Whitney Buchmann
Whitney Buchmann is experienced at using human-centered design to lead social innovation with vulnerable populations and industry leadership. Her passion for sustainable communities stems from her time doing mission work in remote villages of Honduras, grassroots organizing in Costa Rica, engaging multi-faith groups across the US, and responding to public health crises in Camden, Ferguson and Flint. She currently resides in Philadelphia where she serves as a Deacon at her church and builds community through fitness and food.
"The online periods are very engaging. Weekly synchronous classes are a great way to check in with your classmates live. The asynchronous forums and group work throughout the week make sure you’re not losing any momentum."
DEFINE YOUR EXPERIENCE IN THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA USING ONE WORD.
Empowering.
IN WHAT WAYS DO YOU THINK THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA HAS CHANGED YOUR LIFE, PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY?
The Global Online MBA was truly a mountain-top experience for me. Coming from the US non-profit sector, I had imposter syndrome—I felt like I had to prove that I could hang with such an incredibly talented, diverse group of leaders. However, the Global Online MBA quickly taught me that it’s not about what you can do as an individual, but how you work as a team. And teams thrive on diversity. I’m grateful for classmates who respected and valued my background in social impact, which equipped me with relational leadership skills. Being a part of such high-performing teams during my program made me hungry for more experiences working with high-capacity people around the globe to solve complex problems.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO STUDENTS WHO ARE ABOUT TO BEGIN THE PROGRAM?
The best piece of advice I received as a student was from our professor, Tara Wernsing. She said that if you’re getting all A’s you’re doing something wrong. We are whole people with social and family commitments, jobs, and personal needs, in addition to being a student. If we were getting all A’s, it meant we were neglecting other parts of our life and that is not sustainable. One of the macro lessons I learned from the Global Online MBA was balance: prioritizing assignments, trusting your teammates and letting go of what you just don’t have time for.
HOW DID YOU ACHIEVE A WORK-LIFE-STUDY BALANCE DURING THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA?
Fairly strict time management. Google Calendar was my best friend. I blocked out time for the gym and even cooking. I scheduled at least one social activity a week that I could look forward to and made sure to communicate to my team the time(s) I wouldn’t be available. You know what is important for your health and ability to contribute, so don’t let others dictate your time.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE MEMORY OF THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA SO FAR?
Wow! That’s a tough one because there are SO many. Some are best saved for our class yearbook, but one that happened in the classroom was the lake simulation. We still don’t let some of our classmates live down their betrayal of our pact to treat the water. Pro tip: everyone does exponentially better (in every sense of the word) if you just pay to take care of your natural resources!
WHAT ARE THE RESIDENTIAL WEEKS LIKE? WHAT ARE THE ONLINE PERIODS LIKE?
The residential weeks are fairly intense, but so much fun! The relationships you build during residential weeks will carry you through the online periods. That might mean the sangria-to-sleep ratio is a little off for a week, but you’ll recalibrate when you get home. And like I said earlier, they will give you more homework than they actually expect you to complete because they’re teaching you to make trade-offs.
The online periods are very engaging. Weekly synchronous classes are a great way to check in with your classmates live. The asynchronous forums and group work throughout the week make sure you’re not losing any momentum.
WHAT IS NETWORKING LIKE IN THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA?
You won’t believe how much your world expands! We had 96 people from 43 different countries and an equally diverse set of industries. I found that there are people you will bond with and spend quality time with during residential weeks while others you get to learn about through class forums or the cohort WhatsApp chat. We still stay in touch about job updates, politics, the global pandemic, etc.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO DO THE GLOBAL ONLINE MBA AT IE BUSINESS SCHOOL?
I value diversity, have an entrepreneurial mindset, plan to spend my career in social impact, and believe that the US has a lot to learn from how other countries lead and do business. IE Business School shares most of those same values. Additionally, I planned to work full time and wanted to be among classmates who had some experience under their belt, so the blended format and average tenure of the cohort was appealing. It was also great value—it was ranked #1 online MBA globally when I applied and it wasn’t the price of a house.
WHAT SETS THIS PROGRAM APART FROM OTHERS?
The global lens. I have many friends who have done MBAs at top US business schools and none have had the emphasis on cultivating and supporting a globally diverse cohort like IE Business School.