Salvador Perez, Georgetown McDonough MBA Class of 2028
Age: 26
Hometown: I grew up in Arlington, Va; but spent the summers with my grandmother in Puerto Rico. I recently lived in a small coastal community on the Northern coast of the Dominican Republic, which is like a 2nd or 3rd home to me.
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Virginia Tech, Class of 2022; Major: Economics, Minor Organizational Leadership
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Analyst / Senior Analyst, Strategy Consulting, Accenture, 2022 – 2024; Community Economic Development Volunteer, Peace Corps Dominican Republic, Economic Development, 2024 – 2026
Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
I have wanted to transition into development finance for some time, specifically financing and developing critical infrastructure to deliver access to energy, water, and employment to underserved communities. While at Accenture I developed experience on the strategy side for Utilities clients, and then in the Peace Corps I saw first hand the challenges communities face when governments are unable to mobilize and direct capital to basic infrastructure. Having the power go out regularly during my entrepreneurship / financial literacy workshops with youth made use of technology an unreliable learning tool. Working directly with beach vendors and trying to factor in loss of inventory due to regular and extended power outages into their plans was a challenge that consistently ate into their profits. I saw my close of service as the perfect time to invest in myself, and get an MBA to develop strong financial acumen and seek opportunities that build my technical skills in finance. This will provide me the skills and connect me to like-minded individuals and companies to launch a career of impact in infrastructure development.
Why did you choose Georgetown McDonough? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
There were three factors that most heavily influenced my choice to attend Georgetown. One was their investment and commitment to foster diversity and community through their core values of “cura personalis” and being a member school with the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management, through which I applied. It is also located in close proximity to major international development institutions like the World Bank, IDB, IMF, etc…, and their career services have dedicated support and a strong network within the social impact / international development space. Third is the strength of their dual degree program with the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown. In my application, I applied to their Masters in Foreign Service (MSFS) separately, and will graduate in the class of 2029 with both the MBA and MSFS under my belt.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2028?
I have a very clear and articulate story for how my background, previous experiences, and my MBA/MSFS prepare me and drive me towards my career goals in development finance. Furthermore, I have a passion for learning, sharing, and building community that has no bounds. At the very least, this will rub off on my classmates, on my learning groups, and on those I recruit with. My classmates will also get to know me through my passion for cookouts and hosting social events, which will provide opportunities for diverse groups to share experiences, get to know each other, and take an occasional breather from the constant grind of classwork, recruiting, and professional networking that are integral to our future success.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
When I was in the Peace Corps I earned myself the nickname in my town of “el loco” (the crazy one). This was because it broke people’s minds that I would go on runs in the town during the typical “siesta” (afternoon nap time) of 1:00-3:00PM. I was training for the Santo Domingo half marathon at the time, and I would run at this time intentionally. I figured if I can handle the 95 degree mid-day heat at my site, the mid 70s, 6AM, light heat during the half marathon would be easy. It made sense to me; my community members thought it was interesting to say the least.
Post-MBA career interests:
- Investment Banking – Power, Utilities, and Infrastructure Industry Group or Middle Market M&A advisor
- Consulting: Power, Utilities, Infrastructure, or Private Equity Industry Groups; Operating Model, Growth Strategy, Business Case, or Project Finance Functional Groups.
- Development Finance through Multilateral Group or Impact Investing Fund
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Reach out to at least one, better three students at each school / program you plan on applying to. Each program has their individual strengths, their unique offerings, and you can learn a lot from the reasons why current candidates chose a certain school and how their experience has shaped their current and future outlook.
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
Apply to more top-tier MBA programs. I only applied to three. I’m very happy to have achieved Georgetown. It was my top choice and is best aligned with my focus on international development. That said, I wonder what the results would have been if I applied to more programs.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
I don’t know if I should say this because test scores are strong differentiators for admission and scholarships, but I probably could have applied for a test waiver given my experiences running quantitative analysis on large data sets in consulting and my high in-major GPA studying economics at Virginia Tech.
I decided to take the GRE to have a test score flexible for MBA and International Relations Programs and I struggled at first. I didn’t get a score I was happy with during the first attempt, so I invested in a professional tutor. This support massively improved my ability to work through the GRE math section efficiently and effectively and my score bumped 5 points on the second take.
What is your initial impression of the Georgetown McDonough students/culture/community?
Cura Personalis, it’s our motto, and it is to care for the whole person. In every conversation with current students, as I was applying, they would go above and beyond simple advice and offer to review essays, prepare for admissions interviews if offered, and connect me to classmates who could provide a potentially helpful second perspective. Now that I’m here I see this value embedded in every course, student org, and interaction with McDonough faculty. We are constantly pushed to weigh ethical considerations within our business cases, the professional organizations provide holistic support in recruiting, even among peers who we are “competing” against there is a partnership in prepping for technical questions and interviews early that was definitely not present in my undergraduate experience. Aside from classes and career related programs, there is a strong sense of community in weekly events like “KEGS”, and various formal and informal social opportunities consistently going around.
What student organizations have you joined/are you hoping to join and why?
For my career I’ve joined the Finance, Net Impact, and Consulting club. These will provide the technical base and networking platform to seek a position of impact within the above fields and allow me to then give back to upcoming first years and guide them through the professional recruiting process once I’ve completed internships and built a network that would be impossible without the support of these organizations.
For community, I joined a LATAM soccer team for the graduate school’s soccer tournament. I’m also a member of the Consortium for Graduate Studies in Management within McDonough School of business. These organizations allow me to have fun and build friendships in a non-academic setting; however these friends are now the people I go to for professional advice and to form study groups.
What is one thing you have learned about Georgetown McDonough that has surprised you?
The Georgetown MBA building is named after Rafic Hariri, who is the former prime minister of Lebanon. I thought that was really interesting and a testament to the Internationally well regarded reputation of Georgetown’s MBA Program.
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
Some context; when you get to Georgetown you will be assigned to a cohort of a subset of your MBA class. In our FT 28’ class, there are four cohorts: Hoya, Saxa, Blue, and (the best cohort) Gray. Halfway through the first semester we have the Cohort Olympics where we compete in a variety of field day type events for the McDonough cup. I’m super excited for this opportunity to compete against the other cohorts for the McDonough cup in a series of athletic events.
