Fostering MBA Access 2022

After a 3-year COVID hiatus, the Foster School of Business hosted the 8th edition of the FOSTERing MBA Access Diversity event from Nov 17 to Nov 18, 2022. FOSTERing MBA Access is a two-day event designed to introduce members of underrepresented groups to the MBA experience at Foster. This year, 35 candidates from five US states participated in the event. They had an opportunity to network with current students and alumni, attend a special class by an award-winning Foster faculty member and visit three Fortune 500 companies.

Networking Opportunities

One of the key goals of FOSTERing MBA Access is to promote interactions between prospective students and current students. This allows candidates to learn about individual experiences and also provides a safe space to have open conversations. This year, several students from the Class of 2023 participated in the networking events to interact with participants. We spoke to Rocio Arellano about her experience –

It was great to see how passionate these individuals were and how they believed that Foster would fit into their career goals. I reflected on my experiences throughout my conversations with attendees and it only solidified that Foster’s MBA Program was 100% the correct decision for me. I also enjoyed speaking to applicants who had applied via Round 1 and who were in the process of applying via Round 2!

Likewise, participants also enjoyed listening to student experiences. One individual shared, “The students from The Consortium at Foster were the highlight of my entire experience. I cannot thank them enough for sharing their experiences and challenges and for being such kind-hearted individuals.”

Classroom Experience

While community is an integral part of the Foster MBA experience, so is the classroom experience – case-driven learning, engaging class discussions, sharing your lived experiences and applying concepts to real-world problems. To give students a taste of this, they were invited to attend a live class by Professor Elizabeth Umphress on Negotiations. The session created a lot of excitement amongst participants. One of them shared – “I truly enjoyed Professor Elizabeth Umphress’ Negotiations class. It would be an incredible experience to be able to take the actual class in the future. She definitely convinced me that I would love the academics at Foster.”

Company Visits

MBA students at Foster work closely with several companies which provide  experiential learning opportunities. These opportunities provide a platform to apply newly developed skills as well as gain industry experience. Fostering MBA Access attendees visited three such companies – Accenture, Amazon and Starbucks. Here, participants got a chance to meet and interact with Foster alumni who are currently employed at these companies.

My favorite experience of the event would definitely have to be the office visits. It was such an amazing opportunity and a great way to envision the type of career, work environment, and culture that I want post-MBA. – Fostering MBA Access participant

Learn more about diversity at Foster here. To schedule an informational interview with a Foster admissions counselor click here. You can also connect with our Diversity Outreach Coordinator.