Full-time MBA | Austin Nguyen

• Hometown
  Westminster, CA
• Undergraduate
  School: UCLA
  Major/Minor: Economics and Food Studies
• Previous Company
  Biotechnology at Verily
• Summer Internship
  Business Development and Marketing Internship at Andrew Kwon
• Specializations at Stern
  Entertainment, Media, and Technology; Strategy; Marketing
• Student Clubs
  Entertainment, Media, and Sports Association, Co-President
  OutClass, VP of Marketing
  Asian Business Society, VP of Admissions

I have never felt very inclined towards finance as a topic of study, so I've been really surprised by how much I've enjoyed Foundations of Finance with Professor Haran Segram. Professor Segram has made it abundantly clear to our class that his ultimate goal is to ensure that we are learning and that we are having fun while learning. He does this by entertaining every single question and pausing to press us for questions when we're silent because he knows the topic demands them. His enthusiasm for teaching has been very impactful to me. I would never willingly miss one of his lectures!

My advice for prospective students is to say yes as much as you can and to meet as many people as you can. An MBA experience is the perfect time to try new things without fear. There have been moments where I have felt overcommitted, but I think it's been better to have to scale backward on activities than to not have anything to choose from. Too many options is a good problem to have in this case.

I am the most proud to be a part of Stern's Entertainment, Media, and Sports Association (EMSA). Although NYU is famous for having so many alumni enter the industry, the recruiting pipeline for MBAs is definitely not as robust as other more MBA-catered fields. I appreciate being surrounded by so many passionate people who are constantly sharing resources and contacts to ensure that we are collectively more successful than if we were striking off on our own. Club membership and activities are defining experiences of being at Stern, and although I am proud of all the clubs I am a member of, I am most proud of what EMSA has done for me and what it represents.

I feel very blessed to have several groups of friends that I would consider my chosen family at Stern. I have gotten very close to members of my block (shout out to Block 2, the reigning Block Olympics Champions) as well as people that I very affectionately refer to as my "Co-Workers." I've had the opportunity to see and even help some of my classmates prepare for their weddings, which has been such a joy to witness.

My favorite Experiential Learning opportunity was the Entertainment Media Solutions program that was held in the Fall semester. Our task was to present a thoughtful strategic recommendation to Warner Bros. Discovery, leveraging their extensive IP portfolio to drive brand awareness, audience engagement, and, of course, revenue. I enjoyed the process of ideation and pressure testing all of the different components of our pitch. This was my first opportunity to engage in a consulting project and I was pleasantly surprised at how quickly I picked up the practice and how I was able to use my classroom learnings to solve a real-world problem.

To me, the Stern community is a great example of IQ + EQ. I've had incredibly deep and complex conversations with my peers across a variety of topics, but I've shared so many fun and unserious moments with everyone as well. It's a great balance and has made this first year fly by.