“A sociable, thoughtful, motivated leader with an open-minded personality and a dry sense of humor.”
Hometown: Los Angeles, California
Fun fact about you: I was in a hip hop dance group at Brandeis called Kaos Kids.
Basic studies and degree: Brandeis University, BA in Health Policy and Psychology with a minor in Economics
Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? LabCentral Inc. Senior Operations Associate, Cambridge, MA
Where did you do an internship in summer 2020? Biogen, Cambridge, MA
Where will you work after you graduate? Syneos Health, Consultant
Teamwork and leadership roles in the business school: President, student council. Co-moderator of the panel discussion with Arthur Blank and the Executive Leadership Team for Arthur M. Blank Family Businesses.
What school or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during your studies? Being President of the Graduate Student Council is my proudest achievement. This is an incredible hands-on learning experience to further define my leadership style and develop my leadership skills. More importantly, this has been a great opportunity to serve my community by working as a student representative with the administration to organize activities and resources to enhance the PhD students’ experience during a challenging time.
What success in your professional career are you most proud of? I am incredibly proud to get an MBA at this stage in my career. Babson has provided me with tons of opportunities to get involved as an entrepreneur, access resources and connections that weren’t available to me before, and learn more about myself. All of these experiences have enabled me to see where my career should go and what it should look like. After completing my MBA, I will become a consultant on the Commercial Advisory Team of an integrated pharmaceutical company and would not have been able to get there without a Babson MBA.
Why did you choose this business school? When I made the decision to apply to a business school, I knew I wanted to get away from a program that was geared towards strategizing and implementing creative change in companies. I had spent most of two years in a startup that supported startups, where creativity was encouraged and rolling up my sleeves was a must. In promoting an environment for biotech startups, I’ve learned that I want to be a leader who is able to bring that flexibility and creativity to organizations. Without having the dictionary for it, I saw the power of entrepreneurship. I was very impressed by Babson’s Entrepreneurial Thought & Action and hands-on and experience-based learning that aims to empower and prepare entrepreneurial leaders. I felt deep down that Babson was the right environment for me to explore leadership, equip myself with the business tools I didn’t have, strengthen my soft skills, and give me opportunities to shape my future .
Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Scott Taylor is my favorite MBA professor, not only because his leadership development course was one of my favorites, but also because he was an amazing mentor to me. Professor Taylor creates a calm, structured, and personalized learning environment in which his students confront themselves to understand who they are as leaders. He equips his students with relevant research to understand the fundamentals of leadership development, resources for context and guidance, and ways to put theory into practice. He challenged me to redefine my personal narrative and he encouraged me to immerse myself in the things I fear. I am really grateful for that.
What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? I can’t choose a favorite tradition, but I can say that every holiday is celebrated! Babson has an incredibly diverse student body and we can all celebrate each other’s cultures and traditions together year-round. That’s one of my favorite things about Babson.
Looking back on your MBA experience, what would you do differently and why? I would have taken a few more courses outside of my comfort zone that didn’t exactly match my career aspirations. There were professors whose courses I look back on who said: “I wish I had taken their course!” And because we’re still in the midst of a global pandemic, I look back on 2019 and early 2020 and wish I had spent more time with my classmates.
What’s the biggest myth about your school? The biggest myth I heard about Babson was that every student had a startup they worked on. When I finally got to campus, this was not correct. While there were many students doing their own ventures, when I was looking for new teammates to take classes to apply the lessons to their business development, there were also many students who, like me, weren’t involved in a startup.
What surprised you most about the business school? I’m just surprised at how quickly two years have passed! At the beginning of my studies, it felt like time was slowing down and it was going to continue like this, but at some point after that first semester everything accelerated. I don’t know exactly where the time has gone. I would not have had it any other way, and I will miss the experience you have with the MBA.
What did you do during the application process that gave you an advantage at the school you chose? As clichéd as it sounds, I think the best thing I did during the entire application process was to be true to myself. I knew I was applying for MBA programs to embark on a journey of self-discovery, to improve myself and gain more control over my professional development. Although I wasn’t sure what to do with my MBA after graduation, I knew I wanted to become a change agent and learn how to make impactful change. It took a while to identify this feeling and capture it as a narrative story to share with schools, but I’m glad I took the time to rinse it off.
Which MBA classmate do you admire most? I admire Esther Greene for coming to Babson with the intention of starting a company, Mōde Travel Co. and The SŌLO Travel App, which have been able to support and inspire women traveling alone in their travels. Despite a global pandemic, it makes it possible! Esther is a stubborn, headstrong, outspoken, creative, thoughtful doer. Nothing can stop them!
How disruptive was switching to an online or hybrid environment after the COVID outbreak? There is no question that as of March 2020, the way we did business, interacted with our colleagues, and where we met to study, was completely different. It was daunting and frustrating not to be able to sit in the same room as my colleagues and teachers anymore. The shift in online education and the creation of a hybrid environment have proven how resilient we are and how committed we are to improving ourselves and achieving our degrees to the full.
Who most influenced your decision to become an entrepreneur during your studies? My father ran his family business for 30 years with wholesale supplies for plumbing and heating products. My sister and I “practiced” many summers and helped with everything, from the sweeper to inventory checks and shopping to IT (as a child you always help your parents with technology). Watching him run his own business and develop strategies for growth and future opportunity has taught me the value and importance of running a business; or being your own boss, as he likes to call it. He showed the value of hard work, dedication and lifelong learning. Since he has learned everything about business from experience, he encouraged me to take as many business courses as possible and never shy away from a learning experience.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
- Manage a team
- Conduct a commercial drug launch
What made Rachel such an invaluable addition to the class of 2021?
“Rachel is the role model of a modern MBA. She is a powerful and articulate presence in the classroom, but more importantly, she excels as a natural leader in student teams. I had the pleasure of advising a student advisory project developing a growth strategy for a start-up that has launched an interesting product and achieved sales growth but needs a serious dose of professionalism to grow. Rachel was able to master the analytical problems of the project and then develop the necessary relationship with her client to successfully convey a message of hard love: “If you don’t make big changes in your organization, your business is going to fail.” Convincing and empathetic, she strongly influenced the client.
But the real display of hard love came when Rachel was a key driving force in a series of meetings with the Babson President and other board members when the COVID pandemic forced the college to make swift changes in every aspect of the student experience. Out of dozens of faces on a zoom grid, she stood out as an articulate and determined but tactful advocate for the needs of her fellow students. She launched a constructive dialogue that resulted in a number of initiatives that allowed our students to continue their learning and build their résumé with rapidly evolving study programs that go from conception to implementation in days. “
Dwight Gertz
Faculty Co-Director Office for Experiential Education
DON’T MISS: THE FULL LIST OF MBAS TO VIEW IN 2021
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/2021-mbas-to-watch-rachel-zelcer-babson-college-olin/
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