Chicago Booth MBA, Priscilla Atansah, on her MBA experience and paying-it-forward

I was born in Ghana and moved to Colorado in 2008 for high school. I always had a keen interest in development economics and policy, and in undergrad (Princeton ‘15) I majored in Public Policy and International Relations. My first job was at an economic research think tank in Washington D.C. After two years analyzing data on energy poverty, I sought to learn how policies worked in practice. I moved back home to Ghana to serve as a junior advisor at the Finance Ministry. In that role, I interacted often with global private financiers on transactions like government bond issuances and infrastructure projects. That made me curious about a career on the other side of the table as an investor.

In 2019, I returned to D.C. to work at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), where I focused on massive investment projects in renewables, oil and gas, and power that spanned an army of banks, insurers, and project developers. I realized then that I didn’t have sufficient training in business fundamentals and private sector investing, and I needed an MBA to fill those skill gaps and make a full pivot into the private sector.

At Chicago Booth, I was a co-chair of African American MBA Association (AAMBAA) and Booth Africa. Getting to work with my colleagues to improve the representation and experience of Black students at Booth was a highlight of my MBA experience. Being a co-chair gave me the opportunity to connect one-on-one with more of my classmates when sourcing feedback on how to strengthen our community.

AAMBAA is a strong embodiment of Booth’s pay-it-forward culture. From admissions to recruiting, our community always shows up for each other. That strong base allowed us to dialogue and work with Admissions, Graduate Business Council, and the Dean’s office to make Booth a more inclusive and nurturing environment for students of African descent.

Two highlights of my student experience included Tuck Black Ski and AAMBAA’s annual DuSable Conference, both during Black History Month. For Tuck Black Ski, we traveled to Utah for a weekend with 300+ Black MBAs from top business schools, including 20 Boothies. The Boothies and I definitely held our own on the slopes and the dance floor! The DuSable Conference continues to be an excellent opportunity for Booth to learn from and engage with the Black business community in Chicago. The theme was Black Ingenuity: Lifting Our Community As We Climb, and our speakers were truly phenomenal. From admissions events in Ghana and coffee chats with perspectives to First Day admit weekend and the DuSable Conference, the work I helped lead was equally fulfilling and fun.