Experience Darden

Did you know the fashion industry is responsible for 10 percent of global greenhouse emissions? However, Darden First Year student Elizabeth Blankenship (Class of 2022) has a solution. Her contemporary fashion venture, Coton, uses only existing materials, bought directly from other luxury fashion brands and mills across Europe, to produce its clothes. We recently connected with Blankenship to talk about her MBA journey, the inspiration for her venture and the importance of doing the hardest thing first.

Alex Zorychta (Class of 2021) is a connector, and his venture, Zalence, allows connectors to curate pools of people they think should meet one-on-one. We chat with him about his entrepreneurial journey and how the Darden community has helped him explore and refine his venture.

We caught up with Director of Venture Programs for the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation (and friend of our Admissions podcasts) Jason Brewster to talk about the current state of the venturing at Darden. He also shares insights about effectuation, resources available to Darden student entrepreneurs and reading recommendations for aspiring venturers.

Harsha Gummagatta (Class of 2021) and Eric Linde (Class of 2021) are good friends, but they are also the hosts of a brand new Darden-inspired podcast, Third Coffee. As our listeners may know, First Coffee is a popular tradition at Darden – it’s a dedicated time each weekday when the community convenes for coffee (or tea!) and conversation. We chat with Harsha and Eric about the inspiration for the podcast, how things are going so far and their tips for fellow podcasters.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcasts, we’re pleased to share our recent Office Hours conversation with Darden Professor Rich Evans. We talk with Evans about his background, what led him to Darden, what he enjoys about teaching Finance through the case method and more. We also find time to hear Evans’ thoughts about a number of Finance-related “hot topics” – SPACs, GameStop, Bitcoin and the current state of the U.S. stock market.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Katherine Alford and Merav Frazier, two members of our Admissions Committee at the Darden School of Business. Katherine and Merav work closely with our Future Year Scholars Program (FYSP), Darden’s deferred enrollment program for college seniors and fifth year Master’s students, and we recently connected with Katherine and Merav to learn more about the Future Year Scholars Program as well as their tips and advice for FYSP applicants.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Tre Tennyson. Tre is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and he is also Chair of the UVA Graduate and Professional Council and the Graduate Affairs Chair on the UVA Student Council. We recently connected with Tre via Zoom to talk about his MBA journey and how he is advocating for graduate and professional students across grounds.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up Ann Joseph. Ann is a second year student in Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and she is also the President of Darden’s Global Business and Culture Club. We recently connected with Ann to discuss her MBA journey, what led her to Darden and how the Global Business and Culture Club has found creative ways to offer programming, like the always popular Global Food Festival, during the pandemic.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Larry Murphy. Larry is President, Custom Solutions, for Darden’s Executive Education and Lifelong Learning group, and we recently connected with him to talk about a meal initiative that was piloted this year to help foster community during the pandemic. Larry also shares an update about the Darden Inn construction project as well as the School’s plans to bring an arboretum and botanical garden to North Grounds.  

What’s it like to live in Charlottesville? In this episode, we catch up with three second year students in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, Emma Coogan, Tejaswi Kambalapally and Louis Margules about their respective MBA journeys as well as their favorite things to do in Cville.

Thumbnail image by Saadiq Hasan, CC BY-SA 4.0 , via Wikimedia Commons