just go and be great

Aug 9

published 5.31.18

You'll never regret investing in yourself.

This weekend I graduate with an MBA in Sustainability Management, but my path to this moment took longer than two years. It started the day I finished undergrad. I always knew I’d go back to school. My unquenchable desire to learn and constant curiosity wouldn’t be satisfied any other way. I thought I might go to law school because that’s what one becomes when they want to make a difference in this world and make money…right? At least that’s what I thought growing up when my only understanding of career paths was: doctor, lawyer, journalist or social worker. Thankfully, only one LSAT later, I dropped my legal pursuit.

It wasn’t until four years later that my educational pursuit turned to business—thanks to a short-lived romance. I met someone who turned my endless wondering (What program should I attend? What is business school really like? Would I actually enjoy it?) into action. By encouraging me to come with him on school visits, breaking down his multi-year application process and sharing his sister’s MBA experience, he took what seemed vague and inaccessible to me and made it tangible. What struck me the most was that he believed I too, the liberal arts major who hadn’t taken a math class since senior year of high school, could go to business school. And for the first time, I stopped believing an MBA was out of my reach and that finance wasn’t for me, for someone with my interests.

Over the next couple of years, others repeated this message (Thank you, Noemi & Prashanth!) while others straight up lived it (Thank you, Michelle, Kate, and Adelaide!). What finally pushed me to go all in was watching my close friend Tina apply and be accepted to business school. She was like me. She had dreams like me. And, she was chasing them! Tina inspired me to act. She gave me the nudge I needed to stop wasting my time wondering if I’ll be good enough and just go and be great (Thank you, Tina!).

Going to business school was one of the best decisions I could have made. My program provided me a place to be creative, to practice using my voice, to be forgiven and to forge friends that I look forward to lasting a lifetime (Thank you, Presidio Graduate School!).

To anyone thinking about going to business school or more generally investing in your education (business school is certainly not the only path), go for it! Lean on your network if you have doubts, talk to people who have taken similar paths and always remember you will never regret a moment spent creating the space for yourself to learn and grow.

You got this.

This article also appeared on LinkedIn.