Lexi Lear (MBA ’20)
The Broad Full-Time MBA program provides students with ample opportunities to be in leadership positions while getting their degree: serving as vice president of one of our clubs, acting as a career advisor or advising teams during their first leadership course, just to name a few. I am thrilled to serve as the VP of Fundraising on our MBA Association board and lead as a team advisor to four teams of first-year students.
In addition to these roles, I’ve had the opportunity to act as a presentation coach to a group of five amazing first-year students under the advisement of Jeff Hittler, who teaches a series of courses designed to prepare students to individually create and deliver executive presentations. As a coach, I’m able to draw from my experiences and lessons from my first year in the program to guide an ambitious team of individuals in mastering their presentation style and delivery.
Since starting as a coach in the fall, I’ve met with the team on a weekly basis for practice sessions. We use these sessions to critique the presenters and provide valuable feedback to get them ready for their final run. My favorite aspect of coaching is getting to witness students’ progression from their first run in a team meeting to their final presentation in front of more than 40 classmates. Working with the team over two semesters has given me the time to truly see their confidence and skills develop. I value the sense of pride I feel in each of their presentations and enjoy sitting in the back of the classroom to cheer them on as they display their hard work.
While coaching this team to be the best presenters they can be, I’ve grown confident in my leadership capabilities. It was largely due to the efforts and helpfulness of my coach in my first year, Maria Haugen, that I was inspired to become a coach. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of individuals to work with, and I look forward to fostering the relationships I’ve built with each of them. I hope that my passion as their coach and the competencies I’ve developed in the role have inspired the team to become coaches themselves. I’ll forever be grateful for the experiences I’ve had here at Broad and will continue to carry my confidence as a leader into my future career.
