S2E3 Making Connections and Committing to Diversity w/ Justin VanNoy

Humans of Tepper

Welcome to another episode of Humans of Tepper with your hosts, Ben and Kara. Today, joining us is Justin VanNoy, a full-time MBA candidate. Justin is from Atlanta and has a background in healthcare. He studied business for his undergrad. After graduating, he went to New York City to focus on marketing and advertising. After several years of working, Justin decided to broaden his horizons and decided to look to Tepper to get him there.

Growing up, Justin’s parents were very into traveling, and so throughout his teenage and college years, his family vacations took him all over the world. Justin talks about the scholarship program at Tepper that was born from alumni at his previous college. Another big part of coming to Tepper was the MLT program, which links students to fellow, like-minded individuals.

The commitment to diversity at Tepper and to continue to improve upon that diversity is very impressive. The amount of not only support but the importance of having allies. The clubs focus on bringing in those allies and not just sectioning themselves off into one group. Justin’s program works a lot with other schools, such as Harvard’s African Business School and Forum, to put on various cultural fairs. Black History Month is another opportunity to highlight current students at Tepper and host various mixers.

Justin reflects on how crucial it is to spend time with your second-year student while they’re here because people come in and out at different intervals, whether to graduate or to study abroad. You never know who you’ll meet or the wealth of knowledge they have to offer. He also encourages prospective students choosing a business school to look at the school rankings and see why they’re at the rank they are. It can be a very lonely ride, so taking the initiative to connect with like-minded individuals will help immensely. When you come to business school, you should already have a list of your focus. It’d all about the mindset you have while you’re there.

What You Will Learn:

1. Background on Tepper MBA Candidate Justin VanNoy and what led him to study at Tepper.
2. How dedicated Tepper is to diversity and what clubs are available to support the POC community
3. Advice for prospective students considering going for their MBA in business