Hello world! (Or, at least, hello prospective student who’s trying to learn more about Booth!) I’m Samantha Malone, a rising second year originally from the Bay Area. I did my undergrad at Santa Clara University, studying business and graduating a year ahead of schedule while working and commuting to school (yes, I was that nerd). I cut my teeth at Apple doing change management for their Global Finance Projects before following our senior director to GoDaddy, where we built our new project management organization from the ground up. I was a shameless Californian who had never seen winter and didn’t know many working professionals outside of the Bay’s tech industry. I couldn’t picture myself anywhere else, let alone snowy, quant-oriented Chicago Booth.
Yet in the back of my mind I knew that I wanted to go back to school. When my boss retired, I started planning. Then the pandemic hit, schools extended application deadlines, and a mentor convinced me to apply sooner than I originally planned. Cue May 2020: the month of application hell. I’ll spare you the details of GMAT practice drills, essay rewrites, and frazzled breakdowns. The important part is that I eventually arrived in Chicago, ready for an adventure.
And what an adventure this first year has been. It has held a lot of firsts for me–first apartment, first time living in a major city, and first time in the Midwest (I hadn’t even visited Chicago before moving here in September). It has also held difficult moments–pandemic stress, recruiting bumps, and an unexpected trip back home. I stayed grounded through the newness and rough patches by building community, which I found at Booth through elevator rides in MPP, LEAD sessions over Zoom, study groups, and club events. Here are some things that I’m looking forward to most next year:
- Admissions Fellows (this!!) – I’ll be writing for The Booth Experience blog all year and I’m so excited to share stories from my classmates’ and my experiences. As you read through my posts, I hope they will help you build a deeper image of what it means to be a Boothie and how we keep going when the going gets tough.
- HABSA – I’m a co-chair for the Hispanic American Business Student Association, which means that I’m one of six students who organize new student outreach, recruiting, and social events and resources for Hispanic-American-identifying students at Booth.
- Random Walk – a Booth tradition! Read more about it and check out this year’s trips. My team and I are leading this year’s mystery trip and, as someone who has plans for everything, this will be an exercise in letting go of control and embracing surprises.
- LEAD – I’m a LEAD Facilitator this fall, which means I’ll be one of the second years teaching Booth’s only required class, guiding first years through discussions and exercises that explore what it means to be a leader.
- GBC – Short for Graduate Business Council. I’m the cohort representative for Stuart (one of Booth’s 10 cohorts) and sit on two committees, one of which plans large social events like Fall Frolics and the Booth Olympics.
I can’t wait for this year to begin. From internships to traveling to seeing people in person for the first time in a long time, I hope that you will join me as I anticipate, enjoy, and reflect upon the Booth experience that our class is about to have.
