Today, we catch up with Second Year student, Eduardo “Teddy” Fay. Teddy is from Argentina, and after graduation, he will be joining Amazon as a Product Manager in their Seattle offices. He recently took time to reflect on his MBA journey and his Darden experience and share his advice for prospective students. Check out Teddy’s answers below!
How did you decide to pursue an MBA?
Before Darden, I worked for DIRECTV in the Product Development team in South America (Argentina). When AT&T purchased the company, they instilled their company culture and ways of doing business, bringing the perspective and approach a much larger, global company. At this point, I was four years into my career, and I quickly realized I would benefit greatly from an MBA. Although I had regional experience within Latin America, I knew an MBA would fill in my gaps in terms of operating a global company with multiple business units.
How did you choose Darden?
I chose Darden for two main reasons. First, when I visited Grounds, I immediately fell in love with the school and the city of Charlottesville. Having had the opportunity to observe a class and experience the case method firsthand, I knew the immense value I would gain from the learning experience.
Second, I wanted to be part of a community that fosters my full development, and my conversations and meetings with Darden alumni made me realize Darden forms great leaders, successful professionals and caring human beings.
What has been your favorite thing about your experience?
I’ve enjoyed the countless conversations I’ve had in class and hearing my classmates’ approaches and solutions to different problems. Having not only world-class professors, but also incredibly talented and smart colleagues who share their “secrets” and thoughts has been truly life-changing.
What has been the most surprising thing about your experience?
I did not expect to find such a collaborative community once the job search got under way. I was blown away by the number of First Year and Second Year students who offered their time to work on mock interviews, review my resume or just have coffee and answer questions about their experiences. Everyone is so generous here, and we all look out for each other.
How do you think Darden prepared for the next chapter in your career?
The case method (and the amount of cases we read every day!) gave me the confidence and stamina to tackle difficult problems methodically. During my internship at Amazon, I was asked to work on a project within an industry in which I had no previous experience. However, because of Darden, I was very comfortable quickly figuring what needed to be done and executing.
What is amazing about Darden’s curriculum is that it is extremely complete. It doesn’t matter what type of background you come with, you will be prepared to become the best Investment Banker, Consultant, Product Manager, Marketer, (insert role here), possible. I’ve enjoyed understanding what makes customers tick in my Marketing class, evaluating projects through various financing options in classes like Finance and Valuations, and even asking myself what kind of leader I want to become (and what I need to do to get there) through courses like Paths to Power.
If I had to sum it up into a single trait, I’d say Darden prepared me to ask the right questions and work through answers to those questions with a purpose.
What would you want prospective students to know about Darden?
You’ve already made a brave decision by taking two years to pursue your MBA. Make sure you are going to spend those years in a place that will not only help you find a great job but where you can also grow personally. If you can, I’d also recommend you come and visit Darden. It made my decision so easy!
