The first few weeks of your First Year at Darden can be exciting, overwhelming, challenging and thrilling at all once. Luckily, 28 recent Darden alums visiting Grounds during First Week offered the below advice to help you navigate the next two years at Darden.

See if you can spot trends in these topics: the best restaurant and sports activities in Charlottesville, the favorite app of our finance alumni, popular picks for personal banking and social media apps, news source and podcast of choice, a must-read “classic” and finally, a much-beloved author.

Alumni in Product Management

Katrina Shackelford (MBA ’08), Senior Manager of Product, Marketplace Technology, Amazon

Favorite business and/or career book
Favorite is hard. I recently enjoyed The Fuzzy and The Techie: Why the Liberal Arts Will Rule the Digital World by Scott Hartley and Our Iceberg is Melting: Changing and Succeeding Under Any Conditions by Holger Rathgeber and John Kotter.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Take It Away

Favorite app
Amazon Prime Now

Best career advice you’ve received
I’ve always thought Amazon’s internal slogan “Work hard, have fun, make history” is pretty great career advice.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
I love using LinkedIn as a news source because I can see what my customers, colleagues and industry thought leaders are reading and thinking about.

 

Dan Entin (MBA ’04), VP of Product, Observer Media

Dan EntinFavorite business and/or career book
The Lean Product Playbook, Dan A. Olsen

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
The White Spot

Favorite app
Google Photos

Best career advice you’ve received
Smile more.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
This is Product Management

 

Anastasia Root (MBA ’10), Product Manager, Google

Nastia RootFavorite business and/or career book
Cracking the PM Interview: How to Land a Product Manager Job in Technology, Gayle Laakmann McDowell and Jackie Bavaro

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Blue Grass Grill

Favorite app
Pinterest

Best career advice you’ve received
Read the Cracking the PM Interview book.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Google Search App (Feed)

 

John Will (MBA ’15), Senior Product Manager, Central Insights, Big Fish Games

 John WillFavorite business and/or career book
Managing Humans: Biting and Humorous Tales of a Software Engineering Manager, Michael Lopps

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Bodo’s Bagels!

Favorite app
Workflow

Best career advice you’ve received
Maintain three original mentors. Always be interviewing.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Hacker News

 

Alumni in Entrepreneurship and Innovation

Megan Vorland (MBA ’16), Chief Strategy Officer, Dcode

Megan VorlandFavorite business and/or career book
Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity, Kim Scott

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
C&O

Favorite app
Mint

Best career advice you’ve received
You are always trying to make someone look good for their boss.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Daily

 

Ares Manos (MBA ’14), Partner, K2 Dental Arts

Ares ManosFavorite business and/or career book
The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Ben Horowitz

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Team dinners anywhere

Best career advice you’ve received
There is always a way. If plan A doesn’t work (and it won’t) you need to be the person generating plans B, C, D, E and F.

 

Erik Breuhaus (MBA ’14), CFO and Co-Founder, Counterflow AI

Favorite business and/or career book
The Master Algorithm, Pedro Domingos and Originals, Adam Grant

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Birdwood Golf Course, followed by Three Notch’d Brewery

Favorite app
Twitter

Best career advice you’ve received
Priority #1: It’s all about the people.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Revisionist History

 

Jon Carrier (MBA ’12), Founder and CEO, 501 Auctions

Favorite business and/or career book
I enjoy all of Malcolm Gladwell’s books.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Bodo’s Bagels

Favorite app
Google News

Best career advice you’ve received
Corporate America will always be there. The opportunity to bet on yourself without any consequences may not be. – Jon’s wife

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Quora

 

Alumni in Data Analytics

Ellen Zienta (MBA ’08), Senior Program Manager, Expedia

Ellen ZientaFavorite business and/or career book
Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High, Al Switzler, Joseph Grenny, and Ron McMillan

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Hamilton’s

Favorite app
Expedia

Best career advice you’ve received
Assume positive intent, but trust your instincts.

 

Mansi Agarwal (MBA ’13), Data Science Product Manager, REI

Mansi AgarwalFavorite business and/or career book
I just started reading Factfulness: Ten Reasons We’re Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling and Anna Rosling Ronnlund.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Blue Mountain Brewery

Favorite app
Air BnB

Best career advice you’ve received
Don’t be eager to fit a mold. Bank on your strengths to find your niche.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Harvard Business Review, Sloan Business Review, Data Science groups on LinkedIn

 

Zhdan Shakirov (MBA ’17), Business Manager, Enablement Global Team, The Boston Consulting Group

Favorite business and/or career book
The Little Golden Calf, Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
CVille Jump with my son

Favorite app
Telegram

Best career advice you’ve received
If you want to learn something, learn it by doing it.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Owler

 

Saul Yeaton (MBA ’08), Chief Operating Officer, Metis Machine

Saul YeatonFavorite business and/or career book
The Paradox of Choice, Barry Schwartz

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Blue Ridge Bicycle Tours

Favorite app
Strava

Best career advice you’ve received
Focus on the customer.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
CB Insights

 

Alumni in Consulting

Katie Sexton (MBA ’14), Strategy Manager, Accenture

Katie Wright Sexton

Favorite business and/or career book
Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, Angela Duckworth

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Pippin Hill Farm & Vineyards

Favorite app
Mathe Alarm (It forces me to do math so I can’t snooze forever.)

Best career advice you’ve received
Run your race. It was actually my Second Year coach at Darden who told me that when I got stressed in the recruiting process. It holds true in my consulting life as well and helps keep things in perspective.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
I listen to The Daily and The Indicator every morning.

 

Stanley Liu (MBA ’16), Consultant, Bain & Company

Siyu Liu

Favorite business and/or career book
Shoe Dog: A Memoir by the Creator of Nike, Phil Knight

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Hiking Humpback Rock

Favorite app
Vivino

Best career advice you’ve received
Follow those who inspire you.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
NPR

 

Bryan Furman (MBA ’14), Manager, Deloitte

Bryan FurmanFavorite business and/or career book
The Lean Startup, Eric Ries

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Carter’s Mountain Orchard

Favorite app
Starbucks

Best career advice you’ve received
There’s no such thing as the ‘traditional path.’

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Jason and Scot Show

 

Djordje Minic (MBA ’14), Director, PwC Advisory

Djordje MinicFavorite business and/or career book
The Lean Startup, Eric Ries

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Carter’s Mountain Orchard

Favorite app
Starbucks

Best career advice you’ve received
There’s no such thing as the ‘traditional path.’

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Jason and Scot Show

 

Alumni in Marketing and Sales

Lily George (MBA ’17), Senior Marketing Manager, Wayfair

Lily Hou GeorgeFavorite business and/or career book
Designing Your Life, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Sunday polo at King Family Vineyard

Favorite app
LevelUp

Best career advice you’ve received
Almost nothing you’re worried about today will define your tomorrow.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Digiday and Techmeme

 

Yaro Hetman (MBA ’11), Team Edison Global Marketing Manager, Ford Motor Company

Favorite business and/or career book
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Steven Covey

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Hiking

Favorite app
Facebook

Best career advice you’ve received
Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Automotive News and The Moth

 

Michael Conroy (MBA ’14), Senior Associate Brand Manager, The Hershey Company

Michael ConroyFavorite business and/or career book
How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie. It’s a classic for a reason.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Dr. Ho’s Humble Pie. It’s worth the drive to North Garden.

Favorite app
Mint

Best career advice you’ve received
Know your business!

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Beloved Brands Blog by Graham Robertson

 

Alumni in Finance and Investment Management

Kristin Brozyna (MBA ’16), Investment Banking Associate, Harris Wiliams & Co.

Kristin BrozynaFavorite business and/or career book
The Drunkard’s Walk: How Randomness Rules Our Lives, Leonard Mlodinow

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
MAS

Favorite app
Spotify

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Wall Street Journal

 

Justin Potter (MBA ’16), Senior Associate at Rotunda Capital Partners

Justin PotterFavorite business and/or career book
Principles: Life and Work, Ray Dalio

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
UVA basketball games

Favorite app
Spotify

Best career advice you’ve received
Be an independent thinker. Don’t be afraid to disagree with your superiors.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Atlantic

 

Pete Knerr (MBA ’12), Global Equity Investing, CornerStone Partners

Favorite business and/or career book
Margin of Safety, Seth Klarmin

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Lampo

Favorite app
Twitter

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Pro Rata – a daily venture capital-focused newsletter

 

Phillip Deneault (MBA ’16), Investment Banking Associate, Evercore

Phillip DeneaultFavorite business and/or career book
How to Win Friends and Influence People, Dale Carnegie.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Round of golf followed by a UVA basketball game

Favorite app
ESPN

Best career advice you’ve received
Stay humble.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The New York Times DealBook and The Daily

 

Alex Haddock (MBA ’16), Goldman Sachs, Investment Banking Associate

Favorite business and/or career book
None really come to mind. I’m more of a sappy fiction reader to help keep my perspective at work.

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Golf at Keswick. Too many good restaurants to answer but I’ll go with MAS.

Favorite app
Instagram

Best career advice you’ve received
Be nice. Work hard.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
All NPR is great. The Economist for news.

 

Alumni in General Management and Operations

Marcelo Campos Magalães (MBA ’02), President, Brazilian Association of Independent Producers of Petroleum and Gas

Marcelo MagalhaesFavorite business and/or career book
The Big Short, Michael Lewis

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
The Virginian

Favorite app
Fishbowl

Best career advice you’ve received
Consulting is a people business.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
LinkedIn


Gen A. Izutsu (MBA ’15), Director of Inside Sales, Danaher

Favorite business and/or career book
Choice Theory, William Glasser

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Visiting wineries

Favorite app
Mint

Best career advice you’ve received
If you’re not failing, you’re not trying hard enough.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
The Economist


Manu Kuppalli (MBA ’14), Director, Strategy and Special Projects, DaVita Kidney Care

Manu KuppalliFavorite business and/or career book
Liar’s Poker: Rising through the Wreckage on Wall Street, Michael Lewis

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Duner’s

Favorite app
Instagram

Best career advice you’ve received
Don’t wait for what’s ahead when it may be right in front of you.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Deakbreaker.com

 

Mike Marquardt (MBA ’12), Chief of Staff, Office of the Executive VP for Health Affairs, UVA Health System

Michael MarquardtFavorite business and/or career book
Leadership and Self-Deception, Arbinger Institute

Favorite Charlottesville activity and/or restaurant
Fishing the Rivanna River

Favorite app
Instagram

Best career advice you’ve received
When selecting a job, prioritize who you are working for and with over the job title.

Favorite industry news source and/or podcast
Healthcare Financial Management Association