Episodes
![Experience Darden #90: Debbie Wilson, Staff Psychologist at the UVA Darden School of Business](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/DebbieWilson_300x300.jpg)
Monday Jan 11, 2021
Monday Jan 11, 2021
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Debbie Wilson. Debbie is the Staff Psychologist at the Darden School of Business, and we recently connected with her to talk about students’ adjustment to life at Darden. During this wide-ranging conversation, Debbie shares a host of insights and tips for incoming students, including self-care strategies, how to prepare for the start of school and much more.
![Experience Darden #89: Fall Semester Special with Senior Associate Deans Tom Steenburgh and Yael Grushka-Cockayne](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/tom-yael_300x300.jpg)
Friday Dec 18, 2020
Friday Dec 18, 2020
In this special episode of the podcast, we catch up with Senior Associate Deans Tom Steenburgh and Yael Grushka-Cockayne. Tom and Yael are repeat guests on our Admissions podcasts, and we welcomed them back to talk about the fall semester and how Darden’s MBA programs – both Full-Time MBA and Executive MBA – adapted to the evolving COVID-19 landscape. During this wide-ranging conversation, Tom and Yael also share insights about the principles guiding the School’s planning efforts for the months ahead.
![Experience Darden #88: Andrew Kalna and Jeremy Rosenthal, Student Admissions Committee Members in the MBA Class of 2021](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/andrew-jeremy_300x300.jpg)
Monday Dec 14, 2020
Monday Dec 14, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with two members of the Student Admissions Committee (SAC), Andrew Kalna and Jeremy Rosenthal Andrew and Jeremy are both second year students in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and we recently connected with them to talk about their respective MBA journeys, what led them to Darden as well as their best tips for Darden applicants.
![Experience Darden #87: Jeff McNish, Assistant Dean, Career Center and Casey Floyd, Director for Employer Engagement](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/jeff-casey_300x300.jpg)
Friday Dec 11, 2020
Friday Dec 11, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jeff McNish, Assistant Dean, Career Center and Casey Floyd, Director for Employer Engagement. Casey and Jeff have both been on the podcast previously, and we recently connected with them via Zoom to talk about Darden’s approach to career support, what they love about the work they do, what recruiting looked like this fall and more.
![Experience Darden #86: Rachel Barnes, JD/MBA Dual Degree Student in Darden's MBA Class of 2021](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Barnes_300x300.jpg)
Friday Dec 04, 2020
Friday Dec 04, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Rachel Barnes. Rachel is a JD/MBA student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and we recently connected with her via Zoom to talk more about her background, why she decided to pursue a dual degree, how she has balanced the demands of both law school and business school and much more!
![Experience Darden #85: Zakiah Pierre, Associate Director in the Office of Student Affairs](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Pierre_300x300.jpg)
Friday Nov 20, 2020
Friday Nov 20, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Zakiah Pierre. Zakiah is an Associate Director in Darden’s Office of Student Affairs (OSA), and she works closely with Darden’s student clubs and organizations. We recently connected with her via Zoom to talk more about her background, what brought her to Darden, how student clubs and organizations are staying active and engaged during COVID-19 and much more.
![Experience Darden #84: Sammi Zhang, MBA Class of 2021 and President of the Asia Business Club at Darden](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Zhang_300x300.jpg)
Friday Nov 13, 2020
Friday Nov 13, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Sammi Zhang. Sammi is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and she is also the President of the Asia Business Club at Darden (ABCD). We recently connected with Sammi via Zoom to talk about her background, what led her to Darden, how things are going during the COVID-19 pandemic, her advice for prospective students and much more. Fun fact: Sammi was in China when we recorded this conversation, and she was kind enough to stay up to midnight for this interview!
![Experience Darden #83: Emily Kelly, MBA Class of 2021 and President of the Black Business Students Association](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Kelly_300x300.jpg)
Friday Nov 06, 2020
Friday Nov 06, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Emily Kelly. Emily is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and she is also President of the Black Business Students Association (BBSA). We recently connected with Emily via Zoom to talk more about her background, how she decide to pursue an MBA, what BBSA has been up to this year and much more
![Experience Darden #82: Mark Delaney, MBA Class of 2022 and Host of the Veteran (Semi) Professional Podcast](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/MarkDelaney_300x300.jpg)
Friday Oct 30, 2020
Friday Oct 30, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Mark Delaney. Mark is a first year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2022, and he is also a former military officer. We recently connected via Zoom to talk about his decision to pursue an MBA, what brought him to Darden, how his first semester is going as well as his advice for transitioning military members. Mark also hosts his own podcast – The Veteran (Semi) Professional Podcast – and he was kind enough to give us a sneak preview of a few upcoming episodes.
![Experience Darden #81: Admissions Committee members Catie Yielding and Whitney Kestner on "Your Darden Interview"](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/catie-whitney_300x300.jpg)
Friday Oct 23, 2020
Friday Oct 23, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Admissions Committee members, Catie Yielding and Whitney Kestner, for a conversation all about the Darden interview. If you are applying to Darden – or even better, if you are preparing for your Darden interview – this episode is essential listening.
![Experience Darden #80: Rachel Gibson, MBA Class of 2021 and CEO of Darden Capital Management](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Rachel_Gibson60lly_300x300.jpg)
Friday Oct 16, 2020
Friday Oct 16, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Rachel Gibson. Rachel is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and she is also the first female CEO of Darden Capital Management (DCM). We recently connected with Rachel via Zoom to talk more about Darden Capital Management, what her role as CEO entails, how the organization is navigating the investing turbulence caused by COVID-19 and much more.
![Experience Darden #79: James Peterson, MBA Class of 2021](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/JamesPeterson_300x300.jpg)
Friday Oct 09, 2020
Friday Oct 09, 2020
In this episode of the podcast we catch up with James Peterson. James is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and we recently connected via Zoom to talk more about his MBA journey including what led him to Darden, how he navigated his first year student at Darden as well as a student initiative he has helped start, The Sobriety Initiative.
![Experience Darden #78: Miranda Grueiro, MBA Class of 2021 and Darden Student Association VP for Diversity](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/MirandaGrueiro_300x300.jpg)
Friday Oct 02, 2020
Friday Oct 02, 2020
This weekend marks the occasion of the Darden Diversity Conference! In honor of the occasion, we recently connected with the Darden Student Association’s (DSA) VP for Diversity, Miranda Grueiro. Miranda is a second year student in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and we caught up with her via Zoom to talk about her background, what led her to Darden, what attracted her to her role as VP for Diversity and how the DSA is working to make sure every Darden student feels valued and loved.
![Experience Darden #77: Maggie Edmunds and Rebecca Welbourn, MBA Class of 2021, discuss Graduate Women in Business (GWIB)](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Edmunds-Welbourn_300x300.jpg)
Friday Sep 25, 2020
Friday Sep 25, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with two leaders of our Graduate Women in Business (GWIB) student organization, Maggie Edmunds and Rebecca Welbourn. Maggie and Rebecca are both second year students in our Full-Time MBA Class of 2021, and we recently connected via Zoom to talk more about their backgrounds, what led them to Darden, what GWIB has planned for the weeks and months ahead and much more.
![Experience Darden #76: Kathleen Llontop and Sofia Eckrich, Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management Liasons in the MBA Class of 2021](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Sophie-Eckrich-and-Kathleen-Llontop-896x504_300x300.jpg)
Friday Sep 18, 2020
Friday Sep 18, 2020
In this episode, we catch up with Kathleen Llontop and Sofia Eckrich. Kathleen and Sofia are second year students in our Class of 2021, and they are also Consortium liaisons. We connected with Kathleen and Sofia to talk about their backgrounds, how they decided to pursue an MBA, what attracted them to their roles as Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management liaisons and more. Did you know? This year’s Consortium class was Darden’s largest class ever, with 44 members!
![Experience Darden #75: Andrew Pinckney and Natasha Pangarkar, MBA Class of 2021 discuss Reaching Out MBA (ROMBA)](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/ROMBA_logo9xyzw_300x300.jpg)
Friday Sep 11, 2020
Friday Sep 11, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up Andrew Pinckney and Natasha Pangarkar. Andrew and Natasha are second year students in our full-time MBA Class of 2021, and they also serve as ROMBA fellows. ROMBA, Reaching Out MBA, is a non-profit organization focused on empowering LGBT+ MBA students and professionals, and we connected with Andrew and Natasha via Zoom to discuss their backgrounds, how they decided to pursue an MBA, what attracted them to their roles as ROMBA fellows as well as their advice for prospective students.
![Experience Darden #74: Tom Steenburgh, Senior Associate Dean for the Residential MBA Program](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Steenburgh74_300x300.jpg)
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
Thursday Sep 03, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Tom Steenburgh. Tom is Senior Associate Dean for the Residential MBA Program, and we recently connected with him via Zoom to talk about how Darden has responded to the COVID-19 pandemic, the preparations that took place over the summer to get ready for the start of school, how classes are going thus far and more. Fun fact: Tom is a two-time guest on the podcast. If you’re new to the pod, be sure to check out Tom’s earlier interview, Episode 44.
![Experience Darden #73: Sean Carr, Executive Director of the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Sean_Carr_025_300x300.jpg)
Friday Aug 28, 2020
Friday Aug 28, 2020
In special episode of Experience Darden and The ExecMBA Podcast, we catch up with Sean Carr, Executive Director of the Batten Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. We recently connected with Sean via Zoom to talk about Batten’s pivot to virtual programming, their slate of fall events, Darden’s resources and support for entrepreneurs and more. Sean is also the host of Darden’s Ideas to Action podcast – Be sure to check out this interview series featuring Darden faculty members
![Experience Darden #72: Amanda Wiggans, Class of 2021, President of Humans of Darden](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Amanda_Wiggansa9yqc_300x300.jpg)
Friday Aug 21, 2020
Friday Aug 21, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we’re excited to feature our recent conversation with Second Year student Amanda Wiggans. In addition to being a dual degree student pursuing a joint MBA/M.Ed, Amanda is also President of the Humans of Darden student organization. We connected with her via Zoom to talk about her background, her passion for criminal justice, how she spent her summer, the value of organizations like Humans of Darden in an MBA community and much more.
![Experience Darden #71: Marc Paulo Guzman, Associate Director, Diversity Recruitment](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/Ep18_300x300.jpg)
Friday Aug 14, 2020
Friday Aug 14, 2020
In this episode, we welcome back Associate Director, Diversity Recruitment Marc Paulo Guzman. We recently connected with Marc Paulo to talk more about current plans for this year’s Diversity Conference, as well as what he enjoys about his role and his advice for prospective students.
![Experience Darden #70: Director of Admissions Catie Yeilding on New Admissions Innovations for This Year's Cycle](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/yeilding_300x300.jpg)
Friday Jul 24, 2020
Friday Jul 24, 2020
The start of a new application cycle can only mean one thing here on the podcast: A new application-themed episode! In this episode, we catch up with Director of Admissions, Catie Yeilding, to discuss some of our new admissions innovations for this year’s cycle. If you’re targeting our full-time MBA Class of 2023, this episode is essential listening.
![Experience Darden #69: Professor Marc Lipson](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/MarcLipsonLowRes600x800_300x300.jpg)
Friday Jul 03, 2020
Friday Jul 03, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Professor Marc Lipson. Marc is a member of the Finance faculty, and we recently connected with him via Zoom to talk about two academic prep offerings for incoming students he has been instrumental in designing and delivering, Darden Before Darden and B-Ready. We also chat about his background, what led him to Darden and even Bob Dylan during this wide-ranging conversation.
![Experience Darden #68: Martin Davidson, Senior Associate Dean & Global Chief Diversity Officer and Christie Julien, Assistant Dean for Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/martin-christie_300x300.jpg)
Friday Jun 26, 2020
Friday Jun 26, 2020
A special edition of the Experience Darden and The ExecMBA podcasts! In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Martin Davidson and Christie Julien. Martin is Senior Associate Dean and Global Chief Diversity Officer at the Darden School, and he is also a member of the Leadership and Organizational Behavior faculty. Christie is Darden’s Assistant Dean for Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and a two-time guest on the Experience Darden podcast (See: Episode #34). We recently connected with Martin and Christie via Zoom to talk more about their backgrounds, what brought them to Darden as well as Darden’s efforts around diversity, equity and inclusion.
![Experience Darden #67: Special Edition with Professor Laura Morgan Roberts](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/LMR_300x300.jpg)
Friday Jun 12, 2020
Friday Jun 12, 2020
In this special episode of the ExecMBA and Experience Darden podcasts, we catch up with Professor Laura Morgan Roberts. Earlier this week, we connected with Laura via Zoom to talk about her experience facilitating a conversation in her Leading Teams course about the killing of George Floyd, the nationwide protests that followed and the social issues implicated by these and other recent events. During this wide-ranging interview, Laura shares how her research interests and lived experience inform her approach to these dialogues, why it is so hard for people to talk about race, and the important role students play in creating opportunity for these conversations.
![Experience Darden #66: Harsha Gummagatta, MBA Class of 2021 and President of the Tech Club](https://pbcdn1.podbean.com/imglogo/ep-logo/pbblog6593273/HarshaGummagatta_300x300.jpg)
Friday May 29, 2020
Friday May 29, 2020
In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with rising Second Year student Harsha Gummagatta. Harsha is President of the Tech Club, and he is also host of A Professor and a Playlist, a new virtual Zoom event in which Darden faculty members share songs that are meaningful to them. Recent guests include Shane Dikolli, Ed Freeman, Lalin Anik and more. Be sure to check out the companion Spotify playlist for weekly selections.
![Image](https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/ydcq69/test.jpg)
UVA Darden School of Business
At the UVA Darden School of Business, our mission is to improve the world by developing responsible leaders through unparalleled transformational learning experiences. Through degree and non-degree programs, delivered by the world’s best faculty and bolstered by their research and ideas, we put your personal purpose in motion, setting the stage for a lifetime of career advancement and impact.