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Beginning next week, Executive Director of Admissions Dawna Clarke will be traveling throughout Latin America, hosting networking events for admitted students and local alumni, information sessions for prospective students and open interviews with Round 2 applicants.
Admitted students and Round 2 applicants will receive special email invitations to these events. Information sessions are open to all prospective students, and we are thrilled to invite candidates in the region to sign up for one of the following lunch and learn info sessions:
- Buenos Aires, Argentina
- São Paulo, Brazil
- Lima, Peru
Throughout Clarke’s career in MBA Admissions, she has consistently been impressed with recruitment in Latin America, describing candidates from the region as “relationship-oriented, warm and bright.”
On a recent Experience Darden podcast episode featuring Latin America, Director of Admissions Whitney Kestner hosted conversations with Clarke and two students from the Class of 2020: Julie Calderon Benavente (Peru) and Henrique Argollo (Brazil).
Whitney shared her insights on Latin American students’ success at Darden.
A key component to the Darden experience is building relationships both inside and outside the classroom, and that makes for a really natural transition for our students from Latin America. One thing I really value is that the work experience for many of our candidates from this region often begins while they are pursuing their undergraduate degree, so they often bring many more years of experience and exposure, which is something that is wonderful. Tying it to the case method, where we are really looking for students that have a perspective to bring, can speak to their industry and companies that they’ve worked for, and also their country and their part of the world. These things are a wonderful infusion of cultural and business and government perspectives.
Second Year student Argollo from Brazil conveyed his own experience in transitioning from a traditional learning environment to Darden’s experiential Case Method approach.
I did engineering back in Brazil so as you can think it’s huge lecture halls, and the professor talks all the time, and you hardly ask a question and then you study by the book. The case method for me was very different and exciting because you’re expected to participate and you’re expected to have an opinion and most often you actually change (your opinion) during the discussion. You listen to what your peers are thinking, you get perspective from different cultures and totally different backgrounds and ways of growing up so its things you’d never think about or even read in a book.
Clarke also touted the importance of Latin American students’ unique perspectives and their natural relationship-building abilities.
One of the things that I hear from faculty members and the administration is that Latin American students tend to be a really nice bridge among the typically 38 different countries represented. Because Latin American students tend to be very outgoing and relationship-oriented, there is a tendency to be very inclusive and they act as a great bridge to bring international students together.
Listen to the full podcast episode here:
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