Fast Pass Insights: Inside the Michigan Ross MBA with Lysa Wang

Now we'll get into the part of the podcast where we're going to go into our fast pass insights. So we'll do some rapid fire questions. Our first one, what is one word that you would use to describe Ross's culture?

I'm going to say vibrant. I'm not going to say collaborative. I love that.

Yeah.

Very vibrant. We have students from all over the world. There's always so much going on. No matter what your interests are, there's always something for you. And if there isn't, students are always empowered to create it. Right. If there's no club for whatever it is you like, create that club. And then there we go. We have a new community. So it's just a really vibrant community. Yeah. And culture.

And can you share an alum who you think really embodies the Ross spirit?

I can't because I don't want to offend anyone, but I will. Overall, again, just our alums in general are always, always willing to help out, whether it's for our webinars, whether it's going on the road to recruit with us. And this is alums in the US and all over the. They are always eager to support us. And we are so thankful. And we couldn't, we really couldn't do this without them because they are, you know, the true Ross brand ambassadors. Right. They live the experience and so they're the best ones to really share that.

And what's your favorite spot in Ann Arbor?

My favorite spot in Ann Arbor, I will say, is probably Gallic Park. It's very near our my house. And so it's just a great place. I used to take my son Nathan a lot during COVID We used to go there a lot. But it's really nice. There's time, plenty of playgrounds. You can kayak down the Huron River. Yeah. And I usually do the very simple, like lazy, like calm waters. But apparently there's a full route where it's like white water rafting. Wow. From what I hear. And it takes like two plus hours to finish the entire kayaking thing, but I usually just do the very calm. Like that's so cool around. Yeah. So it's a nice place to hang out on the weekend. And it's usually packed, too, especially over the summer.

Wow. Like right in the middle of the city. That's awesome.

Well, yeah, it's kind of on the east side. Yeah.

And what's something that most students take for granted but later realize was an invaluable part of the Ross experience?

I don't think anyone takes an MBA for granted because it's such a huge investment and they've taken such a long time to prepare to get here. But I do think that what they miss the most is again, that community. Right, because they build such strong bonds here and then after their mba, everyone kind of disperses out throughout the whole entire world. And so I think they really do miss that tight knit community feel that they were when they were student here. Which is why they love coming back and they love being engaged. Yeah.

Oh yeah, that is nice. It is a really special moment. All of those people will probably never be together again.

So maybe at a reunion, hopefully.

And what is your golden buzzer insight about Ross? Something that defines the experience but would never show up in a brochure or an info session slide.

I don't know if I can say this, but honestly, it's snow in April. It does happen. Guys, I'm not going to sugarcoat it. Ann Arbor is a cold, cold place. Look, I'm from the south, so. So Ann Arbor is definitely the coldest place I've ever lived. And when I tell you, when I saw snow in April the first time ever, I was like, what in the world is going on? But now I'm not even phased. Like, we had snow during gbr, which is our admit weekend, on the first day of gbr, we were like, well, it wouldn't be GBR without snow.

But it's a cozy experience. It's a really nice, A really nice environment.

Yes. And so we definitely don't promote this out on the road or in our brochures. But it does happen.

Guys.

Prepare yourselves.

Growing up in like a day or.

Two, you'll be fine.

You'll be fine. Growing up in Colorado, you know, I experienced that a lot. You get used to it.

Yeah, you get used to it. Get yourself some hand warmers and you'll.

Be good to go. Exactly.