Caroline Garrod

I chose to do an MBA because I was interested in making a career change. I wanted to build on the advocacy and analysis skills I learned in my legal career, while simultaneously learning about areas I know nothing about (finance, accounting, any kind of quantitative analysis). I wanted to develop myself as a leader, a speaker, and a thinker; an MBA at Ivey seemed like a natural step towards the person I wanted to become.

Ivey was the only school I applied to for my MBA. It was my top choice for many reasons, including its excellent academic reputation, and emphasis on Case-Based Learning. However, the ultimate draw for me was Ivey’s community of students and alumni. I have always loved being part of a tight-knit community of like-minded individuals and think it is the best way for people to develop new ideas, support one another, and learn from each other.

I think the admissions committee chose me to be part of the class because my education and professional backgrounds are different from that of my peers. This background gives me both tremendous strengths and weaknesses. As a litigator, I am used to thinking on my feet, digesting large amounts of information quickly, speaking and writing persuasively, and approaching problems with a careful and analytical mind. However, unlike many of my peers, I have no experience with any kind of quantitative analysis, prefer words to numbers, know little about business, and find myself working overtime to understand basic mathematical concepts. I like to think the committee saw my potential to enhance the class through my strengths, and to learn from my classmates in developing my weak areas.

COVID-19 has obviously disrupted our class’s learning process, and meant we are learning in a very different way than prior classes. I am incredibly grateful we have the technological ability to continue learning and socializing virtually in a way that would have been difficult 10 years ago, and unthinkable 20 years ago. However, spending countless hours daily on Zoom calls has reminded me that such a tool is, like many forms of technology, a good servant but a bad master. There is really no substitute for the human connection, exchange of ideas, and community building that occurs in person. While our class has persisted in forming a community online, I look forward to the day we can be together, and hope that it will remind us to prioritize people over technology.