Why Anderson? – Thoughts from Fellow Admits and Current Students (Part 2)

This post is a continuation of "Why Anderson? – Thoughts from Fellow Admits and Current Students."  Thank you again to all the individuals who have submitted their thoughts.

I will be honest, Anderson was not my first choice school when I started my MBA applications. However as I learnt about other schools and went through the Anderson application process, I fell in love with the people, school and off-course the location.

I was very fortunate to choose between top business schools both in US and my home country, India. I will share a little bit about myself, and how UCLA Anderson is a perfect fit for me.

I am Indian by origin but grew up in Middle East. I have so far lived in 10 cities across 7 countries and my current home is Bahrain. Professionally, I have completed my undergraduate studies in Biotechnology from the University of Westminster, London and went on to work for an United Nations offshoot (MSME) to assist Life science entrepreneurs in India to secure mentorship and funding. Inspired by these entrepreneurs, I co-founded a personalized gifts company, which was operational for over 12 months. I am currently working in Business Development role for a Gulf multinational trading company dealing in oil and gas equipments and services.

Although I enjoy the functional aspect (sales and marketing) in my current role, I wish to combine my people and sales skills with my industry of interest, which is healthcare. Post MBA, I wish to join the Commercial Leadership Development Program (LDP) at a global healthcare company such as J&J or Novartis to gain domain expertise and the relevant managerial skills. Long term, I see myself taking up entrepreneurial route in the area of healthcare delivery.


Why UCLA Anderson?
UCLA is an awesome school with a global brand and which will give me a solid general management education, not to mention it's in southern California so the lifestyle and weather is outstanding. It attracts a broad array of industries in their recruiting including top consulting and Fortune 500 firms.

Student body
I remember the email I received from a second year student. She wrote passionately about UCLA’s collaborative environment, which will allow me to intimately know my classmates and develop a sense of community. She also got me excited about events that the school hosts such as the Dean’s speaker series and EA conference, which will give me a unique opportunity to interact with industry leaders and build a network. I was instantly sold on the school after my interview with a second year student. Not only I was able to instantly connect with her but also really learn about her experience at Anderson. She was joining a medical device company and gave me good insights into recruiting at Anderson.

School’s focus on entrepreneurship
Speaking to current students and following the Entrepreneur Association, I really got excited about skills that I will be able to pick up which will train me for my long-term entrepreneurship ambitions. The school has one of the largest student body interested in entrepreneurship and I am confident that I will be able to develop an influential network for my future company as well as contribute to the dynamic entrepreneurial environment given my startup background.

Location
No praise is enough for Los Angeles. I know I will have a tough time keeping my mind focus on schoolwork. However the Greater Los Angeles Area, with over 900 life sciences companies, is an ideal location for me to complete my MBA considering my goal of working with a biopharmaceutical company. It also gives me access to two of the world’s largest pharma/biotech clusters, San Francisco in the north and San Diego in the south.

I am really excited and can’t wait to start my MBA at UCLA Anderson

- Piyush Jain, UCLA Anderson Class of 2016

Piyush regularly blogs about daily life and his MBA journey at piyushj.com.