Darden has two new Consortium liaisons – Morolake Thompson, ’20, and Vita Wu, ’20! Today on the blog, we catch up with Morolake to talk more about her background, what attracted her to this role and her advice for prospective students. Check out Morolake’s answers below and stay tuned for our interview with Vita!
What is your background? What did you do before coming to Darden?
I was born in Nigeria but raised in New York City. I went to Hamilton College and majored in Sociology with a focus in healthcare and legal studies. My background led me to GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) where I worked with hedge funds and investment banks on healthcare market research.
What attracted you to the Consortium liaison position?
When I attended the Consortium Orientation Program during the summer, I immediately knew that I had made the right choice in coming to Darden and applying through the Consortium. The energy from my classmates and the resources available were incredible.
Since then, the Consortium has had such a huge impact on my first year experience. I’ve made some amazing friendships within our Consortium cohort I know will last a lifetime, and I have been given an invaluable amount of support. I could see no better way to give back then to help the incoming class and make their experience even better than my own. It was also an opportunity to fulfill my goal of purposeful leadership, in which I invest my time in fewer opportunities but focus on areas I feel I will have the greatest impact.
What’s been your favorite thing about Darden so far?
I love the fact that, for everything I’m interested in, there’s someone else here that I can share that joy with or who can help guide me. I’ve started thinking about starting my own non-profit, and I was able to talk with a Second Year student about her experience going through that process. I wanted to get into bouldering and now I’m bouldering weekly with my section-mates. In my Darden application, I noted that I hoped to find out if golf was my thing, and the Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) club hosted a golf lesson I was able to attend. There are so many opportunities here to do what you love or share what you love with someone (or a group of people)!
What your best advice for prospective students?
Fit is a real thing, and you should pay attention to it. I had the chance to visit a few schools to which I applied and for the schools I did not visit, I spoke with at least two students or alumni. Every conversation helped me reaffirm my interest in the school or decide that the school would not be the right fit for me. For schools I visited, I stepped outside of organized events and sat in study and social spaces to see if I could envision myself being there. As you do your research, be sure to make time for these kinds of experiences.
