Adrian James Peters, Yale SOM’s MBA Class of 2025
Adrian James Peters, Yale SOM’s MBA Class of 2025Age: 25
Hometown: Hyderabad, India.
Undergraduate Institution and Major: St. Mary’s Centenary Degree College (Osmania University) – Human Resource/Marketing.
Pre-MBA Work Experience (role, company, years): Supply Chain Manager at Amazon.com – 3 Years 10 months.
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
I believe that starting my career at Amazon was one of the best decisions I’ve made. At Amazon, I’ve learned and groomed myself to be an efficient associate and an effective team player but to stand out and mold myself into a fine leader not only at work but also in the community. I needed to learn and understand from a place of vast knowledge and diversity. I believe I knew it was time for a business school when I realized I wanted to pace my career up the learning curve.
Why did you choose Yale SOM? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I chose Yale SOM for its uniquely designed integrated curriculum and the emphasis on community service. The diverse curriculum allows an individual to understand various points of view resulting in better decision making.
Yale SOM also serves as an epitome of community service while shaping leaders for the future. Yale SOM’s mission to serve society is more than just words. Right from the application process to every session of class you are always assisted with knowledge and guidance from the faculty, the students, and the alumni, which stands out as an empowering community.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Yale School of Management Class of 2025?
My most valuable and differentiating contribution to the class is displaying resilience to inspire others. I believe in working hard and pushing my peers and teammates to work hard until the last moment. My never-ending zeal to do better and help myself and my community grow is something I could bring to the table. Besides that, owing to my experience in operations, my thinking was always put to the test to identify and solve problems which molded me into a critical thinker. I believe my ability to think out of the box and bring a variety of ideas and solutions to the table would play a key role in my contributions to the Class of 2025.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
Around the age of 7-10, I possessed a unique ability to calculate days for any given date in the past or future. I would be given any date from the past or future and I could quickly calculate the day (days of the week) the given date falls on within seconds.
Post-MBA career interests:
Post my MBA at Yale SOM, I would pivot my career to consulting and continue my interests towards problem solving and client interactions. I believe my time at Amazon made me realize how much I love interacting with people and customers and solving problems along the way.
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Be Yourself! I think the best thing I did all through my application process was to be myself. Stay genuine to yourself, self-reflect to know who you are and what you are capable of, remember your journey, and note down all your moments that made you stand out. Portray yourself to the best and just be you. It is your personality which will shine all through the process.
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
Start Early! Give yourself enough time to self-reflect and bring out the best of you on the application. An early start could bring out more thoughts and ideas which could help you stand out. Don’t worry about the application being perfect. Instead, focus on how well you present yourself on the application.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
Well, the first thought that comes to any random student’s mind would be to skip the GRE/GMAT. But I believe the one thing I would like to skip would be the phase where you tend to have self-doubt.
Applying to any prestigious school comes with a lot of pressure of being accepted or not which generates massive self-doubt in oneself whether they fit in the criteria or not. Something that helped me believe in myself was my initial self-reflection and presenting it in your Essays and Interviews.
What is your initial impression of the Yale SOM students/culture/community?
Yale SOM is the epitome of community service. It is a place I would always want to be at. Yale SOM’s community is a heartwarming and people-oriented community. Right from the moment you begin your application to every moment you are a student at school, you feel like you belong to this place. Every person involved with the school just wants to see you succeed in everything you do, and that’s where Yale SOM’s community stands out.
What is one thing you have learned about Yale SOM that has surprised you?
Entrepreneurial focus. Yale SOM encourages and guides budding entrepreneurs toward their goals. Yale’s focus on entrepreneurship and startups has been commendable all through the years.
What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
The hustle. Although I love the hustle we have during the first year, it kind of gets me anxious at times. The hustling between classes, assignments, exams, clubs, recruitment activities, etc., can take a toll on a person, but something that gets me going through this is that every second of this hustle is to make you a better person and help you groom yourself as a leader.
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
There are a couple of things I’m excited about in my first year. Firstly, meeting individuals of diverse backgrounds, learning and understanding their perspectives and building great bonds. Secondly, exploring and pivoting myself to my areas of interest.
