The ExecMBA Podcast

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with LaShondra Ervin. LaShondra is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Executive Student Association (ESA). We chat with LaShondra about her decision to pursue an MBA, what attracted her to Darden, as well as how she and her family have navigated the first year of the program. We also talk with LaShondra about the work of the Executive MBA Program’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Committee, including what they have planned for the months ahead. Fun fact: LaShondra was one of three Executive MBA recipients of the C. Steward Sheppard Distinguished Service Award at the program’s mid-point celebration.

On this episode, we are joined by longtime friend of the podcast, Director of Admissions Katherine Alford, for a conversation that is something of an annual tradition – the application launch episode! Our new Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA applications are now live, and we catch up with Katherine to talk about the applications as well as tips and strategies for Part-Time MBA and Executive MBA applicants.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we catch up with Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions, Dawna Clarke, to reflect on a truly historic opening week for the Darden School of Business. On Monday, 15 August, for the first time in the history of the School, we welcomed Full-Time MBA, Part-Time MBA, and Executive MBA students to grounds for the start of school. In this episode, we discuss key data points for each of these classes and look ahead to a busy fall for the Admissions team, including upcoming deadlines, the annual Diversity Conference, a Women’s Leadership Symposium in Rosslyn and more.

In this special episode of the Darden Admissions podcast, we’re excited to share a recent installment from our ongoing Women@Darden event series featuring Senior Assistant Dean of Admissions Dawna Clarke and Senior Associate Dean, Professional Degree Programs Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Grushka-Cockayne leads UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA, Executive MBA  and MSBA programs, and she is also a member of the Quantitative Analysis faculty. This conversation touches upon a wide variety of topics including UVA Darden’s differentiators, how faculty are an integrated part of the Darden community, the power of the case method, imposter syndrome and more. Grushka-Cockayne also shares insights from her research and publication.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 15th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Robert Carraway. Carraway teaches in the Quantitative Analysis area, and he has taught in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA programs, and he will teach Decision Analysis in the core curriculum of the newly launched Part-Time MBA program. He served as Senior Associate Dean for MBA programs at UVA Darden from 2006 to 2011, a period that included the introduction of the Executive MBA program. In this wide-ranging conversation, Carraway offers his insights about the case method, the Darden community as well as the design of Darden’s core curriculum. He also discusses the important role intuition plays in analysis, and why stories matter when working with data.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share the 14th installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Andy Wicks. Wicks teaches Ethics in Darden’s MBA and Executive Education programs. An ethicist with a background in religious studies, Wicks examines both the theoretical and practical implications of ethics through thought-provoking courses such as: "Responsible Leadership: Ultimate Questions and Creating Value for Stakeholders"; "Leadership, Values and Ethics"; "Servant Leadership"; and "Contemporary Issues in Business Ethics." In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with Wicks about his background in Religious Studies, what led him to Darden, what he enjoys about teaching Ethics in business school, the inspiration behind his popular “Ultimate Questions” elective and more. Wicks is also the Director of UVA Darden’s Doctoral program, and he discusses the re-launch of the PhD program this fall. 

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Debbie Herndon. Debbie is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and in this wide-ranging conversation she reflects upon her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden and the supportive community she encountered from her very first moments as a Darden student. Debbie also reflects upon returning to school later in her career and the impact of her first year in the Executive MBA program

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jack Elsea and Matt Gray. Jack and Matt are second year students in the Executive MBA class of 2023, and we talk with them about the importance of making connections with classmates prior to the start of school, strategies for navigating the first year of the Executive MBA program, as well as what they are excited about as they move into their second year of study. For prospective students who live outside of the DC metro, Matt is based in Texas, and he reflects upon the experience of traveling to and from Rosslyn for the once-a-month weekend residencies.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Lauren Powlovich. Lauren is a student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and she is also a doctor. Lauren currently serves as the Associate Chief Medical Officer for the Focused Ultrasound Foundation, a Charlottesville-based foundation dedicated to bringing focused ultrasound, an early-stage, noninvasive therapeutic technology, to the treatment of medical disorders. We talk with Lauren about her decision to pursue an MBA, what she has gained from the program so far, her involvement with the Executive MBA program’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee as well as an emerging faith-based student interest group and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jarred Mack. Jarred is a second year student in the Executive MBA Class of 2023, and he is also a Naval service member. We talk with Jarred about his service in the Naval supply corps, his decision to pursue an MBA and how he has balanced work, life and school in his first year at Darden. He also shares insights about his plans for the Darden Executive Veterans (DEV) student organization in the year ahead and reflects on how the organization seeks to support service members.