Badgering Around

Luis A. Valdez-Jimenez (J.D., M.B.A., 2015) has always been passionate about diversity, inclusion, and languages. After learning about language certifications through ACTFL, he was inspired to launch Language Ventures, Inc., which seeks to help students, professionals, and organizations convert language barriers into competitive advantages. To learn more, see this link. 

Observations from the first week of isolation.

UW-Madison churns out a lot of talented professionals, awarding over 10,000 bachelors and graduate degrees each year. We have close to 450,000 living alumni, over 16,000 of which graduated with a History degree. One of those is a fellow History graduate and good friend Julie Rogers, who I had the pleasure of speaking with for this episode of Badgering Around. Julie works in Washington DC and serves as the Historian for NPR (National Public Radio), which is headquartered in DC. I asked Julie about her journey to NPR, working and living in DC, and about the current importance of preserving history and recording facts. We also chatted about the Wisconsin Idea and how sometimes you have to take a look back, in order to have a full, clear vision for what lies ahead. On this episode, of Badgering Around. 

To kick-off this season, I sat down with four of our returning MBAs, fresh off their internships and excited to begin their last year toward graduation in the spring. We spoke about the value of having internships, how to make the most of the experience you’re given, and ultimately – how having a successful internship is beyond the projects you’re assigned and impression to make on your manager. As the job market tightens and organizations continue to compete for the best – how can an internship put you above the rest? This week, on Badgering Around.  

SEASON FINALEAmmad Amin MBA'19Emma Eberts MBA'19Patrick Stahl MBA'19

I traveled around Madison to visit a variety of companies to talk through some common myths of recruitment and hiring. This is Part One: All About Applications.Tara Martino ‘14, Corporate Recruiter, EpicMaggie Ostrowski, HR Director/Manager for manufacturing and start-up organizationsGillian Fortney ‘03, HR Director, Exact Sciences

Jean Sink, director of career management and corporate partnerships for our part-time and executive MBA programs joined me to talk about the ebb and flow of hiring in spring, the best time to begin your job search and tips to break into the current competitive market. 

Donovan Walker MBA x'19Patrick Lueck MBA x'19From the perspective of two very different career journeys we discuss career decision making, their love of solving business problems and…batman. And through it all, discover that they might not be so different after all. 

Produced by the Wisconsin School of Business and hosted by Gina Jenkins, Director of Career Management for FT MBA and specialty masters' programs. Hear from our community of entrepreneurs, business leaders and current students. Episodes will be released every other week – so subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts.

Andrew Foster MBA '18On this episode I sat down with Andrew Foster, graduate of our Operations and Technology Management MBA program and Managing Partner of FreshFin – a Wisconsin-based restaurant – and a company that focuses on high-quality food, taking care of the environment and giving back to their communities. I met him at their Madison location and sat underneath a sky of fish décor to learn about Andrews journey from Engineer to business Owner and everything Poké.