Full-time MBA | Hyden Bruce

Hometown
Takoma Park, MD

Undergraduate
School: Excelsior University
Major/Minor: Liberal Arts

Previous Industry
Military / U.S. Army

Summer Internship
Generalist Intern at Chenmark

Specializations at Stern
Management of Technology & Operations, Marketing, Global Business

Student Clubs
Military Vets Club (MVC) / VP of Knowledge Management
Entrepreneurship & Startup Association / Chief of Staff

My first conversation with a MBA2 member of the Military Veterans Club was the moment I knew Stern was the school for me. I was deployed, had just decided to finish up my military career to pursue an MBA, and was apprehensive about the road ahead. I spoke with a student who had been in my shoes and could empathize with my situation, and he was extremely encouraging and shared advice from his own MBA experience. I was amazed by the time and effort he and other MBA2s invested in me as a prospective applicant, and knew that I wanted to join such a collaborative community and give back to future applicants in the same way.

Thanks to advice I received from current student veterans during Admitted Students Weekend, I got into a few virtual pre-MBA programs and explored careers I had no prior exposure to ahead of recruiting. This led me to choose non-traditional career recruiting super early (pre-Launch Orientation). 

My biggest focus was locking down an apartment before the rental season bidding wars started so we could move from North Carolina to New York. Once that was done, I just relaxed for a week or two and did some tourist things in NYC.

You're going to get a lot of advice and opinions from the moment you decide to get your MBA, and that's awesome and often helpful. But at the end of the day, only you can run your race...so don't be afraid to follow your gut and have fun with it!

1. Don't let FOMO take over. Sure, applying to more jobs will increase the odds, but going after anything and everything will 100% run you ragged. And with that: accept that your Google Calendar is your new best friend. 

2. Ask yourself these three "North Star" questions when presented with an opportunity: Where do I want to live? Who do I want to work with? What do I want to wear every day? 

3. Most importantly, don't take it so seriously. Life is too short, and your time at Stern is even shorter! You have the time to go to that happy hour, I promise.

I'm excited to be the VP of Knowledge Management for the MVC, working to share info across the club and tie in our veteran cohorts in the Langone Part-time MBA and Executive MBA programs! 

Also, a lot of us leave the military not knowing how to plan for healthcare, life insurance, home loans, or retirement accounts. I'm excited to help coordinate info sessions on these topics, open to the vets club and anyone at Stern who wants to prepare for the future. (Never leaving people uninformed, am I right NCOs?)

As a first-generation college student, I came into business school looking for exposure to non-government/military career paths, and Stern’s location made that possible almost immediately. 

From the first week of the Fertitta Veterans MBA Summer Program, I had opportunities to connect with alumni and industry professionals across a variety of industries, visit companies of interest, and begin building my network well before recruiting season started. 

That level of access in NYC gave me the ability to explore careers firsthand and refine my goals through real relationships and experiences. 

Right off the bat, the Fertitta Veterans MBA Program gave me an early start on exploring potential career paths and helped me narrow my focus between investment banking, consulting, and more non-traditional opportunities before recruiting formally began. Once the semester started, the Careers team helped me refine my story and develop my recruiting pitch in a way that translated my military experience effectively to employers. I was also matched with an MBA2 mentor (shout out Alexa Johnson, the real MVP!) who also came from a non-traditional pre-MBA background and was an amazing sounding board for resume edits, interview prep, and monthly check-ins throughout the year. The Stern Careers team has truly seen it all and has every base covered. I would not have been as successful during recruiting without the strong foundation their preparation, guidance, and resources helped me build.

I would describe the Stern community as deeply invested in each other’s success. I experienced this early on during my application process, when an MBA2 took time during his experiential learning trip overseas to help me, a prospective student, prepare for my interview. After completing my first year, I can say that there is an underlying belief that helping someone else succeed doesn't diminish your own opportunities; it's just the norm. My peers and I have shared job postings with one another even while searching for similar roles, and recruiting advice/experiences are shared for the good of the group. The idea that "a rising tide lifts all boats" is put into practice every day, and paying it forward is just part of our culture.