From the Coronary heart: MS/MBA Candidates Mirror on the RC 12 months
Matt Hartsog (MBA ’23) and Morgan Moncada (MBA ’23) discuss their experiences juggling completely different priorities as dual-degree college students.
Matt Hartzong:
Inform us extra about your background and what impressed you to use for the MS/MBA program.
I grew up in West Virginia and graduated from the Naval Academy in 2011. Having spent near a decade within the US Navy and loved a number of deployments overseas, I used to be fascinated by how vitality and expertise play an enormous position in several features of society all around the world. They actually form who has entry to alternative, in most locations, and who doesn’t. Vitality was additionally very near me having grown up with many family and friends within the fossil gas business, particularly coal. I might see the potential expertise might have in shaping the profession I needed to pursue—Entrepreneurship. Possibly not instantly, however I do see myself happening that path perhaps two-three profession steps from now.
Accessibility to an setting that spoke the language of tech and entrepreneurship is what drew me to use to the HBS MS/MBA program. Witnessing the entrepreneurial bent of thoughts of my classmates is likely one of the extra rewarding elements of this system.
Are you aware everybody within the MS/MBA cohort? Is that relationship completely different from what you expertise along with your part?
The MS/MBA cohort is a really tight group of thirty individuals. An enormous commonality that characterizes people doing the MS/MBA is simply how everybody approaches drawback fixing and likewise that now we have self-selected, for some cause, to take plenty of engineering programs. Regardless of being in the identical cohort, everybody brings in several views from completely different elements of engineering (CS, vitality, sustainability) which creates a very well-designed cohort that may leverage plenty of strengths discipline-wise. I’m additionally very near my part (Part C!)!
How do you cut up time between HBS part mates and the MS/MBA cohort?
I attempt to interact and be lively with each teams. I prioritize based mostly on what is sensible at a specific level of time. HBS does an excellent job with programming. You present up early and take programs for MS/MBA, earlier than the RC 12 months begins. Second 12 months is more difficult—there are lessons which are for MS and completely different for MBA. There are many lessons that I wish to pursue, and it’s a powerful option to make.
Do you ever expertise FOMO? How do you address it?
One of many issues I’ve grown to like about HBS writ giant is that there are limitless alternatives and rabbit holes you could pursue. Two faculties carry double the alternatives which forces you to prioritize. I’ve household and being a dad and husband are essential to me and set boundaries accordingly. I often block off 6-8 pm so I can do dinner and bedtime as a household unit. I felt that actually prioritizing and being diligent about it helps as a result of alternatives are actually countless and can pull you in so many instructions. I hope my classmates forgive me with my resultantly unprepared feedback in school!
What are a number of the advantages of being in each levels?
Being part of the MS/MBA cohort enabled me to be part of a gaggle the place individuals are exploring very various things. Persons are targeted on completely different features of expertise like AI, house, Internet 3.0, vitality storage and many others. It’s cool that you’re solely a textual content message/slack away from understanding very technical fields. One other benefit is that if you’re all for founding an organization, you may have lots of people within the class that can assist you out and so many assets out there. We should have 10-15 reps at design considering for various firm concepts earlier than we graduate.
Do you’re feeling you missed out on something? Any regrets?
One remorse—I might’ve undoubtedly received a Costco membership sooner.
Who events tougher—MBA or MS college students?
Each! I might like to see part C and the cohort get together collectively! I’m shocked that it hasn’t come up as a celebration theme but.
Any moments/recollections that you just discover vital?
Exhibiting up in early August for the MS lessons was undoubtedly a spotlight. The design considering course with Professor Robert Verganti was wonderful. I used to be uncovered to an entire different degree of considering and was blown away. Experiencing that with the remainder of the cohort was one of the crucial rewarding experiences.
The TVI course from final January was one other spotlight. Within the first half, we have been taught alternative ways to code, design, or engineer completely different merchandise after which developed the merchandise within the second half. Teams labored on initiatives starting from wearable units that communicated the American Signal Language phrases/letters somebody would signal, whereas one other designed a product that would enable these with visible impairments to run. My group designed a foot insole that gives fast suggestions to the wearer to strengthen higher run approach based mostly on the runner’s foot strike. We developed the product within the second half and, consider it or not, it truly labored.
Morgan Moncada:
Inform us extra about your background and what impressed you to use for the MS/MBA program.
I grew up with two doctor dad and mom and two disabled siblings, so I used to be uncovered to medication and well being at an early age. As an adolescent I used to be significantly fascinated by the mind-body connection (e.g., how our psychological state impacts the hormones we produce which then impacts our organ methods—for instance, stress and cortisol leading to irritation) and regenerative medication (e.g., regenerating broken tissues and even regrowing limbs). I studied Biology as an undergraduate at Stanford, finishing my honors thesis on stem cell differentiation elements, and I anticipated changing into a health care provider like my dad and mom. Nonetheless, I found I wasn’t captivated with medical care—or the trail to get there—however moderately the novelty and creativity of science entrepreneurship. I explored this via VC, engaged on deal sourcing and diligence for a small workplace fund, which uncovered me to biotech startups within the biopharma and artificial biology areas. A VC mentor of mine urged I be part of one in all these firms to get my arms soiled constructing moderately than investing. I adopted her recommendation, becoming a member of Trellis Bioscience to assist with fundraising and enterprise improvement of their uncommon antibody therapeutics towards most cancers, viruses, and drug-resistant micro organism.
After this, I joined Aromyx, an artificial biology knowledge startup digitizing style and odor via a bioengineered nostril and tongue on a chip. I labored there for 4 years, overlaying fundraising, gross sales, operations, and product administration roles. It was there that I acknowledged my private power as a bridge between scientific and enterprise mindsets. I additionally realized there was extra for me to be taught in each domains, and when searching for out graduate applications, Harvard’s joint MS/MBA Biotechnology: Life Sciences program was an ideal match. It virtually appeared like this program was made for me and what I needed to do with my profession. I couldn’t be extra grateful to be part of it and the broader HBS neighborhood.
Are you aware everybody within the MS/MBA cohort? Is that relationship completely different from what you expertise along with your part?
Sure, I do know and love everybody within the MS/MBA Biotech cohort. Because the second cohort ever, we solely have 15 college students, which is about half the scale of the MS/MBA Engineering cohort. This small measurement enabled us to create intimate friendships with each other after only some quick weeks of our first course, NextGen Biotechnology, which we took in August previous to the RC fall semester.
I might say my relationship with my MS/MBA cohort is like my relationship with my part in that each really feel like households. Like my part, within the MS/MBA cohort we share the completely different dimensions of ourselves concurrently whether or not that’s our deep private tales, unbridled profession ambitions, or get together alter-egos. The power to be our genuine, multi-faceted wonderful and flawed selves with each other solely engenders additional authenticity inside us individually and as a gaggle. Past this, nevertheless, my relationship with the MS/MBA Biotech cohort has a deeper layer of affinity as a result of now we have distinctive HBS and profession experiences. Along with two Biotech lessons through the RC 12 months now we have cut up science and MBA lessons our EC 12 months, a lot of which we shall be taking collectively. We additionally share very comparable profession journeys and have helped each other put together for interviews, community for jobs, and negotiate job provides. Harvard’s joint MS/MBA Biotechnology diploma is new within the life sciences, and we’re pioneers in charting the course for the place it is going to take us.
How do you cut up time between HBS part mates and the MS/MBA cohort?
The MS/MBA program was designed elegantly to carry us collectively for an intimate class earlier than the RC 12 months (NextGen Biotech) to spark relationships after which allow us to have our personal impartial part experiences which made up the majority of our time the primary 12 months. Through the first few hectic RC months, I described the MS/MBA cohort as my security blanket once we met up between lessons to commiserate concerning the chaos. All year long, our MS/MBA cohort met bi-weekly for required seminars with scientist entrepreneurs. Throughout winter break we took Biotech Information Science and the Life Science Investing SIP collectively. We additionally independently organized varied journeys and retreats. This mix of sprinkled MS/MBA on prime of the principle part entree within the first 12 months allowed me to seamlessly dip into and out of my MS/MBA and part experiences. I knew that my MS/MBA cohort classmates have been having their very own part roasts, going to the identical 80s get together, and getting ready for a similar exams.
For my EC 12 months, I anticipate the MS/MBA cohort taking a entrance seat. As a result of now we have frequent profession targets, members of my cohort are in lots of the identical lessons, whether or not that’s Lab to Market or Translational Stem Cells. I stay up for partaking with them once more in school, engaged on drawback units collectively, and getting ready for careers after HBS.
Do you ever expertise FOMO? How do you address it?
Relating to social experiences, I typically don’t expertise FOMO as a result of 1) I acknowledge there are just too many alternatives to probably attend all of them and a pair of) for each individual that’s attending an occasion, or touring, there may be one other individual at dwelling engaged on their targets or self-development in different methods. HBS is a choose-your-own journey novel and nobody’s story is healthier than anybody else’s.
I’ve had some inkling of FOMO relating to EC class choice as a result of MS/MBAs (each engineering and biotech) are restricted to fewer models of each science and enterprise lessons to suit each levels in two years. For the MS/MBA Biotech college students, this implies we don’t get to take all of the MBA or science lessons that we would like. For instance, I don’t have room to slot in different MBA lessons I’d wish to take like Genuine Management Improvement, 2032: 5 Applied sciences that Will Reshape the World within the Subsequent Decade, or Launching Tech Ventures.
What are a number of the advantages of being in each levels?
Professionally, the joint diploma program has opened so many doorways. Whereas not an MD or PhD, the MS Biotech diploma conveys to the scientific neighborhood that we converse a standard language. In tandem, the MBA conveys potential to translate scientific innovation into industrial advantages for society. The diploma has helped me set up management positions in each the Nucleate Biotech Accelerator program and HBS Well being Care Membership. Most significantly, it has given me my MS/MBA cohort of fantastic pals I’ll have for the remainder of my life.
Do you’re feeling you missed out on something? Any regrets?
I’m lucky to say I don’t really feel like I’ve missed out on something (moreover a couple of lessons). This has been an exquisite program in each manner, throughout the MS/MBA Cohort and inside my wonderful Part C (We’re “SecC and we all know it”). The one remorse I’ve isn’t prioritizing sleep extra my RC 12 months; hopefully, EC 12 months shall be completely different.
Who events tougher—MBA or MS college students?
Our experiences are so blended that it’s most likely the identical depth for MBA and MS college students. There’s a reinforcing virtuous—or vicious, relying on the way you have a look at it—cycle between the applications.
Any moments/recollections that you just discover vital?
August 2, 2021—The primary day of the MS Biotech NextGen Biotechnology course when our division chairs informed us that no expertise would have a higher affect on humanity and the world than biotechnology, and because of the pandemic, for the primary time ever, everybody has their consideration on biotechnology.
Our RC Labor Day retreat to Cape Cod, MA. We rented a cute little home, had wonderful lobster rolls, and performed too many rounds of “By no means have I ever.”
Our RC Retreat to Acadia the place we hiked Precipice Path. It was fairly harrowing with a number of vertical ascents the place we actually needed to climb at sure factors and with a number of locations the place we might have fallen to disagreeable ends. Fortuitously, all of us made it!
Mat Hartzog is an MS/MBA twin diploma candidate from the category of 2023. Earlier than HBS, he spent his profession within the US Navy. He grew up in West Virginia and spent this summer season interning with BCG of their Boston workplace.
Morgan Moncada has spent the final seven years working in VC and with biotechnology startups to translate cutting-edge analysis into industrial alternatives. He spent two years in enterprise improvement at Trellis Biosciences and led operations at Aromyx. He’s pursuing his twin pursuits in enterprise and biotechnology via HBS’s joint MBA and MS Biotech program.
