McDonough Talks

Outgoing President and Vice-President of the McDonough School of Business Student Government Association, Stephanie Morales, and Alina Rosenthal, join the podcast to reflect on their time serving our community. In this Roundtable episode, we discuss why Stephanie and Alina chose to be in leadership positions, some of the challenges they faced, advice for the incoming board that takes over in January, and much more.

McDonough Military Association leaders Derek Cunningham and Chrissie Kasper join the podcast to promote War Stories. War Stories is an annual KEGS event and serves as a platform for military veterans to share their active military service stories. The stories run the gamut, and this is a fantastic event for the McDonough community at large. Not only will you learn more about the military, but you will have an opportunity to hang around after the storytelling session and enjoy some free food and beverages with military vets! These men and women are heroes for serving our country, and they're also brave for sharing such personal and private stories with the MSB community. We encourage you to be on campus on November 11, 2021, at the Lohrfink Auditorium from 5 pm - 7 pm to support these incredible individuals.

In this episode, we welcome our first-ever alumni guest to the show, Muzna Abbas. Muzna is a dual master's degree graduate from Georgetown in business and foreign service. Currently, she is a Strategy & Analytics Consultant in Deloitte's Federal Practice, and she's also a published author. As a first-generation Pakastani-American, Muzna wrote “Letters to my Brown Mother” to start conversations about mental health in the South Asian diaspora. In it, Muzna examines historical events, migration patterns, and cultural communities to understand why South Asian migrants fail to adequately address mental health.

On this Roundtable episode of McDonough Talks, we chat with second-year (FT '22) MBA student Chuks Igabari and first-year (FT '23) MBA student Sophia Estermann about their MBA experiences as international students. Prior to coming to Georgetown, Chuks worked in a strategy role for an Africa-focused integrated digital payments and commerce company. And this past summer, he interned at Google in product operations. Sophia is a Forté Fellow, and she worked for a major retail company in Latin America before pursuing her MBA at McDonough.

Joey Gonzales, a dual-degree, SFS – International Relations and MBA student, joins the podcast to share his perspective on his Georgetown experience. Joey graduated from West Point, and he has a passion for serving others. After leaving West Point, he served as a Field Artillery Officer in the US Army in Operation Inherent Resolve in Syria and Operation Atlantic Resolve in the Baltics, supporting the fight against ISIS and deterrence in Eastern Europe. At Georgetown, his focus is on private-sector development and developing country economic policy to create better business and entrepreneurial opportunities in developing regions. Joey also serves as the Vice President of Georgetown University's Anti-Poverty Society.

On this Roundtable episode of McDonough Talks, we chat with second-year (FT '22) MBA students Hallie Sacks Danberg and Leo Taffe to learn about their summer internship experiences. Hallie worked with The Conservation Finance Network, while Leo spent his summer in Colorado working for the National Parks Service. In addition to these endeavors, Hallie and Leo were part of a social impact fellowship program through Inspiring Capital. You will also find out about Leo's favorite shwarma and falafel shops near campus!

In Season 2, we begin looking into all things related to MBA Careers. And in episode 1, we are joined by Justin Chaljub, a current FT '22 MBA student at the McDonough School of Business who is working towards a career in sports. After graduating from the University of Chicago and beginning a career in marketing and Digital Media for Exelon, Justin decided to pivot and return to business school to pursue his passion. Please tune in to hear Justin's perspective on what it takes to break into the sports industry and his experience this summer at Wasserman, a sports marketing and talent management company.

On this Roundtable edition of McDonough Talks, Sam and I welcome two "flex" students here at the McDonough School of Business to the show, Yasi Akbari and T.J. Fleming. Yasi works for PwC full-time as a consultant, and T.J. is pursuing a career in real estate finance. T.J. was a teacher but found his way into the wine industry as the founding and head winemaker of Rockland Farms in Poolesville, MD. He decided to pursue his MBA to pivot into real estate. And Yasi has a passion for politics but decided that the private sector was the best way for her to be a change leader. She chose Georgetown to gain global experience and a global business perspective.

Rohan Shamapant, a second-year student and almost MBA graduate, joins the podcast to reflect on his time at the McDonough School of Business. During business school, Rohan was an integral part of the McDonough community. Please tune in to this episode to hear our fascinating conversation about service leadership, empathy, selfishness, role modeling, and family ties (among other things). Rohan also shares some helpful advice for us first-years to consider as our year draws to a close. He will be sorely missed, but Rohan is off to the consulting world, where he will be joining EY-Parthenon's M+A strategy group after graduation.

In Season 1, Episode 4, Mike Silverman chats with fellow study group teammate Sebastien Delatour (FT '22). Sebastien has spent the first year of the MBA program working remotely in Haiti while serving as the Vice President for his family's company, Commercial Services Inc. Still, he plans to move back to DC in the late summer as we transition back to in-person. Please tune in to hear Sebastien tell stories about his upbringing in Haiti, a harrowing earthquake experience in 2010, and everything in between. Sebastien is a remarkable human being, and his story is about perseverance, resilience, leadership, and a strong family bond.

In Season 1, Episode 3, we continue the Roundtable series. Each Roundtable features host Mike Silverman and co-host Sam Speed, and today, they chat with two FT '22 students, Christine Kim and Andrew Mulia. Christine's focus is on strategy and issues pertaining to CSR. Before business school, Christine was an international correspondent for Reuters in South Korea and later worked in global communications for Samsung Electronics. After graduating, Christine sees herself remaining in the tech industry. Andrew Mulia, hailing all the way from Indonesia, was a corporate lawyer at Baker McKenzie Indonesia before coming to McDonough. Post-MBA, he seeks to specialize in data analytics and big data when consulting for companies and governments. Please tune in to learn about why they are the way they are and how they've taken action to amplify the AAPI experience here on campus and in the United States.

In Season 1, Episode 2, we continue our Women's Month celebration by introducing you to our Roundtable. Each Roundtable features host Mike Silverman and his co-host Sam Speed, and today, they chat with two FT '21 students, Eli Batina and Lianne Pinto. Eli served as a co-president of the Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) club, and Lianne was Mike's predecessor as VP of Careers on the Student Government (SGA) board. After graduating from MSB, both will be taking their leadership talents into the workforce -- Eli will be joining Citibank, and Lianne will be working in renewable energy-focused investment banking at Nomura Greentech. Please tune in to learn about why they are the way they are and which life experiences helped set them on a path of leadership.

Please enjoy our first ever episode as we celebrate Women's Month by chatting with Marcela Colmenares (FT '22). Marcela comes from Venezuela and has had such unique life experiences! From leaving her family and her home at age 16 to attending undergrad at Kenyon College and working for the Venezuela opposition party in DC, time after time, Marcela has trusted herself and thrived during times of ambiguity. At the McDonough School of Business, she's on the Student Government Association Board, as VP of International, on the Latin America Business Association board, and will be spending her summer at Microsoft.