Annual Diwali Celebration - 2015

Last week students, faculty and staff celebrated Diwali, one of the largest festivals in India. To celebrate "The Festival of Lights", the International Student Organization decorated the 2nd floor lounge and threw a party complete with food, drinks, dancing and entertainment. Members of the Full-Time Class of 2016 and 2017 participated in a talent show where students sang, dance and walked in a fashion show. After the entertainment, there was an Indian Buffet and students sang karaoke and danced some more! It was also so fun to see everyone dressed up in traditional Indian clothes! Thanks to the ISO board for throwing such a fun event!

New Student Organization: RBS Pride

We are so proud of Jett McGurk, an RBS flex-time (turned full-time) student who played an instrumental role in launching RBS Pride, the new LGBTQ student organization aimed at raising sensitivity of LGBTQ people among future managers and leaders at RBS. Check out the article below on the accomplishment. 

RBS Pride brings new support and career resource to LGBT campus community

RBS Pride received provisionary status as a new student organization this month, reflecting an effort to recognize diversity and to raise the level of sensitivity toward lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people among future managers and leaders at Rutgers Business School.

Jett McGurk, a second-year MBA student who played a major role in forming the club, said while Rutgers University has one of the longest-standing and well-established LGBT support systems, including a new LGBTQ Diversity Resource Center at Rutgers in Newark, there was no presence at the business school.

RBS Pride President Jett McGurk and Arturo Osorio Fernandez, the club's faculty advisor

The diversity center also emphasizes support for the undergraduate student, McGurk said, which created an opportunity to start a club geared toward MBA students and their concerns, particularly when it comes to careers and work issues.

“As far as the business school is concerned, we’re all going to be hiring managers one day,” McGurk said. “It’s important for the LGBT community, as they enter the business world, to be able to talk about things like should you be out and how out should you be.”

While a club on campus will offer the LGBT community a place of belonging, McGurk also envisions it as a source of awareness-building and a place where free discussions will occur about such things as work place benefits and discrimination. McGurk is also hoping to increase the participation of Rutgers MBA students at ROMBA, which holds an annual networking conference for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender graduate business school students.

“I would have loved to have gone last year but I didn’t know about it,” she said, adding that students from New York University and Harvard attend regularly and enjoy audiences with recruiters from top-notch companies. “I would love to get more attendance there,” McGurk said.

Like any club, RBS Pride will remain on provisional status for two semesters while it elects officers, builds the necessary membership and successfully organizes a number of events, including one on the Livingston Campus.

RBS Pride is open to members of the LGBT community and their allies.

“The reaction has been wonderful,” McGurk said. “First year MBA students are thrilled. Everyone seems to be really excited for the club.” Eighteen students had signed up to be members when the club held its kick-off meeting Oct. 3. McGurk is serving as club president until the first board elections are held.

Arturo Osorio Fernandez, who agreed to serve as faculty advisor to RBS Pride, said such clubs makes diversity seem less of a concept and more of a reality. Osorio is also involved with Pride Newark, which recently opened its offices not far from the RBS campus on Halsey Street.

“Having the opportunity to have these clubs,” he said, “brings an awareness of the issues out to everyone.”

RBS Pride is on Facebook athttps://www.facebook.com/groups/RBSPRIDE/. Information can be obtained via email at RBS.PRIDE@gmail.com.

Many thanks to Susan Todd, Senior Publiv Relations Specialist for this article. More Rutgers Business School news here: http://www.business.rutgers.edu/news/

STUDENT FEATURE: John Huntsman, MBA '14

John Huntsman

Marketing & Strategy

Treasurer, Toastmasters   

John is a full-time MBA candidate, with concentrations in Marketing and Strategy.  This Jersey native's professional interests include product management and the healthcare industry, but his portfolio of expertise also includes travel, sports, music, beard-growing, and cooking (well...eating). 

Where were you before you came to RBS? 

I was born and raised on the Jersey Shore where I grew up playing basketball and sailing competitively. I completed my bachelor degree at The University of Vermont in which I had concentrations in finance…and skiing. My graduation was timed perfectly to coincide with the financial collapse, so I decided to shift away from a career in finance and took my first job at a market research company called KL Communications. There I got a lot of great small business experience while working with fortune 500 clients, but at some point during my first 3 years I got the travel bug and was somehow able to convince the company president to let me work remotely. I proceeded to fly down to South America for 5 months and continued working while living in Argentina and Chile. I eventually returned to Jersey and immediately applied for my MBA at Rutgers, and here I am today.  

John's Non-OCM Approved beard (just one of
the many perks of working remotely).

Where do you see yourself in 15 years? 

Wow…15 years ahead? It’s tough for me to think that far ahead, so how about we aim for a more manageable five. In five years I can see myself as a product manager at a health care company that has global reach. My goal is to be at that intersection between the R&D and sales teams to ensure that new products resonate with customers in a compelling way. With that said, that’s just one possibility and who knows what opportunities may come my way…

What is your favorite thing about being an RBS student?

For me it’s the camaraderie with my fellow classmates. Whether it’s getting to know people through a group project or grabbing a drink across the street at Martini’s, I’ve been constantly impressed with the caliber of student at RBS, both in terms of ability and just being genuinely nice people. I can see myself keeping in touch with several of my colleagues throughout my career and this is something that’s hard to emulate without going through a program like this.     

What do you do for fun?

Hanging with friends and family, cooking (but mostly eating), live music, playing guitar, running, skiing, sports of all kinds, watching my sports teams (Giants and Knicks), and traveling.

What would you do differently if you could repeat your first semester all over again?

I would’ve interviewed with more companies. I was lucky to get an offer relatively early and accepted soon after. If I could do it again I would’ve tried to interview at another 2-3 companies for a few reasons. First, it’s good to get exposure to different companies early on in your MBA to get a feel for what works for you and what doesn’t. Second, building your network with recruiters is something that can give you more options in your second year. Third, interviewing is a skill and repetition will only make you better.

STUDENT FEATURE: Ethan White, MBA '14

Ethan White

Marketing & Global Business

VP of Education, Toastmasters

Ethan White is a second-year MBA Candidate in the full-time program, with concentrations in Marketing and Global Business.  He is also a talk show radio host, professional sports announcer, and stand-up comedian (wait, what?).  

What’s your deal?

What’s my deal? So abrasive. I did my undergrad in international business at the University of Miami (The U!) and graduated in 2009. I had no idea what I wanted to do, so I did what anyone would do when faced with such a decision, I ran away. I spent two years teaching English in Korea and the better part of another year traveling the world. Both are experiences I would never trade for anything, despite potentially putting me at a disadvantage in terms of career experience. Living in Korea where education is emphasized like I had never seen inspired me to come back to school and finish my formal education before really starting my career.

Where do you see yourself in 15 years? Why?

Nope. Skip. You cannot make me consider this.

What is your favorite thing about being an RBS student?

The best thing about being an RBS student is the opportunities afforded to me here. During my undergrad in Miami I didn’t take advantage of the full complement of opportunities for students so I am making amends for that now. I am the VP of Education for Toastmasters which has allowed me to spread my love of public speaking to my fellow classmates who may enjoy it less. Last year we held a competition aimed at improving presentation skills regardless of the actual speech content and I felt it was a big success. In addition, through a series of coincidences I can’t even entirely recount, I co-created and currently co-host Rutgers Newark’s only sports talk radio program. It’s become a

Ethan interviewing Mayor of Newark, Cory Booker

passion and has led to me announcing baseball games for a professional baseball team (all right the Newark Bears, but still) as well as the chance to sit down and interview Cory Booker, which was an incredible experience. I anticipated business school being very boring and straightforward, but it has wildly exceeded those expectations.

What do you do for fun?

So in addition to the sports radio show, my first passion is stand up comedy. While an MBA and stand up don’t seem to have much in common on the surface, both have been monumental in helping the other. I started doing comedy in Miami back in 2007 and I had no idea what I wanted to do with it. I just knew I liked getting on stage and making people laugh. I had no idea how much it would help me in terms of classroom presentations. At my internship this summer, I saw how important handling an audience comfortably could be. On the comedy side, my self-promotion has improved greatly via tools I’ve learned in my marketing classes. I should be famous any day now.

How did you land your summer internship?

I give all the credit to OCM. I was struggling to find an internship and they had sent out a resume book to LifeCell that included my resume. Both LifeCell and OCM contacted me and told me that they wanted to interview me and I got to the internship. I had been applying to all sorts of jobs, but I got one I didn’t even apply for.

What would you do differently if you could repeat your first semester all over again?

Just trust OCM. Seriously. You don’t have to love them, but they know what they’re doing and all the harassment is for your own benefit. Take advantage of the corporate presentations and any connections OCM can provide and get to work early. Having to scramble for an internship in April is a hassle you don’t want.

Check out Ethan’s radio, The Extra Point, every Tuesday and Thursday at 4pm. Stay up to date by following at www.facebook.com/WRNUSports or on Twitter @TheExtraPointRU

Like to laugh? Follow @EthanComedy on twitter or www.facebook.com/EthanWhiteComedy for jokes and upcoming shows and watch videos at www.funnyordie.com/ethanwhite