A Leap into Business School

(page 2 of 2)

Erin Rupprecht
NYU (Stern)
MBA Class of 2010

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This affinity for words and stories is what attracted me to a career in public diplomacy at the State Department.

What is public diplomacy, you may ask? Essentially, it's selling the American story. As I transition into business school, this same affinity is fueling my interest in marketing. What is marketing if not using images and words to tell a story about how a certain product is going to fix your problem, fulfill a need, make you happy, or otherwise change your life for the better? This is a key reason I am attending business school: to gain the knowledge and skills I need to perform the marketing function I enjoy, at the high level demanded by American business. I am also looking forward to marketing products with which consumers have a direct, personal connection. U.S. foreign policy doesn't always fit that bill.

But that said, I am a person who loves her country. Looking at the U.S. entry stamps that pepper my passport, I am reminded of the countless times I have handed this passport to a dour-faced U.S. immigration official, only to have him or her notice that I've been out for a long time, and hand it back to me with a smile and a warm "Welcome home." I love to travel, but I adore coming home.

Taking a Chance on Ukraine

Back in the U.S., I am reminded of all that makes this country great, like our culture of accountability. Yes, there can be corruption, but there are investigations, arrests, and trials that are not shams. The respect for the rule of law, which underpins the economic engine of our country by ensuring that contracts are honored, and which makes Hernando de Soto's mystery of capital not so mysterious at all.

At the end of the day, much of what makes our country so great can be attributed, in fact, to business. The innovation, the high standard of living, our pre-eminence on the world stage—all of this would be more elusive without a strong economy. And when our economy takes a turn for the worse, those of us with MBAs will be uniquely positioned/expected to get it back on track.

I am a person who, in pursuing an assignment to the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine (they have a lovely visa), took a leap out of my Latin American safety zone to go further east than I'd ever been before, to learn a language that I never thought I'd conquer, and to take my chances with Chernobyl radiation. I am a person who, despite my years of moving around, am still kind of surprised at how well I pulled off that particular life experiment. Not only did I land securely on my own two feet, but learned Russian and was a witness to an amazing moment in history: Ukraine's Orange Revolution.

Asking the Right Questions

And this brings me to the final reason I chose Stern. As I again feel the coiling of muscles as I prepare to leap—into New York, into the world of business after being immersed in government, into statistics and accounting and other foreign languages, and into a whole new career—I know that my Stern classmates, accurately described as "down to earth," laid back, and welcoming, will be there to lay a steadying hand on my arm when I land. As you think about where to apply for business school, make sure you know yourself. What do you need, what do you enjoy, and what's important to you? Find a business school that will answer those questions in the right way for you.

Erin Rupprecht is a member of the NYU Stern full-time MBA class of 2010.