Hi Friends! My name is Josiah, and I am a first year FTMBA at Anderson. I’ve had a roundabout path to UCLA. Though I was born in Toronto, CA, my family moved to Tulsa, OK when I was 2 years old. I left Tulsa after High School to attend Vanderbilt University where I studied economics and finance. Upon graduation, I began working at Deloitte Consulting in Washington, D.C. Upon graduation, I intend to return to Deloitte’s Los Angeles office and work in entertainment and sports consulting. I love to snowboard, longboard, do almost anything with friends, and curate perfect Spotify playlists for almost any occasion.

---

It took me approximately 3 days into my time at Anderson to feel overwhelmed with the amount of opportunities presented to me. Despite this, I still had the classic business school club fair experience where I signed up for FAR too many clubs and overcommitted myself in every way. I found it very difficult to say no to things when everything sounded so interesting. I found that everyday I woke up with about 15 things to do, knowing realistically I could only get about 7 or 8 of them done. So which activities should I prioritize? Which should I set aside? And how can I be kind and forgiving to myself when I don’t get everything done that I would like? About a year into my MBA experience, I still don’t quite have it figured out, but I’ve learned some valuable lessons this year that have helped me make sense of the endless obligations. (The consultant in me wanted to keep this list to the magic number, 3, but I view this as a living, growing list.)

1. Pay attention to how you feel during and after different types of activities in school. I decided to overly simplify each of my activities at Anderson into two categories, “Energizing” and “Obligatory.” I found that I left some activities with more energy than I began them with, and other activities left me completely drained. I quite literally made a list on my fridge in which I placed each of my activities into one of the two categories. This served as a daily reminder to devote more of my time and energy to the activities on the energizing side of the list. For the items on the obligatory side of the list, I challenged myself to find the personal value in each and decide if that value was worth the price (time) paid. This helped me thoughtfully cut several activities out of my life that weren’t serving me, freeing up more time to devote to things that do. 

2. Grades matter, but learning matters more. The concept of our grade non-disclosure policy really blew my mind at first. Throughout my entire life, my motivation to work hard in school was simply to get good grades, not to learn. The FTMBA Class of 2025’s grade non-disclosure policy challenged my academic belief system. Upon months of reflection on the topic, I realized just how freeing this policy is. It has allowed me to attend class with the right mindset, truly just to learn. From a priority standpoint, this has freed me to prioritize the classes that I find most interesting, even (especially!) if they feel more challenging and out of my depth. 

3. Take “Applying Science of Happiness to Life Design” with Professor Cassie Holmes. At Anderson, we are so fortunate to have access to some of the premier professors in the industry, and Cassie Holmes is no exception. Her class is very focused on our most reliable asset in life, our time, and how to best spend it. The lessons taught in this class are immediately applicable to the business school experience. Highly recommend it!

4. Everything’s going to work out. Things are going to work themselves out. You’re going to get a job. You’re going to pass your classes. You’re going to graduate. It’s very easy to get caught up in all of the obligations of business school and feel stress and anxiety day to day with all of the little tasks on your plate. Every now and then, take a step back and remember that business school is a wonderful setting to try new things, to learn new things, and to fail. 

Again, I’d like to point out that this is a growing list, and I have SO much to learn. However, I look forward to being a resource for future Anderson students and I’m thrilled to continue my learning journey. 

---

• Student Blogger: Josiah Siddiki FTMBA 2025
• Undergrad: Vanderbilt University
• Pre-MBA: Senior Consultant at Deloitte Consulting LLP
• Leadership at Anderson: Wine Club President, SBA VP of Marketing, AAC VP of Community, Section C VP of EDI, OAC VP of GNAR