I’m out here in California for the next 12 days for a lot of reasons. I wanted to spend my time at home with my family for Thanksgiving, because I won’t see them for the Holidays. I wanted to attend the Big Game, Cal vs Stanford football. I wanted to celebrate one of my closer friend’s birthday in person. And I wanted to visit Stanford MBA.
Of course that meant sacrificing one of my days off to drive a rental car in San Francisco rush hour traffic. I was somewhat hesitant to walk straight into the lion’s den, knowing that my alma mater was not so kindly looked upon.
During the Info Session, I heard from the Admissions Committee about what they look for in a candidate. Amazingly, the entire classroom full of 40 people were all already interacting each other before she came in. She said it was the first time she’s ever come in where the information session was so lively, and actually asked how we all know each other. We had all just met. Then I heard from the same person who will examine our applications what they’re looking for in a candidate. It starts off with a quick video of a Steve Jobs commencement speech. He lives everyday as though it is his last, he says, and that really drives him to making every minute count to making a positive impact. Then the video cuts off. The slide reads: “Welcome to Stanford MBA Information Session. You will all die one day.”
Stanford’s emphasis on people who want to make an impact in the world is not just a slogan. To them, it’s absolutely their DNA, the same thing that she will swear to uphold and protect every single year. All schools have a motto. Usually I feel that it’s there because they need to have some sort of an identity, something that’s easy to remember. But today I really felt that Stanford truly means every single word of their motto: Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world. There’s a reason why that doesn’t read “make a ton of money.”
The 2 current students that came in for the last 30 minutes to talk about their experiences were also very impressive. One guy, Steve, had been in Investment Banking and Venture Capital before Stanford. In one of the questions asking about how they manage the student/social life balance, Steve said then, “It’s funny you mention that. During the Bible Study this week we talked about how we can manage our time most effectively.”
The class visit happened right after the Info Session, but I took the risk of being late and quickly approached Steve. I was the second guy there but I got to ask my question: “How did you answer the Stanford essay question, “What matters most to you, and why?” He said, “I wrote about how faith matters most to me.”
I always thought that faith was a taboo subject in the essay question. I never knew anyone who wrote about that and got into an MBA program, much less Stanford MBA. He then continued, “I think it’s really important to make sure you tie it all in to the other questions: Why MBA, and what do you wanna do after. I’m pursuing a Venture Capital work after MBA, and here are the programs that I think will benefit the emerging societies not just in a quantitative financial ways, but in spiritual ways as well.” I manage to ask how many people meet for Bible Study (18 males and fewer females out of 750 MBA students) before I quickly say my good-byes and go to my class visit. But I will never forget that encounter and his honest response about his goal and the motivation to get there.
That answer alone would have made my day. I was expecting very little when I heard that my class visit will be with a Managerial Finance class, something I know a little too well by this point. I was hoping for something a bit more flashy, like an entrepreneurship class or something. Stanford doesn’t allow you to choose the classes you attend and you don’t find out until you actually get there.
They have seats along the side of the classrooms, so everyone knows when you’re a guest. The professor first approached all of us visitors and said he’ll have us quickly introduce ourselves in the beginning. Sure, that sounds fine. Then a tall man walked in, and introduced himself to me and the man sitting next to me. His name’s Mark, he says. He’s quite tall, and I feel like I know him from somewhere. Maybe from football? I ask him if he’s going to the Big Game tomorrow, the Cal vs Stanford football game. I then reveal my alma mater, and he jokingly says I should definitely make the switch to Stanford.
As Mark walks away, a girl then turns around and introduces herself. Her name’s Kelly, and her sister went to Berkeley as well. We exchange greetings before the class and the introductions start. But I do a quick look at the name tag that Mark takes out. Mark Madsen is his name. I’m so sure by then I’ve seen him somewhere. I look it up on my smartphone right as the class is starting. Mark the “Mad Dog’ Madsen was with the LA Lakers Championship team in 2001 and 2002. Of course I recognized him.
I stand up, say I grew up in LA, but strategically forgo mentioning my alma mater. I say I worked at IBM in New York and now I’m at a startup. Then I mention that I went to UC Berkeley for my undergrad. A slew of “HISS” fills the room. Immediately feeling the love, I tell them to bring it on the football field tomorrow. But, I say as I’m sitting down, as Mark the “Mad Dog” Madsen said, I’m willing to make the switch if granted admission. No one can hear anything other than laughter at that point. I look in Mad Dog’s direction and he’s pointing down at the table, signaling me to make the switch.
It was one of those things where absolutely everything went perfectly. Mark had no idea I recognized him, much less know his nickname. Everyone seemed to appreciate the fact that I was having fun with the college football rivalry without being condescending. And meanwhile, I really made myself stand out by getting the entire classroom involved and at least somewhat curious about my story. All in the span of 5 minutes.
The professor started the class then by saying that we all seem to be in great mood. I don’t know if every class at Stanford is that jovial, but the next 1 hour and 45 minutes of class was filled with more laughter than I had ever seen in any class. Mark gives me a bro hug after class ends. He says I should have mentioned I’m from LA. Kelly, who is from La Mirada, stops by as well, and I ask them the same question, “what matters most to you, and why?” Kelly wrote about how making a difference in whatever she is doing matters most to her. Mark said that a lot of people write about family, but he wrote about how every single person is a significant piece of a team, and of a society at large. He then told me a quick anecdote about a time Phil Jackson told him that everyone in the basketball team matters, from Kobe Bryant, to Shaquille O’Neal, all the way down to the 13th man, Mark Madsen. And how much that meant to him to hear something like that from a man like Phil Jackson.
I then took a quick pass by the professor, who was making himself available to his students. He says he hopes to see me in his classroom next year, and I concur. I walk out of the classroom that I expected nothing from, having had one of the most illustrous visits I’ve ever had.
Simply put, I just had the most phenomenal time visiting Stanford MBA.