2016 MBAs To Watch: Justin Jones, Notre Dame (Mendoza)

Justin Jones

University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business

Age: 30

Hometown: Ashtabula, OH

Undergraduate School and Degree: Maranatha Baptist University, B.S., Humanities

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? AMCAD, Senior Business Analyst, Internal Strategy

Where did you intern during the summer of 2015? Ernst & Young (Dallas)

Where will you be working after graduation? Ernst & Young, Senior Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School

• Kenneth R. Meyer Fellow
• Dean Woo Leadership Award Recipient
• Beta Gamma Sigma
• SVP of Committees, MBA Association
• MBA Meals on Wheels Coordinator
• Faith Development Committee
• Values Committee
• Entrepreneurship Club
• Consulting Club
• SavvyWomen Campaign founding member

Which academic or extracurricular achievements are you most proud of during business school? In my first year, I and another classmate founded a project to bring MBAs together to work in Haiti with Economic Growth Initiative coaching and running a business plan competition for Haitian entrepreneurs. I’m also currently in the final stages of a semester-long project as part of the school’s Business on the Frontlines program, partnered with World Vision, to address human trafficking and child prostitution in the Philippines. I’m proud to apply business acumen and strategy to seriously address social issues.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? It would be simply delivering good work on time. One project, in particular, required overcoming extreme resource, logistics, personnel, and relationship challenges. The satisfaction I felt when it was approved has become the benchmark for what I look for in my work.

Who is your favorite professor? Professor Viva Bartkus requires both creativity and serious analysis in her courses while demonstrating a remarkable balance between challenging growth and encouraging strengths.

Favorite MBA Courses? Business on the Frontlines, Strategic Cost Management, Innovation and Design, Marketing Analytics, Problem Solving

Why did you choose this business school? Its smaller size and curriculum flexibility, combined with academic rigor and close network, provided the exact mix I needed to develop both as a professional and a person.

What did you enjoy most about business school? The energy of being surrounded by capable people who were looking both to learn and to accomplish things created an atmosphere where I was challenged by both peers and faculty to grow personally and professionally.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from business school? To learn the “rules” of how business works — and then to break them when the right opportunity comes along.

What was the most surprising thing about business school? Realizing how much simply being human is at the core of the systems and organizations that appear monolithic and impenetrable.

What was the hardest part of business school? Time management. There are too many opportunities for any one person to take advantage of. We just call it “opportunity cost” in B-school instead of FOMO.

What’s your best advice to an applicant to your school? Own your experience — don’t wait for someone to hand you the next great thing. Go make it happen.

Read the entire story on the Poets & Quants website.