"The BBSA and its members have proven to be well-organized, influential, and downright fun. The assistance they provided me in prepping for pre-matriculation career fairs reinforced their reputation as a family, constantly looking out for their own." -Daniel Garcia
RSB MBA '08
"My involvement with the BBSA "family" was a phenomenal experience. It taught me a great deal about leadership and I gained some very valuable friendships. It was also awesome that we were considered one of the most highly regarded organizations on campus, and many other groups reached out to leverage from our experience." -Erica Roberson
RSB MBA '06
"The BBSA conference was wonderful - everyone I ran into had similar regards" -Jerry Brown, National City representative
RSB MBA '03
Pre-MBA Career: Public Finance / International Trade Consulting
What is your long term career goal? Investment Banking/Entrepreneurship
Why did you choose Ross? When I came to visit Ross, I felt like I was immediately welcome into the Ross Community. I felt like I fit into the culture of Ross. Everybody that I met throughout the recruiting process was extremely helpful and gave me candid advice. Go Blue Rendezvous was the event that sealed the deal for me.
Ross is everything I am looking for in a MBA program: significant exposure to industries and companies that I am interested in, excellent academic reputation, and a tight-knit community at a large university with tremendous school spirit. I have made some great business contacts and close friends at Ross over the past one and a half years and look forward to building on the relationships that I have established as well as creating new ones.
How has the BBSA shaped your business school experience? The BBSA played a very integral role in my decision to come to Ross. The class of 2006, 2007 and 2008 had many people who had a significant impact in my decision. I remember coming to visit Ross the week before finals in December 2006. The BBSA was having a gathering at a member's house. I could sense the unique vibe that bonded the members of the club and made people feel comfortable around each other. I immediately felt like a member of the BBSA family.
Favorite Class at Ross? FIN 580: Options & Futures
Interesting Facts: Kwaku's Hobbies include basketball, traveling, drumming, and motorcycle riding.
Name: Ken Alozie
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Undergrad: Loyola Marymount University, Bachelors in Business Administration
Pre-MBA Career: Client Manager, Insurance Industry
What is your long term career goal? After working on Wall Street for a while, my plan is to start a myriad of enterprises, including a private equity firm, a hedge fund, a real estate investment trust and a number of non-profit enterprises. Upon “retirement,” I am looking forward to lecturing at a business school.
Why did you choose Ross? I chose Ross because it not only offered a high caliber academic environment that I expected from a top-rated academic institution, but it was a cultural fit as well. People at Ross are smart and well-rounded but very down-to-earth. Those were the types of people with whom I wanted to build relationships over the next two years and beyond.
The academic curriculum. My favorite professor at Ross is definitely Gautam Kaul. His passion for the subject of finance is amazing and contagious. He succeeds at drawing you into a topic that is normally presented as “cut and dry.”
How has the BBSA shaped your business school experience? When deciding between business schools, the strength and support of the BBSA was definitely a factor that affected my decision-making. As a member of the BBSA, you are surrounded by colleagues with a special interest in your success. Other members have pushed me to be my best and have definitely contributed to my personal and professional development.
Interesting Facts: Ken is an active volunteer and has worked with a number of organizations including Lifeline International Ministries, Inroads, City of Hope, United Way and Ability First. He has taught seminars on personal finance and counseled individuals in this area. From 1995 to 2004 Ken was a youth mentor who also wrote and directed a number of play productions for the teenage ministry at his local church. Ken wrote a book entitled “How I Got into a Top-Ten Business School” to help others achieve the same dream.
Name: Johnathan Temesgen
Hometown: Dallas, Texas
Undergrad: University of Oklahoma
Pre-MBA Career: IT Consultant
What is your long term career goal? In the long term I would like to play a role in the economic development of Ethiopia. Both of my parents are from Ethiopia, and although I was raised in the United States I have maintained close ties with my family back home. Ethiopia is one of the oldest, and unfortunately one of the most underdeveloped countries in the world. Ethiopia has produced an astounding number of doctors, professors, engineers, etc. but due to the unstable political climate the majority of those professionals reside outside of the country. The effect of this “brain drain” coupled with a government that serves only its personal interest has stopped Ethiopia from progressing as a nation despite the vast natural resources within the country. It is my belief that Ethiopians in the Diaspora must make some direct contributions to their native country in order to stop and then reverse the current trends. This is the motivation behind my interest in working in Ethiopia in some capacity over the long term. I have chosen the development of the economy for several reasons. First, economics is a personal interest of mine; I study the development of financial markets in developing countries. Secondly, until Ethiopia has a strong economy it will continue to be dependent on foreign aid and outside assistance to survive as opposed to being a true contributor and participant in the global economy. Furthermore, I think with the onset of globalization there are opportunities for countries such as Ethiopia to compete on the world market whether it is the production of agricultural products, outsourcing, or attracting tourism. Before any of these things can occur however, the country must be stabilized and a functioning economy is one of the key elements. It also goes without saying, that all the aforementioned progress will have a tremendous impact on the people of the country which is my true motivation.
The academic curriculum. Valuations. The course was directly relevant to the career path that I am pursuing and the coursework was fairly interesting. Additionally the instructor had relevant work experience in the field and made himself easily accessible outside of class to field any questions or discuss related topics.
MAP. My MAP project was to work with an Israeli based gene/cell therapy company that was looking to raise venture capital in the U.S. My emphasis at Ross is in finance, and this project stood out as a chance to learn about a particularly interesting area of capital raising. Our project team was made up of six students; the school did an excellent job in constructing the team which resulted in a diverse group, each of us bringing different experiences, perspectives, and skill sets to the project. This was also good preparation for summer internships. In the summer you will likely be working as part of a team and will be expected to produce a set of deliverables in a relatively short amount of time. One of the highlights of the MAP experience was a diligence trip to the Czech Republic where our team met with executives from the company to give an initial presentation on what we thought the project goals were and gather information from the sponsor company that would aid in our work. At the end of our time together we gave a final presentation to ensure that our team and the sponsor were in mutual agreement on what the outcome of our project would be. Our end deliverable required making use of qualitative analysis, financial modeling, and of course both written and oral communication. Our analysis of the company’s industry included understanding the competition, regulatory hurdles, and market size. We also conducted numerous interviews with venture capital firms to understand what criteria they look for when evaluating companies. We then were able to construct a business plan along with financial models that the company could use when approaching venture capital firms. Overall MAP was an excellent opportunity to utilize a lot of the concepts discussed in the core courses. Most importantly, we produced a work product that will be very useful for the company going forward.
