Darden’s Future Year Scholars Program (FYSP) is a fast-track to the big leagues. After scoring an Associate position at McKinsey & Company during a difficult hiring moment in the consulting industry, Zak DePasquale would tell you the risk pays off.
Zak’s perseverance in pursuing his goals is inspiring. We invite you to read about his Darden MBA journey and advice for potential applicants below!
Darden Graduation: 2022
Deferral Period: 2 years
Current Company: McKinsey & Company
Current City: Atlanta, GA
Current Role: Associate
Fun Fact: Zak met his fiancé, Morgan, at Darden!
What was your mindset during your FYSP deferral period?
[The FYSP] enabled me to be unafraid. To go out in the career world and take risks and take on challenges I might not have done otherwise.
I wanted a job [during my deferral period] that would challenge me in ways where I would be exposed to leadership more than a typical entry level position would be. So, I took on a smaller company in a high-visibility role in an industry that was very niche. My role was in disaster recovery specifically, working with FEMA on public infrastructure recovery work. I wanted to do something that would give me experience I could bring to Darden and have a unique perspective.
How did you know it was the right time to come back to Darden?
The community is so diverse, I wanted to contribute in my own way as a Future Year with less professional experience coming in than the average person.
The minute I got accepted to Darden, I was like “Alright, I’ll see you in two years.” I was really excited about the idea of getting an MBA at a relatively early age and accelerating my career on that path. My goal was a job somewhere like McKinsey at the time I was accepted. Being on this trajectory, the earlier I could get on it, the better it would be for me long term.
[My deferral period] was an interesting time because it was Covid. About a year and half in, right around the time Covid was beginning, I felt like I really understood the skillset required for the particular role I was in. Building relationships with leaders, the customers we were serving and asking for more work and greater responsibility in the role. I reached an intersection where it was either time for a new role at the same company or business school.
What business skills did you have a good grasp on before you came to Darden, and what skills did you graduate with?
I studied psychology and neuroscience in undergrad. As an athlete in college, I thought about a sports psychology route. Coming into Darden, I had the interpersonal dynamics and soft skills of relationship-building, hard work ethic, tenacity and good strategic planning. But, I didn’t necessarily have a lot of the core business skills. I was learning on the job. Darden helped me enter conversations with a refined perspective based on preparation. The case method at Darden is helpful for creating an informed perspective based on a set of facts and understanding of the problem, while being able to approach the it with a goal in mind.
Do you have any advice for prospective Future Year applicants?
I would recommend applying the Future Year Scholars Program to anyone. Having an offer to a top business school like Darden sets your career on a path that is highly sought after by many employers across industries.
My advice is to stay open-minded — everyone will adjust their career path at one point or another. Gaining core business skills through an education at Darden, and specifically at an age where you might be coming in earlier in your career than other applicants, will enable you to do anything in the business world.
[It’s important to have] the entrepreneurial drive and internal motivation to want to grow professionally, and surround yourself with people who are like-minded in that way. Every single person I went to school with — it doesn’t matter if we were really good friends or I met them once or twice — I could have a smart, educational and fun conversation with.
For the application, [consider] how the Darden community can help you on your journey. How can your experiences and qualifications add to the Darden experience? Especially with the case method, we rely so much on each other, and every person has a unique background. Every person is going to add value to the discussions inside and out of the classroom. In the application, try to convey your unique value proposition based on your experiences and background that can enrich the environment.
