Smith Grads Among Class of 2018 MBAs to Watch

Class of 2018 graduates Staci Bank and Sean Gilson represent the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business in Poets & Quants’ “100 MBAs to Watch in The Class of 2018.”

Bank, with her MBA focus on data analytics and a Smith bachelor’s degree in marketing and supply chain management, works for Johnson & Johnson as a procurement leadership development program associate. Gilson, a finance manager for American Express, focused his MBA study on banking, corporate finance and securities law. He was an advisor during 2017-2018 for the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship and a Mayer Fund financial sector equity analyst.

Read both Bank’s profile and Gilson’s profile at Poets & Quants, where they give insights into Smith’s full-time MBA program.

Here are samples:

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school?

Bank: One of the reasons I came to Smith was the experiential learning opportunities that the school has to offer. These opportunities provide students with a hands-on experience to apply what is learned in the classroom to real-world problems. One option, designED, was the graduate level version of Quest, a revered program at Smith undergrad. I always regretted not taking Quest during my years at Smith the first time, so I was determined to apply to designED. In this class, students learn design thinking techniques, build business development skills, and perform consulting projects. When I received my “congratulations” email from the previous cohort, I was thrilled and exhilarated. I knew that I could add value to this class, and that it would provide me with new skills to take with me into the workforce.

Why did you choose this business school?

Gilson: I chose Smith because of the small class size, experiential learning coursework, and tight-knit student body. I have made lifelong friends from Smith through experiential courses such as the Mayer Fund. The Mayer Fund, our student-run actively managed endowment, allowed me to form close friendships with my fellow fund members while also relying on them for constructive feedback when I am biased toward a particular stock.