Becoming Part of the Yale SOM Community
Niki Müller-Mezin ’19, a student in the Master of Management Studies in Global Business and Society program, remembers his arrival at the Yale School of Management and describes how the community helped him reach his professional goals.
After experiencing one year of master’s degree studies at HEC Paris, a member of the Global Network for Advanced Management, I knew that my time here at the Yale School of Management would be intense. Before my arrival in late August, I looked at all the different offerings at Yale and was overwhelmed. I quickly concluded that 24 hours each day would not be enough to take part in all the activities that interested me. This feeling intensified as it was also my goal to tackle recruiting as soon as possible, so that I could focus on academics and extracurricular opportunities during the remainder of the year.
As I tried to navigate the plethora of choices—be it in courses, clubs, or career options—I quickly realized that the community here was ready to help me. I reached out to second-year MBA students who willingly helped me choose my courses. I talked with club members about their activities and how to successfully balance academics and extracurriculars. I sat down over coffee with career advisors and peers who had more work experience in different sectors, and they helped me discover new career options.
I wanted to dive right into recruiting, so I narrowed down my options and, with the feedback of mentors and counselors from SOM and beyond, I sent out my applications. It was clear that Yale’s reputation gave my application the necessary quality seal, as I quickly landed the chance to interview with my desired firms. Now that the real work started, I experienced the immense cohesion within the SOM community, which opened up to me in the most supportive ways. My support network within the community grew rapidly, as more and more experienced fellow students helped me prepare for my interviews. In an act of selflessness, they shared their expertise and their own successes and failures. Their support shaped my first months at SOM and is shaping my career path and my broader future.
When I first arrived here, it sounded cheesy when a second-year student told me, “That’s what we do here at SOM: we help each other.” But I learned that he was absolutely right. My mentors, counselors, and peers have not only helped me achieve my professional goals within the first months of school, but they’ve also inspired me to help others do the same. They showed me that your individual Yale experience is what you make out of it.
At this point, I want to direct my special thanks to my friends and colleagues Florian and Uma, who were amazing mentors and catalysts during that journey, and to Paul, who has been my close companion during those intense first months of recruiting and beyond.