Wendy Henry, Yale SOM MBA Class of 2020
Name: Wendy Henry
Age: 31
Hometown: New York, NY
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Claremont McKenna College, international relations and French
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Most recently, four years in corporate citizenship and sustainability at The Estée Lauder Companies and Goldman Sachs. Prior, five years in roles across the nonprofit, government, and private sectors.
Why business school? Why now? In my early professional career, I explored potential career paths in the nonprofit, government, and private sectors. Through these experiences, I discovered my passion for the intersection of impact and business, which led me to pursue a career in corporate social responsibility (CSR).
These past four years working in CSR have left me more excited than ever about the future of this field and have strengthened my belief that businesses can drive profits and long-term growth by doing good.
This experience has also allowed me to gain an understanding of the field’s workings and opportunities, as well as insight into the professional knowledge and skills that will enable me to best drive impact looking forward.
Having discovered my passion, gained hands-on experience in the space, and identified the skills that I’d like to further develop, I found this to be the perfect time to pursue business school and add to my toolkit.
Why Yale SOM? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend? Culturally, the diversity of the student body and the students’ shared, genuine commitment to impact are some of the most important factors that drew me to Yale SOM.
I am continuously inspired by my classmates, who are all such engaged, supportive, and globally-minded individuals—each so passionate about making a difference in their own way. This SOM culture and shared vision fosters an amazing learning environment where I could see myself grow and thrive.
Academically, I also found SOM’s curriculum to be very well aligned with what I was seeking to accomplish via an MBA. The school has an integrated core curriculum, designed to build strong business foundations and leadership skills, as well as extensive electives and resources focused on social impact, sustainability, and innovation—my key areas of interest.
SOM is also very integrated with the larger Yale University, so students have the opportunity to take classes and leverage resources from across other degree-granting programs, tailoring our academic experiences to support our unique post-MBA goals as fitting.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2020? As we all prepare to be cross-sector change-makers and innovators, I hope to share with classmates my passion for infusing impact into business and my recent experiences from the corporate citizenship and sustainability field.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application? I have lived on three continents and would love the opportunity to live and work abroad again in my career!
Post-MBA career interests? I’m passionate about continuing to help businesses increase their bottom line through sustainable, innovative, and forward-thinking decisions. Upon graduation, I would love to join the strategy or operations team of a socially and environmentally committed company, and perhaps one day, to even build and launch my own responsible enterprise that disrupts and innovates on industry practices.
Advice to current prospective applicants:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process? From building your personal shortlist of schools, to writing the essays, to preparing for interviews—the entire application process itself is designed to make you dig deep and be introspective. It really pushes you to think through and identify your passions, long-term goals, and the potential steps needed to get there. I learned a lot about myself through the process, and I would absolutely do it again.
I would also speak to as many students and alumni as possible and visit as many schools as you are able to. In the research phase, I remember that many of the schools started to sound alike on paper. I found that in speaking with students, visiting schools, and sitting in classrooms—this was when the nuanced and differentiated personalities of the schools would really shine through.
–One thing you would change or do differently? I would leave myself more time for the essays. Introspection isn’t something that can be done quickly; I ended up revisiting experiences that have shaped me but that I hadn’t thought about for years. Additionally, with all the brainstorming, scrapped versions, revisions, and tweaks, it takes much longer than you might expect. To properly tell your story, you can’t rush the process.
–Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it? No surprise, but the GMAT! It helped to have a great prep course for the structure and the camaraderie, to set a daily routine, and to have outlets for decompressing—whether it was running or watching my favorite TV series to unwind. And most importantly, it helped to have a great support system. I’m grateful for my friends and family, who acted as my personal cheering squad and saw me through it all!
What is your initial impression of Yale’s students/culture/community? SOM emphasizes diversity of backgrounds and experiences, and I am thrilled with how true that has turned out to be! In my learning team alone, we represent five countries and eight wide-ranging, unique industries, including management consulting, healthcare, journalism, marketing, engineering, government, and more.
The range of global perspectives and backgrounds means there will always be someone with real-world experience to share, whether you’re discussing a case in class or looking to explore career opportunities in a new industry.
One thing you have learned about Yale that has surprised you? From day one, I was inundated with vast amounts of new information and activities to engage with. Though I’ve often heard that business school is like drinking from a fire hose, I’m still surprised by just how much there is to take in and how quickly everything flies by.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year? Between classes, clubs, global experiences, on-campus leadership positions, networking opportunities, recruiting events, social activities, and more—there is so much at our fingertips.
I’m most anxious about finding the time to participate in everything that I’m interested in. Being intentional with my choices, prioritizing, and remembering to take time to recharge will be key this year. As my second-year classmates advised, it’s a marathon, not a sprint (even though it may sometimes feel like both)!
Thing you are most excited about in your first year? The incredibly supportive and safe learning environment at business school really makes this the perfect time for trying new things, taking risks, and daring to fail. Paired with the wealth of opportunities and resources available to us, I’m most excited about stepping outside of my comfort zone to build a set of entirely new skills and experiences—and doing this as much as I can—during my time here at SOM!
