MBA for Executives at Darden

Guest post by Hunter Trumbo, Darden MBA for Executives Class of 2012:

Something that I’ve really enjoyed about my Darden EMBA experience is attending admissions events and explaining the program experience to prospective students. The questions I am asked most frequently relate to how students find time to fit the program into their lives and what kind of activities we participate in beyond classes and learning team meetings.

Finding the time to read all of the cases takes a real shift in priorities at home, and it is amazing how efficiently you can make use of your time when you are focused. My family and friends are very understanding about my absence from many social events, and prime-time TV has lost one of its viewers (maybe forever). Waiting for appointments, airport layovers and lunchtime each offer a chance to read a case or two. Early mornings give me the quiet time to focus on reading textbook chapters before the rest of my family is moving. Amazingly, the time was there once I looked for it and chose to use it.

There is a strong feeling in the program of being connected to each other and to the Darden community. Even before the program begins there are events to meet your new classmates, and during the first week of the program full-time Darden student organizations explain their roles in the School. Throughout the year, frequent e-mails are broadcast about fundraisers, social activities and sporting events. EMBA students have participated in several Darden Outreach and fundraising events, supported the Venture Capital Boot Camp and attended the Leadership Speaker Series. 

Groups of our class have gone to UVA baseball and basketball games, played in our own kickball and ultimate Frisbee matches and taken over restaurants in town when time allows. A large group of us is joining the full-time Darden students to support Building Goodness in April — a Darden effort akin to Habitat for Humanity in Charlottesville.

The Darden experience pulls you in completely, learning and growing in the classroom and with the Darden community. You’re given frequent chances to get involved and to try things you haven’t done before, and the vast majority of the class chooses to be involved. You get the chance to stretch yourself in a safe environment, testing your limits and getting real feedback from people you trust. I really believe that the time on the Darden Grounds opens us up to new ideas, makes us want to be a part of something greater and gives us the tools to do it.

Hunter Trumbo
MBA for Executives
Class of 2012

Tags: Building Goodness in April, Case Method, Darden, EMBA, Leadership Speaker Series, speakers, student organizations, UVA, venture capital