About Hannah: As a military brat, Hannah grew up along the eastern seaboard and in a small town in Oregon before finding her home in Los Angeles, California, where she studied Communication and Entertainment at the University of Southern California. After graduating, she stayed in Los Angeles and worked across multiple functions in the entertainment industry, including research at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and data administration at Netflix before spending three years at Paramount in worldwide distribution. At Anderson, Hannah looks to pivot into consulting in order to expand her business acumen and strategic prowess across a wide variety of industries.

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As someone who didn’t know many people who had pursued an MBA, I found my overall level of awareness and community support to be lacking when I started the application journey. Organizations like the Forte Foundation and the Consortium for Graduate Study in Management helped me learn the language of getting an MBA and gave me access to a greater community. However, not having anyone to bounce ideas off of was a significant barrier for me, and the idea of reaching out to student clubs to chat with current students seemed daunting and unnatural.

A major breakthrough came when I was invited by Anderson’s admissions committee to participate in the MBA Insider Series, offered to Round 2 Consortium applicants. Through this series, I was paired with a few other applicants for resume reviews. After this, we kept in touch, and suddenly, I found myself with a group of peers who were at the same stage in the application process and applying to many of the same schools. Even though many in this group ended up at other schools, they remain some of my biggest allies in the MBA process to this day. It’s great to have connections at other programs to share perspectives with.

What helped me most in the application process was talking to current Anderson students, particularly those who were first-years when I was applying and would become second-years when I started school. In these virtual “coffee chats,” Anderson really stood out to me as a school where the community was tight-knit and the culture of shared success was vibrant. Often, when I ended a coffee chat with an Anderson student, I felt like I had just made a new friend rather than just a new professional connection. During an in-class visit, I asked my student liaison if we could stay in touch, and she became my biggest ally throughout the Anderson application process.

Seeing the effort that Anderson students were willing to put in to help someone they didn’t even know was incredible. It showed me the true character of Anderson students and that the values the school promotes are genuinely lived by the students instead of just a marketing tactic. Having people I could ask little questions of, especially during my first weeks and months at school, was crucial. Whenever I had questions or concerns, I could now text someone who had gone through the same situations the year prior, and they were more than happy to help.

I noticed how much this support affected my experience when I was able to help my classmates who hadn’t had the benefit of building a community at Anderson before they arrived. During our club fair, when the second-years came back after the summer quarter, I was going from table to table signing up for clubs. One of my new first-year friends commented, “Wow, you really know everyone here,” which was a testament to the relationships I was able to form before setting foot on campus.

When applying to school, there are a million little things to do, but it’s vital to not forget making a human connection with schools, since that will be a great indicator of your next two years. When getting an MBA, it’s the people who make the degree valuable. Having connections with fellow applicants and people already at schools you’re applying to is so important because these connections will stick with you long after the application process and truly enhance your MBA experience. You never know if a simple coffee chat can open up incredible opportunities or lead to lifelong connections.

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• Student Blogger: Hannah Clark ’26
• Undergrad: University of Southern California ’18
• Pre-MBA:  International Distribution at Paramount Pictures
• Leadership@Anderson: Section C President; Director of Community, Admissions Ambassador Corps; Director of Early Recruiting, Management Consulting Association; Director of Admissions, Alliance for Latinx Management at Anderson; Director of Paso Robles, Wine Club at Anderson; Riordan MBA Fellow Mentor Coordinator