NBMBAA Conference in Atlanta!
Ever since I made the vital decision to pursue an MBA, it has been all about balancing college studies while being on top of the internship hunt. This month started with the exhilaration of the much-anticipated NBMBAA (National Black MBA Association, Inc.) Conference. While participating in several career fairs and networking outside of it was a huge help, nothing compared to the NBMBAA Conference. With 250+ companies arriving at the fair, I felt like a child with a box of chocolates unable to choose the best one.
We had planned everything down to a tee, with the perfect elevator pitches, lists of companies and functional areas that we were looking to target and the route to navigate on the game day. However, what intrigued me the most was how receptive the recruiters were to our backgrounds and how eager they were to hear our stories. It was a great ordeal for me and I was able to strike up some wonderful conversations with an admirable number of people. Another huge plus was meeting fellow MBA students from various colleges who had joined to attend the conference. It was a refreshing experience to hear their viewpoints and perspectives and we ended up bonding over our shared circumstances of being in the same boat. It was great to exchange tips and contacts and make shared connections that’ll be helpful for a long time to come.
Another highlight of the conference was the after parties. While the conference was required grit and grind, dedication and hard-work to cover all of target companies and getting applications in, the after parties were more laid back and a great way to cool down and share some informal stories. The days went by fast and while we were all on our toes, it was vital to be proactive and make the most out of it at the end of day. Looking back, a golden opportunity was presented to us and I am proud to say that I could extract value from it.
Overall, it was a great travel and networking experience and it helped us bring our cohort together and widening our horizons.
