Montel Hall ’26
MBA
Student Ambassador
Program
MBA
Hometown
Waukegan, Illinois
Citizenship
United States
Undergraduate Institution and Major
Valparaiso University, Finance
Pre-MBA Industry
Citibank: Treasury, Vice President
Internship Organization
Gallus Insights: Summer Finance Associate
Clubs and Affiliations
Black Business Alliance; Consortium for Graduate Study in Management (CGSM); Management Leaders for Tomorrow (MLT); Black Business Alliance, Recruiting Lead; Yale Black Venture Summit Committee, 1st Year Events Chair
Tell us about your International Experience trip. Where did you go? What was your favorite part?
For my international experience trip, I traveled to Japan on a program led by Professors Yoshinori Fujikawa and Edward Watts. Visiting Japan had been on my bucket list since I was about 17 years old, when I first became fascinated with Japanese culture, especially anime and food. As soon as I saw this trip offered, I knew I had to go, no matter what.
One of my favorite parts of the experience happened on the first day of class. Professor Yoshi asked us to quickly draw a picture of what came to mind when we thought about Japan. Embarrassingly, the only thing I managed to draw was cherry blossom trees. However, my perspective expanded dramatically after learning about Japan's culture, the history of its economy, and the challenges of its aging population, then experiencing the country firsthand through visits and conversations with business leaders and locals. Japan is far more complex and dynamic than I had ever imagined.
Beyond the academic and cultural highlights, including visiting ancient temples and meeting executives at some of Japan's most influential companies, one of my favorite personal memories was unexpectedly meeting up with friends from CBS and Wharton who were also in Japan at the same time. It made the trip even more special and created memories I'll never forget.
Contact Information
Personal Interests...
Marathon Runner, Anime, Event Planner, DJ, Travel Enthusiast
