About McKenna: McKenna Allard is a life-long Californian. She grew up in San Diego, went to UC Berkeley, and lived in San Francisco prior to moving to LA to attend Anderson. At Cal, McKenna double majored in economics and psychology and was a Campus Ambassador/tour guide. After graduating, McKenna worked as a healthcare consultant in San Francisco. She hopes to pivot from the healthcare industry to the media-tech industry in a product-related role. In her free time, she loves going to the movies, traveling, and trying new restaurants.
Although Anderson’s MBA program officially started August 1st this year, I (as well as about 115 other first-year students) was on campus and in class midway through July taking part in the Technology Immersion program. The optional Summer Immersion programs for Consulting, Finance, and Tech first started in 2021 with the goals to 1. give first-year students an early introduction to three popular post-MBA career fields so students could test out their interests prior to recruiting and 2. help students get acquainted with industry terminology and knowledge to pave the path for a successful recruiting process.
This year’s Tech Immersion consisted of 8 classes focused on Technology Management and Product Management and provided a high-level overview of technology-based innovations such as cloud computing and blockchain. Even though taking part in the program meant that I had homework and in-person classes prior to school actually starting, there are 3 main reasons I believe the Tech Immersion was totally worth it!
- Professor Kramer. This year’s Tech Immersion was taught by Professor Kramer. In addition to being one of the most interesting and well-liked professors at Anderson, Professor Kramer is the Faculty Director of the Easton Technology Management Center. He really encouraged active participation in the course and answered our questions thoughtfully and thoroughly. Being able to learn from and interact with a professor of his caliber starting on Day 1 of my time at Anderson made me really excited for future classes.
- An early introduction to the case method. Like most first-year students, I had never worked on a case study prior to Anderson and had not used the case method in any of my undergraduate classes. So, I really appreciated that the Tech Immersion gave me early exposure to the case method in a risk-free environment. By the start of our Summer quarter classes, I felt better prepared for and more confident in writing case studies thanks to the experiences I’d had and feedback I’d received in the immersion program.
- Friends! Finally, and maybe most importantly, being part of the Tech Immersion allowed me to meet tons of my classmates prior to orientation. Walking onto campus on day 1 of school was a lot less nerve-wracking knowing that I had already made friends in the Tech Immersion. Some of my closest friends at school are people I met in the immersion program and I think that alone made the Tech Immersion a valuable experience.
Overall, I really enjoyed taking part in the Tech Immersion and would recommend it for any incoming students who are interested in:
- Learning from interesting faculty such as Professor Kramer
- Getting an early introduction to the case method
- Or making friends early on in your time at Anderson!
Student Blogger: McKenna Allard ‘24
Undergrad: UC Berkeley (’18) – B.A. Economics and Psychology
Pre-MBA: Senior Consultant, Cloudmed (formerly Triage Consulting Group)
Leadership@Anderson: First-Year Director, Admission Ambassador Corps; Director of Marketing and Communications, Entertainment Management Association
Instagram handle: @kenna_ta