Mauricio Chiong ’24

I chose Yale SOM for three reasons. First, the school’s mission of educating leaders for business and society really resonates with my personal mission. Second, Yale has great extracurricular programs around climate and tech, such as the Climate Innovation Intensive at Tsai CITY and the Meng Impact Investment Fund club, both of which I participate in. And third, as an international student, I wanted to have the opportunity to potentially work in the U.S. for a couple of years to expand my knowledge and experience, and the MAM program’s STEM designation allows you to apply to stay for additional time after the program.

The MAM curriculum is pretty demanding. We have 20 course credits per semester, and there are added quant courses in the STEM concentration. I believe this rigor shapes a great-quality program. Something very enlightening, and that I didn’t expect, is that many courses use Python with ChatGPT to tackle problems that otherwise would only be accessible to data scientists. Developing these tech skills is key to being competitive in the job market.

Yale SOM and Yale feel like one big family. I study, work, and volunteer with students from SOM’s GBS, Asset Management, and MBA programs. In the Meng Impact Investing Fund, I collaborate with colleagues from Yale’s schools of the environment and law, from Yale College, and with science PhD students. This diversity in my network has introduced me to new ideas and perspectives, fostering personal and professional growth.

I’ve also been impressed with how collegial everyone is. I arrived at SOM with my pregnant wife, and our baby was born at Yale New Haven Hospital during the first quarter. I took two weeks of paternity leave. I had to make up some classes and assignments, but the faculty, classmates, and staff were incredibly supportive. We received numerous gifts and greetings, and my classmates organized a meal train to assist us during this exciting yet exhausting time.