6 - Investing in Relationships w/ Blaine Dunham

Humans of Tepper

Welcome back to Humans of Tepper, the student-run podcast focusing on real stories from students and alumni of the Tepper MBA program. Today, hosts Cynthia and Rohit talk with second-year MBA student Blaine Dunham. Blaine is a student who comes from a career in electrical distribution wholesales but who chose to pursue an MBA in order to get into a more technically advanced career field. He explains that not only was he looking for that next career accelerant but that he was also inspired by the birth of his goddaughter to pursue his own dreams so that one day he can encourage her to do the same.

Blaine shares with listeners that he chose to attend Tepper’s program because of the program’s strong reputation and emphasis regarding the connection between business, data, and technology. He also cites the city of Pittsburgh as being a large draw, as he found the city to be the perfect balance of feeling at home while still pushing himself outside of his comfort zone.

After sharing why he was interested in Tepper’s program, Blaine then goes on to discuss his experience with applying to Tepper. As someone who applied late to the program, Blaine explains that there is no perfect way to go about the application process. Instead, he stresses that what’s important is knowing what your goals are and dedicating yourself to those.

Finally, Blaine transitions into talking about Tepper’s orientation program and his involvement and leadership in Tepper’s Business and Technology Club and Tepper’s Basketball Club. Regarding orientation, Blaine advises that all new students need to breathe, allow themselves to make mistakes, and say yes to every opportunity. However, what he encourages most is for students to invest in their relationships, asserting that those are the single most valuable thing they can take away from the program. Blaine found this to be true not only during orientation but still today with his involvement in Tepper’s clubs and the opportunities they offer him to connect with not only Tepper students and alumni but also MBA students at other universities.

What You’ll Learn in This Podcast Episode:

1. About one student’s experience with the Tepper application process
2. Advice for making the most out of Tepper’s orientation
3. Why investing in relationships is so vital to one’s Tepper experience
4. About Tepper’s Business and Technology Club and Basketball Club

Helpful Links:

Check out Tepper’s Business Technologies page for more information about the program: https://www.cmu.edu/tepper/faculty-and-research/academic-areas/business-technologies/index.html

Learn more about Tepper’s Business and Technology Club at: https://sites.google.com/view/tepperbnt/home?authuser=0

Learn more about Tepper’s Basketball Club at: https://tepper.campusgroups.com/basketball/home/