Tolu Adeofe
MBA 2018
- Hometown: Oswego, IL
- Pre-MBA: Strategist at Google
Tolu Adeofe
Post Graduation Goals:
Find an exciting career in a field that combines my interests of finance and technology
Highlight of My Week:
Getting to hear Tristan Walker (GSB ’10) speak on diversity and inclusion in an intimate class discussion – and having him compliment me on my sweatshirt!
Monday
08:30am
I’m a morning person, so I scheduled my classes this quarter with 8:30am classes every morning except Wednesday. This morning it’s Global Macroeconomics with Chad Jones. I studied engineering in undergrad and never took an economics course before so this is all new information to me. It’s amazing learning how most of the economies of the world are so dependent on each other and how we can track trends in over almost a hundred years back to root causes.
10:00am
Today’s the first day of a new compressed course I am taking on Creating and Managing Social Networks. Excited to see two of my closest friends, Iman and Megan in class with me – this will be fun as we map out social networks over the rest of the quarter.
12:00pm
It’s so beautiful outside today! Iman and I plan to work on a financial model together, but due to the good weather and our friends we decide to sit outside and do it in the sun instead of the library.
02:00pm
Time to work out. Off to Soul-Cycle!
03:00pm
I have a 2 week compressed course starting today: Building Diverse and Inclusive Organizations. We’ll meet 3x a week, for 3 hours each time, for 2 weeks – so we’re cramming a lot of information into a short period. I’m excited though because I’m passionate about this topic and even more excited about my group that I’ll be working on my final project with. We’ve decided to do research on how to make hiring and interviewing more equitable for all candidates especially women and minorities.
06:30pm
Mondays are my longest day and it’s not over yet. I have an optional class tonight on financial modeling. I never miss it because I hope to go into finance after school so I’m using every opportunity to learn that is available.
08:30pm
I live off campus (unusual for an MBA1) about 10 minutes away from campus. Today was a long day filled with academic work so I’m ready to drive home, eat dinner, do some homework, and get to bed early tonight.
Tuesday
06:00am
Woke up at 6am to make sure I had time to get ready and be on campus by 7am for a Women in Management (WIM) board meeting. I’m one of the co-presidents next year, so I’m meeting with the entire board today to plan the events we’ll be organizing. We’re super excited for the new programming!
08:30am
First class of the day! This morning I have Advanced Operations with Hau Lee. Today we studied a case on McDonalds’ operations in India. We learned how to study a company’s operations and determine if it is scalable in a new emerging market and if not what tools and processes we could use to help transform the manufacturing process.
10:00am
It’s a week of new compressed courses for me! I’m again adding a new class today, this time it’s Strategy Beyond Markets with Dana Foarta. I’ve heard amazing things about this professor, she led one of the Global Seminars this past summer to Argentina for a group of 25 MBA1s and everyone says she’s an amazing teacher. I’m excited for the course; it’s a super interesting topic!
12:00pm
I don’t have any more classes for the day so decided to get a workout in. One of my favorite things to do when I have a big chunk of empty time on my calendar is walk The Dish. The Dish is this amazing trail about a 30 minute walk from campus, it has intense inclines and amazing views from the top, it takes about 2 hours to walk the entire loop plus make my way back to campus. After a shower in the lockers beneath Arbuckle and a quick lunch it’s time to continue my day!
03:00pm
My friend Deanna and I are obsessed with this new show on Hulu. I was supposed to go to the library to work on my financial model, but I can’t resist when she texts me to come to Highland Hall across the street so we can watch the newest episode together. Thank goodness for friends who live on campus and have televisions! Instead of using the picture of what we actually looked like after working out and watching tv, I chose a more flattering picture of us at a mixer instead, lol!
04:30pm
After that slight detour, made it to the computer lab in the library (we call it RAIL). I can’t wait until it’s Thursday morning and I submit this model, but for now I need to keep on working on it. My modeling class is a lot of work and takes a lot of extra hours outside of class to complete the assignments, but I’m learning so much it’s more than worth it.
06:30pm
I have a dinner meeting with next year’s Black Business Student Association (BBSA) executive board. I’ll be the Social Chair for next year. We’re busy planning our retreat for this Fall as well as what we want to do for an end of year party and send-off celebration for our MBA2s. I can’t believe a whole year has already passed and the MBA2s will be leaving us, well we better make sure we plan an amazing party for them!
08:00pm
Back to the computer lab with Iman to work on our financial model. We’ve been spending a lot of late nights each week working on various models for different financial situations. We’re currently building a Venture Capital model that shows what will happen during various funding rounds of a start-up and the alternative payoff schemas for each series investor. If someone would have told me a year ago that I’d be able to build a model like this, I wouldn’t have believed them! As soon as we’re done I’m heading home to call some friends and go to bed.
Wednesday
09:00am
Even though I only have one class today I know it’s going to be a long day. The financial model I’ve been working on all week is due soon, so pressure is on to complete it, put together a presentation detailing my analysis as a financial manager, and make everything look good! I already know I need to start my day with a morning Dish walk so I’m ready to face the challenge.
11:30am
Off to grab a quick lunch with friends and then off to the computer lab to get to work.
12:30pm
Working on my model all day. This week’s model requires me to value a conglomerate enterprise company that has several very different sub-companies. I need to figure out an appropriate enterprise value for the company as well as decide what are the right comps to use to evaluate the offer. I had a lot of theoretical questions around this topic when I was interviewing for my internship; it’s hard but exciting to actually get to put everything to practice in this class. I highly recommend it!
03:00pm
Diversity and Inclusion class. Today we have Laura Wiedman Powers (GSB ’10) and Tristan Walker (GSB ’10) as our guest speakers. Laura is the CEO of Code2040 which is aiming to get more Black and Latin-x people into technical roles in Silicon Valley. Tristan is CEO of Walker & Co, a company that creates beauty and health products for minorities. They gave our class a lot of actionable insights into what we can do to move the needle on unconscious bias in the workplace and here at the GSB. I’m just fangirl-ing over the fact that Tristan loved my Kente cloth Stanford sweatshirt!
06:00pm
Can’t stop, won’t stop. I only have 45 minutes of free time but I still run back to the computer lab to check in with my partner Iman to see all the updates she made to our model while I was in class. I barely sit down before I look at the clock and realize I’m about to be late for my next thing!
06:45pm
WIM Group!! My favorite part of my schedule! WIM groups are something the women on campus who are members of Women in Management can opt into. It’s a group of usually 6-8 GSB women in the same year. We meet bi-weekly to talk about everything and anything. Each group is led by a trained facilitator who helps us think through any issues and inspires us with really great life and goal planning activities. I love my group so much and we always have the best time together.
09:00pm
Time for TALK! TALK is an amazing experience that is unique to the GSB. Each week two members from our class give a TALK on their life, things that have shaped them and made them who they are; it’s an amazing way for members of our community to share themselves with our class. This week one of my closest friends Megan gave her TALK and I was one of her introducers! She did amazing and I was so inspired by her!
11:00pm
TALK is over but my night isn’t yet, back to the computer lab for me to put the finishing touches on my model before it’s time to submit. This is definitely one of the most time intensive classes I’ve taken, but it’s also the most rewarding. Also, I’m not alone. It’s midnight and the computer lab is packed! We’re all working on our models!