Alexander Bezovics, Georgetown McDonough MBA Class of 2022
Age: 31
Hometown: Sammamish, WA
Undergraduate Institution and Major: University of Washington, International Studies & Political Science
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): 8 years with Morgan Stanley, Finance
Why business school? Why now?
I chose to come to business school to better enable me to see my impact on the bottom line of my firm and on society. Coming from no formal education in business, an MBA was on my mind early, but I didn’t want to sacrifice the competitive practical experience I was obtaining. In retrospect, I am glad I waited a little longer as the time management and organization skills I honed are now proving crucial!
Why Georgetown McDonough? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I chose Georgetown McDonough for its global focus, its strong finance pedigree, and its connections to the international development community. Attending classes with students outside my cultural context was a high priority for me, as was building a professional network around the world.
Georgetown’s vast alumni network was another significant appealing factor, in addition to the ability to hear a reliable rotation of influential business figures and heads of regulatory agencies who speak at the University.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2022?
I am always eager to understand and discuss context. This manifests itself not just in our classes but also in our peer interactions. I try my best to understand my peers- where they come from, what motivates them, and how they think. By recognizing my classmates as individuals with their own complex inner lives, I do my best to discover our commonalities and disarm our differences.
Fun fact that didn’t get included on your application?
I went to the national finals for a team theatrical improvisation competition in high school.
Post-MBA career interests?
Investment banking, with specific interests in Debt Capital Markets and infrastructure/project finance. I’m also interested in the work of international financial institutions like the World Bank.
Advice to current prospective applicants:
–One thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
If given the opportunity I would absolutely interview in-person again, versus a video call. I understand it may not be in the cards for students for a while (considering the pandemic), but chatting with a few students in Hariri before I went in for the interview really helped calm my nerves.
–One thing you would change or do differently?
I spent a long, long time making my admissions video. I would not change the effort I put into it, nor the final product, but video production is not a skill of mine and I would have started earlier if I had known that.
–Part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
I would have skipped studying for the GMAT if I could have had my desired score with no effort. Pure discipline and the anticipation of business school as a once-in-lifetime experience was my motivation to push through.
What is your initial impression of Georgetown McDonough’s students/culture/community?
My classmates are some of the nicest people I have ever met. These are human beings truly dedicated to collaboration and hearing out their peers.
The way I would put it is this: Do you recall group projects in high school or undergrad? There might have been a lazy student who did nothing, maybe a student or two who helped a bit, and there was usually one classmate who drove the project and pushed the team to victory. At Georgetown McDonough, every single one of my classmates is that proactive and hardworking classmate.
One thing you have learned about Georgetown McDonough that has surprised you?
The dedication and passion of the professors have particularly surprised me. One professor set up schedules for coffee chats not once, but twice, to meet and greet with students in the months before classes began. Some professors maintain friendships with their students years and decades after they graduate.
I was also impressed at the dedication to providing a variety of learning mediums for most core classes. Most of the professors understand that students learn best in different ways, so many classes offer some combinations of readings/videos/lectures/group projects/discussion boards to tailor to a variety of learning habits.
Thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
Remote networking. I thrive in in-person environments and going fully remote has forced me to reinvent my networking patterns.
Thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I would love to meet my classmates in person if safety allowed! I’m also considerably eager to take the compressed one-week Intensive Learning Experience (ILE) course “Infrastructure Finance.”
