Why I Coach—Brennen F.

Education has changed my life. The mentors, lessons, and experiences that I’ve gained through my educational journey have shaped the person I am today, and I’m energized and inspired to help afford others those same experiences and opportunities.

I’m obsessed with animals (I’ve raised over a thousand tortoises, sugar gliders, hedgehogs, chinchillas, birds, and other pets). I entered the University of Arizona as a veterinary science major, with aspirations of owning and operating my own clinic. After fainting at the sight of blood, though, I quickly realized that my journey forward wouldn’t go exactly the way I planned it.

Growing up in Arizona, I was constantly frustrated by the lack of resources and investment in our local education systems. In high school, I was heavily involved in educational policy work and student advocacy. Knowing I’d never be a veterinarian, I decided to tackle education instead, and at the University of Arizona, paired a degree in education leadership, literacy, and learning with a degree in business to best set myself up to tackle the issues I’d seen in education. This turned out to be a great decision; my combination of degrees has allowed me to advise college deans, work with my own university president, vote on strategic planning committees, build college recruiting strategy, and operate my own business.

As I concluded my time at Arizona, I knew I wanted an advanced degree, so I applied to deferred MBA programs. I was fortunate to be admitted to Stanford, Harvard, Wharton, and Darden, after a long but exciting year of applications.

My undergraduate experience, as well as that year applying to business schools, exposed me to mentors, managers, professors, and peers who have guided me and changed my life for the better. This, then, is why I’ve decided to work as an MBA coach—to offer the same guidance to others that I’ve benefited from, and to try and make the education I’ve received accessible to others as well.

As a coach, I focus on self-reflection and communicating strengths and passions; I also make my mentor network available to those I’m coaching, because I’ve had such strong mentors in my own life, and I want to pay that asset forward. I myself enjoy being a mentor, and am excited to empower as many students as I can to reach their full potential. If you’re a deferred MBA applicant looking for a guide and mentor who’s deeply passionate about education, I’m the coach for you.

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Interested in working together on your MBA application? Click here for my Leland coaching profile.