Stern Stories
Transform Possible
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Business is the most powerful tool for transforming lives and creating value. - Dean Peter Henry
Jersey City Mayor Steven Fulop welcomed the newest class of Langone MBA students at Langone Lab, an orientation program for Stern’s working professionals.
“This is an extraordinary place,” Dean Peter Henry told incoming Langone MBA students as they arrived for Langone Lab, a weekend-long orientation program for Stern’s working professionals. “We’re going to help you make the most out of this extraordinary environment.”
As students introduced themselves to one another over breakfast and group meetings, Dean Henry encouraged them to get to know the peers who were most different from them and to take advantage of the community of outliers – the incredible students, faculty, CEOs, captains of industry and other risk-takers – who call Stern home. “One of your greatest assets in this program will be your classmates,” he said, referencing the power of networking for both personal and professional fulfillment.
The intersection of personal and professional lives was one key theme of Langone Lab, beginning with a welcome address by Dean of MBA Students Conor Grennan (MBA ’10), whose personal journey volunteering at an orphanage in post-war Nepal led to the founding of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Next Generation Nepal.
Keynote speaker Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City and Langone MBA alumnus (‘07), similarly focused on ways in which students, organizations and governments can be both socially conscious and economically friendly to improve the lives of others and support business goals at the same time. He emphasized the importance of building a strong network and skill set while at Stern as well as taking professional risks in order to follow a personal passion or help others who might otherwise be left behind. “Be relentless. You will always be able to bounce back with the skills you develop here. Always.”
Under the guidance of Professor Luke Williams, Executive Director of the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, students then transitioned to classrooms to begin collaborating on innovative solutions to their team challenge: What product or service can increase our capacity to adapt to the rapid changes in our business lives? As they prepared to tackle the task ahead and the many opportunities awaiting them during their MBA program, Dean Henry offered parting words to frame their journeys.
“The professional reasons for coming to an MBA program are only a small subset,” he said. “Business is the most powerful tool for transforming lives and creating value.”
As students introduced themselves to one another over breakfast and group meetings, Dean Henry encouraged them to get to know the peers who were most different from them and to take advantage of the community of outliers – the incredible students, faculty, CEOs, captains of industry and other risk-takers – who call Stern home. “One of your greatest assets in this program will be your classmates,” he said, referencing the power of networking for both personal and professional fulfillment.
The intersection of personal and professional lives was one key theme of Langone Lab, beginning with a welcome address by Dean of MBA Students Conor Grennan (MBA ’10), whose personal journey volunteering at an orphanage in post-war Nepal led to the founding of a non-governmental organization (NGO), Next Generation Nepal.
Keynote speaker Steven Fulop, Mayor of Jersey City and Langone MBA alumnus (‘07), similarly focused on ways in which students, organizations and governments can be both socially conscious and economically friendly to improve the lives of others and support business goals at the same time. He emphasized the importance of building a strong network and skill set while at Stern as well as taking professional risks in order to follow a personal passion or help others who might otherwise be left behind. “Be relentless. You will always be able to bounce back with the skills you develop here. Always.”
Under the guidance of Professor Luke Williams, Executive Director of the Berkley Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation, students then transitioned to classrooms to begin collaborating on innovative solutions to their team challenge: What product or service can increase our capacity to adapt to the rapid changes in our business lives? As they prepared to tackle the task ahead and the many opportunities awaiting them during their MBA program, Dean Henry offered parting words to frame their journeys.
“The professional reasons for coming to an MBA program are only a small subset,” he said. “Business is the most powerful tool for transforming lives and creating value.”