tech space. Pablo and Alp were both involved with internships this summer through Tepper. Pablo interned...
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S3E3 - Entrepreneurship at Tepper
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week hosts Nikita and Ayush are joined by Chris and Chrissy, both first-year, full-time students at Tepper, to discuss entrepreneurship at Tepper. Chrissy is from China and came to the US at 16. She triple-majored in Accounting, Marketing, and Information Systems in her undergrad University of Chicago at Urbana Champaign. After graduating, she worked in marketing for a Thai start-up company which started her thinking about entrepreneurship and business development. On the other hand, Chris grew up in the Detroit area of...
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S3E2 - How Family Roles Influenced Tepper Decision
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week hosts Mike and Rosa Maria are joined by Yingqian Wang and Ben Kaufman to discuss family roles in their journey through an MBA at Tepper. Yingqian Wang is a member of the MBA Part-time Flex program, has a degree in Structural Engineering, and works full-time as a professional engineer. Ben is a first-year full-time MBA Student with an engineering background and was looking for a school with a STEM designation. For Yingqian, the part-time program allowed her to develop professionally, connect with other people, and explore. Her...
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S3E1 - Kicking off the New Season at Tepper
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week hosts Nikita and Ayush speak with Robert and Farouk to discuss the interesting journeys that lead them to pursue MBAs at Tepper. Robert was born into a military family and used sports as a way to make friends despite how much his family relocated. He studied finance and economics and played football in college. On the other hand, Farouk is an MD who originally planned to do his residency in urology. He came to the US to do his clinical research in cancer studies and realized how inefficient the healthcare system is. He started to...
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S2E13 - Transition Podcast: Meet Your New Hosts
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week, Kara and Ben pass the torch to this year's new hosts, Rosa Maria, Nikita, Mike, and Ayush, all full-time 2023 MBA students. Mike previously worked as a CPA and decided to pursue a business degree to pivot into a more strategy-based role. Rosa Maria is an international student who worked in financial services and came to Tepper to explore options and industries outside Peru. Ayush is also international, born in India, and is looking to move into the tech industry. Lastly, from Dubai, Nikita has experience in the tech industry and plans to...
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S2E12 - Propelling Women at Tepper ft. MBA Alum
Humans of Tepper
Welcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. This week, Amy Lasoda, Associate Director at Tepper, joins Humans of Tepper host Kara Budgy and several other Tepper women to discuss their experiences with earning an MBA at Tepper. This is the second session of the “Propelling Woman at Tepper” series, which highlights the experiences of women MBAs and showcases the distinct benefits of the Tepper MBA. In addition, you will hear the experiences from alumni to help you understand the opportunities. Many people pursue an MBA as a way to switch their career. It’s a good trigger to...
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S2E11 - Consulting and the Business Analytics Track w/ Liz Hay
Humans of Tepper
This week on the Humans of Tepper Podcast, Liz Hay joins hosts Ben and Kara to discuss the Business Analytics Track at Tepper School of Business. She explains what initially attracted her to Tepper, what the Business Analytics Track has to offer, and gives insight to incoming students on how to make the most out of their Tepper experience.
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S2E10 - Management, Innovation and Product Development at Tepper w/ Dani Grodsky
Humans of Tepper
This week on the Humans of Tepper Podcast, second-year MBA student Dani Grodsky joins hosts Ben and Kara to discuss the Management of Innovation and Product Development Track. She gives insight into what drew her to Tepper, the advantages of a dual degree, and why you should utilize the university as a whole.
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S2E9 - The Entrepreneur Track w/ Rob Miller
Humans of Tepper
Hosts Ben and Kara interview MBA student, Rob Miller, to discuss the Entrepreneurship MBA track and what it has to offer students interested in founding their own or working with startup companies. Rob provides details about the track, what kind of experience students usually have going in, and the best way to gain entrepreneurial skills while studying
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S2E8 - Technology, Strategy & Product Management Studies w/ Stephanie Muller
Humans of Tepper
Hosts Ben and Kara interview MBA student, Stephanie Muller, to discuss the Technology, Strategy, and Product Management MBA tract and how it can revolutionize businesses. Stephanie provides details about the track, what kind of experience students usually have going in, and the cross-listed courses.
info_outlineWelcome back to the Humans of Tepper Podcast. Joining hosts Ben and Kara this week Pete Park and Alejandra Rovirosa to talk about the Ninety-Nine Tartans. Pete is originally from New Jersey. Like Ben, he received his undergraduate degree from Syracuse University. He started in healthcare consulting before coming to Tepper for his MBA. Alejandra was born in Miami, Florida, and attended Boston University for undergrad. She started in insurance, focusing on equity-backed businesses.
Ninety-Nine Tartans was founded in 2017 by Rob Myer. Their mission is to find CMU-founded startups and connect them to alumni for mentorship, and, to date, there are over 240 alumni who are part of the group. Kara compares it to Tepper's version of Shark Tank! Companies looking to connect can fill out an application on the group's website and meet with an MBA partner to discuss their work and timeline. The minimum requirement is that there's a full-time CMU affiliate on the team. There is an investor application as well. The group looks at industries from across the board and has unique investors from many different backgrounds.
What really attracted Pete to Ninety-Nine Tartans is the amount of autonomy you have as a member in interacting with alumni and mentors interested in the group. MBA is known for its ability to establish a network, and Ninety-Nine Tartans is just another way to do that. The exposure to different industries is really unparalleled, and the avenues to different career options are opened. Alejandra came in a little later, in her second year, and was really drawn to the opportunity the group offered.
The whole concept of MBA students running Ninety-Nine Tartans is actually fairly new and operated a lot like a startup company in itself. It took problem-solving and thinking proactively to figure out how to operate optimally. Moving forward, Pete is very excited to see what they're able to build upon the foundation they've established. Alejandra is also excited to hone in on how to better meet their investors' needs and actively look for startups instead of relying on applications.
The diversity within the group is a fantastic aspect. Alejandra advises to come in with an open mind and go for it in terms of advice for incoming students. When she first started her MBA, she didn't realize how many opportunities were out there that she would have missed had she not been open to exploring them. Try out different activities, see what you like, and see what works. Pete also advises prospective students to check out the club fairs held at many colleges to explore what's out there and what might interest them.
What You Will Learn:
- What drew Pete and Alejandra to pursue their MBA at Tepper.
- What the mission of Ninety-Nine Tartans is.
- What the Ninety-Nine Tartans has to offer CMU-affiliated startups and investors.