My MBA Journey

The following are excerpts from a LinkedIn post by Jerome Eric King II about his experience in the Katz MBA Program leading up to his graduation in April 2022: 

When I arrived in Pittsburgh mid-pandemic, we were fully virtual, and this brought a unique challenge to collaboration and networking with new people in a new city. My solution was to get involved on campus as a student leader by serving as a member of the Katz Student Executive Board (SEB) and vice president of the Business Technology Club. While serving on the SEB, there was an opportunity for select members to work with KPMG, and the African American Director’s Forum (AADF) to examine African American representation on the boards of public Fortune 1000 companies.   

My MBA experience consistently exposed me to levels of business and leadership I previously knew nothing about both in and out of the classroom. These leadership roles allowed me to further strengthen my relationships with classmates, alumni, and Katz Career Management, all of whom helped me prepare for the 2020 Virtual National Black MBA Association conference.

Following a successful career fair at the conference, I landed a product management internship at Cisco. During the spring and summer of my internship, I witnessed my case studies from the classroom playing out in my work meetings.   

By incorporating independent studies into my curriculum centered around my experiences at Cisco, I fully integrated my internship and education experiences as one. The experience-based education I received taught me what it meant to be a product manager and an MBA.  

In the Fall of 2021, I was able to attend the National Black MBA Association conference both in person in Chicago and virtually where I connected with employees at Intel who invited me for an interview. The opportunity offered felt like a culmination of my journey from an industrial engineer arriving at Katz to become an MBA graduate.

My technical background, business acumen, problem-solving, leadership, and interpersonal skills felt sharpened, and I knew I was ready to be a catalyst for change in a new role and experience a new place. I am excited to announce I accepted Intel’s offer to join their Sales and Marketing Rotational Program in Chandler, Arizona, this fall.   

My journey has been filled with supportive family, friends, classmates, mentors, peers, alumni, and countless others who believed in me and gave me the tools I needed to be successful every hour.   

I look forward to paying it forward to the next generation of MBAs who embark on their own unique journey brick by brick. 

To connect, look for King on LinkedIn.