Leah Budson, MIT Sloan MBA Class of 2025
Leah Budson, MIT Sloan MBA Class of 2025Age: 26
Hometown: Newton, MA
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Haverford College, Mathematics
Pre-MBA Work Experience (role, company, years): Consultant, BCG, 4 years; Associate Strategy Officer & BCG Secondee, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, 15 months
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
One of my mentors said that the best time to go to business school was when you had a hypothesis for your career that you wanted to test. After having worked in organizational strategy in consulting and on economic mobility in philanthropy, I came to the hypothesis that I wanted to focus my career on workforce equity and job quality. I’ve dedicated my time at Sloan to focusing on exploring those areas and determining how I might craft a career in that space.
Why did you choose MIT Sloan? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I first became interested in applying to Sloan after being exposed to the research of Sloan professor Zeynep Ton on what makes a “Good Job.” Given my focus on workforce equity, the ability to study under professors like Zeynep Ton and others within the Sloan Institute for Work & Employment Research was a huge draw for Sloan.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2025?
One classmate in my ocean (an ocean is the ~60-70 person section you take all of your first semester classes with) told me that she always appreciated that I brought up the social impact angle in class discussions. I hope that I am able to continue to raise the “people” implications of business decisions in discussions with my peers; in particular, the impact on a company’s workforce, consumers, and surrounding community of any business decision.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
My middle name is “Null”, and null sets were a core component of my undergraduate mathematics thesis.
Post-MBA career interests:
I would like to work with employers to develop solutions that prioritize both their workforces and their bottom line. Whether I would do this via a social enterprise, in-house at a large organization, or in consulting is a question I look to answer in my time at Sloan.
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Apply. As a woman applying to any business school, but especially to a business school at a STEM institution like MIT, it was easy to feel like an imposter. There were countless times during the application process when I talked my technical background down to a friend or colleague and worried that I wouldn’t belong. My advice to anyone who might feel underrepresented in the application process is, first and foremost, to make sure that you apply — you owe it to yourself to try, even if you worry you cannot get in. I also encourage you to remind yourself (or have your friends and family remind you) that you are smart enough, technical enough, business-y enough even if you don’t fit into the mold of what you imagine when you think “MIT.” In addition, I found it helpful to get involved in Sloan’s affinity network recruiting, especially the Sloan Pride events, so I could find community with others with shared experiences.
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
If I looked again, I might look more seriously at dual degree programs (particularly MBA-MPP degrees). I wrote off these programs due to the tuition and opportunity cost of spending a third year in school. However, at Sloan, many of my classmates are in these dual degree programs and seem to really appreciate the opportunities the programs provide.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
If I could eliminate a part of the application process, it would be the pressure I felt from some of the applications to other business schools to “bare my soul” or to share personal stories. While I think these types of questions are a fit for some people, I found it difficult to become that vulnerable during the process and personally preferred applications like Sloan’s that were more focused on our professional experience to date.
What is your initial impression of the MIT Sloan students/culture/community?
I have found that my classmates at Sloan take their work seriously, but don’t take themselves too seriously — which is the ideal culture I am looking for in graduate school.
What is one thing you have learned about MIT Sloan that has surprised you?
People are kinder than I thought they would be based on business school stereotypes. I continue to be pleasantly surprised by how genuine people are and how willing they are to help each other out.
What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
This spring, I’m co-planning Sloan Women in Management’s annual conference series called Push for Parity. I’m very much looking forward to it and want to ensure that it goes well!
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
In addition to my classes (I’m taking a few courses next semester focused on workforce equity issues), I’m looking forward to continuing to build lifelong friendships with my classmates. I’ve found a wonderful community at Sloan, particularly through our Pride club, and I am grateful for the opportunity to spend quality time with so many others who have shared interests and ambitions.
