Over the coming weeks, we will continue sharing conversations with the section reps for Darden’s First Year sections – Section A, B, C, D and E. Up next is Sebastian Nabatoff, section rep for Section B. During this conversation, we talk with Sebastian about his background, what led him to Darden, what attracted him to the section rep role, his favorite Section B norms, highlights from his first year and more.

In this very special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with dean emeritus Bob Bruner. As a financial economist, Bruner is best known for his research on mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and financial panics. He served as dean of the Darden School from 2005 to 2015, and, this May, he will be retiring after 41 years of service and leadership at Darden.

In this conversation, we talk with Bruner about what led him to Darden, his passion for the case method, his interest in financial crises, what the panic of 1907 can tell us about financial crises generally, his thoughts on the recent Silicon Valley Bank collapse and more.  

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Anthony Palomba. Palomba is a member of the Communication faculty at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business, and his teaching interests are focused on how business professionals can present data results and actionable insights to key stakeholders through storytelling. In this conversation, we talk with Palomba about his interest in communication and media, his Storytelling Through Data elective, current challenges and opportunities in the streaming video on demand marketplace, what it takes to lead an entertainment company today and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Mark Williams-Sierra and Fabiana Diaz. Mark and Fabiana are first year students in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2024, and they are also Darden’s newest Consortium Liaisons. In this conversation, Mark and Fabiana reflect upon their MBA journeys, their shared background as educators, what attracted them to the Consortium liaison role, the Consortium community at Darden, their plans for the months ahead and more. Learn more about the Consortium.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Earnest Pettway. Earnest is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2023, and he is also the Vice President for Darden Cup. In this conversation, Earnest reflects upon his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how he decided to serve as VP for Darden Cup, highlights from this year’s competition and more. Darden Cup is a series of extracurricular, athletic and artistic events that take place throughout the academic year. Darden’s five sections compete against each other for the Cup, and the purpose of the event is really two-fold: 1) To foster camaraderie between First Years, Second Years and Faculty and 2) To create good-natured competition across the sections.

Have you ever wondered how a Darden case comes together? In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Gerry Yemen. Gerry is Senior Research and Executive Director of the Darden Case Writing Research Group at the Darden School of Business, and she has interviewed protagonists and written or co-authored over 400 cases, teaching notes and technical notes featuring leading business executives nationally and internationally since joining Darden in 1998. In this wide-ranging conversation, Gerry discusses her background, what led her to Darden, how a case is developed, what it’s like to see a case you’ve written discussed in class and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Natalie Barbaresi. Natalie is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2023, and she recently studied abroad at HEC Paris. We talk – Natalie about her background, what led her to Darden, how she decided to study abroad, her favorite memories from her time at HEC Paris and more. Natalie also reflects upon her passion for public speaking and her participation in Darden Stories.

In this episode of the podcast, we’re excited to share the audio from a recent webinar all about UVA Darden’s relaunched PhD program. During this conversation, Professor Michael Lenox, Senior Associate Dean and Chief Strategy Officer, and Christian West, Senior Director of Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Recruiting explore the structure and design of the PhD program. Additional topics include research resources for PhD students, admissions insights, and more.

Over the next five weeks, we will share interviews with the section reps for Darden’s First Year sections – Section A, B, C, D and E. First up is Anika Kempe, section rep for Section A. During this conversation, we talk with Anika about her decision to pursue an MBA, what led her to Darden, what drew her to the section rep role, what she loves about Section A and more.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Taiwo and Kehinde Abiodun. Taiwo and Kehinde are second year students in UVA Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2023, and, fun fact, they are twins! We talk with Taiwo and Kehinde about their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, how Darden helped prepare them for investment banking recruitment, their advice for prospective students and more.