Graduate Blog / Graduate Life

Stephen Keith’s MS’17 Journey to Babson

stephen-scott-keithName: Stephen Keith MS’17
Hometown: Bethesda, Maryland
Education: University of Maryland Baltimore County, Major: Communication and Media Studies, Minors: English, Economics, Entrepreneurship
Previous Experience: Interned at UBS with a Private Wealth Management
Favorite Babson Entrepreneur: Shriyans Bhandari MS’16 of Greensole

What inspired you to pursue your master’s degree at Babson?

The egg drop assignment as part of Accounting and Operations

In May of 2014, I spent a weekend with one of my older sisters. At the time, as a rising junior, I recognized the ever-looming fact that I was half way through my college career and that I still had no idea what I wanted to do. As a Communications major, minoring in English, Entrepreneurship and Economics, my interests were widespread and I wanted a position that would allow me to continue to grow intellectually. With this in mind, she suggested business, as I already had a foot in the door with Entrepreneurship. For the next 18 months, I asked family and friends who had gone to business school about their experiences, all the while honing my school choices. A few days after I submitted my application, I received a call from Jenene Romanucci, the Associate Director of Graduate Admissions. She spoke to me about the MSEL program and how she felt it was a better fit for me. She walked me through the history of the program, the course load and the kinds of students Babson attracted. From that phone call, I was hooked and eight months later, I was driving up Forest street eager to start.

What is your most memorable Babson experience so far?

The “First Service” simulation was an incredible way to break the ice with my classmates. We were placed into groups at random and were placed in the market competing with our classmates for market share of a number of goods. Our group quickly found one another’s strengths and exploited them throughout the two-day simulation. Through heated discussions and inter-team banter, we rallied as a team, but came together as a class.

unnamed

Stephen with his LEAP Team (Leading Entrepreneurial Action Project). Teams define, design, and develop a business or initiative that solves a problem

Babson is known for it’s collaborative environment, what have you learned from working in your group?

Above all, LEAP teaches a group of people how to find commonalities and use differences to solve problems. Within a group of five people from four countries with five distinct educational backgrounds, everyone had their respective strengths and understanding of our subject. What we brought to the table became our strongest assets as we crunched financial data, researched old trends and predicted new probable disruptions.

Who is your favorite professor?

Professor Richard Goulding. His teaching style was more of a group exploration as opposed to a lecture, which captivated the entire class on a daily basis. After class, he would talk with students about their personal projects and current events with the same enthusiasm that he brought to class every day. At many of those after-class discussions, irrespective of the topic, he would make you think and arrive at answers you never even considered. To have someone so interested in business and how the world works is an absolute treat and I feel fortunate that I had the opportunity to learn from him.

unnamed-1

MSEL students celebrating the Diwali Holiday

 

Guest Contributor: Alyssa Lee, MBA ’17

Hometown: Portland, OR
Education: Colby College, Waterville, ME
Previous Experience: Marketing Manager and Business Development, The MBA Tour
Activities: Graduate Student Council: VP of First Year MBA’s (2015-2016), President (2016 – 2017)
Favorite Babson Entrepreneur: Rigdzin Tarshin, Founder – Tangkor Yak Dairy Cooperative