How ISBE MBA fosters a community for under-represented students to succeed in business
To say that Northwestern is a high-achieving school would be an understatement. Of the roughly 48,000 high school students who applied to Northwestern last school year, just 6.8% were admitted to the Class of 2025, Northwestern’s lowest acceptance rate on record. Within each class comes an incredibly diverse range of students of all kinds of backgrounds. In fact, the Northwestern undergraduate body boasts students from every single American state, as well as 96 countries.
Aside from geography though, students also come from a diverse set of backgrounds when it comes to wealth and adjacent areas like family connections to high-paying industries. A full 14% of students come from families in the top 1%, as defined by households making over $500,000 a year, and the median family income for Northwestern students is $171,200. So when it comes to recruiting for jobs in the business sector, it’s not exactly a level playing field here at NU. Some students are able to leverage their network of family friends and connections to help them find jobs in lucrative industries such as finance and consulting and go into Northwestern with a better understanding of how to recruit for those industries relative to their peers with no such connections to business.
That’s where groups like the ISBE Minority Business Association, or MBA for short, find their value here on campus. MBA exists to provide a community and resources for students who come from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in business, including students of black, latinx and indigenous descent. Victoria Da Conceicao, a rising third year in Weinberg, is the director of MBA. She describes MBA as “a program that helps students get into business regardless of your previous experiences.”
Since 2012, MBA has been an open and non-selective student run organization which offers members opportunities to meet new people, attend workshops, speaker events and connect directly with recruiters targeting diversity candidates. This programming alongside other social events fosters a sense of community within MBA, where students support each other in their common pursuit of making a career in business.
In terms of what it can do for students, MBA’s deputy director Quincy Sells, also a rising third year in Weinberg, cites specifically MBA’s ability to educate its members and remediate information disparities when it comes to recruiting in business. “There are a ton of programs out there that are targeted for minority students, and businesses are trying to promote DEI programs even for freshmen and sophomores. The biggest barrier is finding information, and that’s where MBA can come in to provide that information.”
Victoria adds that “the thing we can help with the most is getting your foot in the door. A common trend I notice is that members of MBA don’t have parents in the industries of business, and MBA can help with exposure.” Information is power when it comes to recruiting for business, knowing how to network, how to construct an effective resume and finding programs that provide opportunities for participants. These are all things that a network can provide for students, outside of the very specific role of getting them a job. Given the diversity of this school, students will enter with very different networks, and groups like ISBE MBA are a straightforward way to enhance the network of students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds in business.
Another key part of what MBA does is host guest speaker events. Victoria spends a good deal of her time as director reaching out to potential speakers with unique backgrounds and interesting stories, setting up events for MBA members to come, listen to and interact with the speakers. Aside from the potential networking opportunities present at these events, they also offer strong learning opportunities outside of the classroom, where members can get a stronger understanding of what it’s like to build a start-up or hear from a subject-matter expert.
Overall though, what really makes MBA what it is, its raison d’être, is the community it builds. As a club founded on inclusivity and empowerment, MBA builds its members up and sets them up for success. It’s a place where people can come for the opportunities and stay for the people. If you’re interested in getting involved, consider applying in Fall 2021 through ISBE, or get in touch with Victoria and Quincy.
