MBA Alumni Profile: David Labowitz, Graziadio School of Business

David Labowitz did his MBA from the Graziadio School and the quality of his experience there.

1. Why did you choose the Graziadio School?

I chose to apply to the Graziadio School for several reasons.
- I knew the small class sizes would offer me the chance to interact more with my classmates and professors than at a larger school.
- The accessibility and broad reach of the study abroad program peaked my interest.
- Third, the mentorship program seemed like a unique and exciting opportunity to meet and learn from a successful business professional.  Finally, the location can't be beat!

Since coming to school, each of these areas have been every bit as good as I hoped.  Classes have been highly interactive and all my professors have known my name within a week or two.  Next, I was accepted into the study abroad program and will be spending the fall semester studying in Beijing, China.    

I also just recently met my mentor and am really excited to build my relationship with him over the coming year.  And, of course, the weather and view on campus make me smile every day.

2. What were you doing before your MBA?

Before coming to Graziadio, I was working as a database designer and application programmer at a small data-mining company outside Philadelphia, PA.  I was interested in moving out of the purely technical arena and getting more involved in entrepreneurship.  Business school seemed like a logical choice.

3. Did you apply for any scholarship/graduate assistantship? Were you successful?

Yes, the time I spent studying for the GMAT paid off handsomely, as I was awarded a fullscholarship to attend the Graziadio School. 

4. What are the professional and extracurricular activities that you participated in outside the classroom?

I will be attending Tsinghua University in Beijing, China during the fall semester, 2005.  Since being accepted into the program, I have spent a lot of time learning some Mandarin Chinese and reading books on China and the Southeast Asia area.  Before going to Beijing I will be traveling in Taiwan, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam.  I've never been on a trip like this before, and am really excited about the opportunity.

I also just met my mentor.  He is a tremendously successful entrepreneur and great guy.  He has been accessible, interested, and helpful.  I know I'm going to learn a lot from him.

During the last session, I served as a Graduate Assistant for Mike Kimel in his Advanced Statistical Tools class.  I reviewed the homework assignments and even had the opportunity to teach several sessions of VBA.  However, most of my time was spent on individual tutoring sessions.  It was great to be able to help my friends and make money at the same time!

I have had a lot of other opportunities to be involved in the school community.  I have sat on panels to review curriculum issues, reviewed admissions files for incoming students, and been a host at recruiting events.

All in all, I have found the opportunities to be involved at Graziadio limitless.       

5. What are some of the projects you completed at the Graziadio School? 

There are two projects that stand out from my first year.  The first was a project I did in Entrepreneurial Startup Strategies class.  I was able to put together a presentation on an original business idea and present it to the class for feedback.  As an aspiring entrepreneur, this was a great opportunity to get some feedback from my peers and professor on my ideas.  Over the summer and fall, I plan to turn this presentation into a more formal business plan, and enter it in the Business Plan Competition next spring.

The second project was a regression project for Macro Economics class.  My partner and I attempted to determine an optimal federal tax rate.  Interestingly, the rates we came up with as optimal (in three different tax brackets) were almost identical to the actual rates used by the Bush administration in the year prior to the most recent election.  It was fascinating to see the real world applicability of the regression skills we learned in class.      

6. Is there anything that you consider to be a "beyond expectation" experience, while you were at the Graziadio School?

The best thing about Graziadio that has by far exceeded all expectations I had is the quality of the student body.  I have never been surrounded by a group of people that, collectively, are as intelligent, motivated, collaborative, and fun as my peers at Pepperdine.