In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, we share a recent installment in our ongoing ‘Office Hours’ faculty spotlight series, a conversation with Professor Michael Albert. Albert’s research focuses on combining machine learning and algorithmic techniques to automate the design of markets. In this wide-ranging conversation, we talk with him about his background, what led him to Darden, his Machine Learning and AI for Business elective, whether we are on course for an AI bubble, how businesses should be thinking about AI and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast we catch up with Joel Flesher. Joel is a second year student in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2026, and he is also one of the leaders of the Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club, Professional Degree Programs. We chat with Joel about his decision to pursue an MBA, what led him to Darden, how he’s balanced work, life and school, what he’s looking forward to in his second year and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In episode of the podcast, we catch up with Gavin Aydelotte and Mike McHugh. Gavin and Mike are second year students in UVA Darden’s Executive MBA Class of 2026, and they are also leaders of the Darden Military Association (DMA) Professional Formats student organization. We talk with Gavin and Mike about their decisions to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, what they’ve enjoyed about the program so far, how the DMA Professional Formats provides a community within a community and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Cedric Thomas and D’Auria Henry Brown. Cedric and D’Auria are students in UVA Darden’s Part-Time MBA program, and they are also leaders of the Black Professional MBA (BPMBA) student organization, a club open to all Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA students at Darden. We talk with Cedric and D’Auria about their respective backgrounds, their decision to pursue an MBA, what they’ve enjoyed about Darden, BPMBA’s plans for the year ahead and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we speak with two leaders of the Part-Time MBA Student Association (PSA), Samantha Karp (Class of 2026) and Christine Mehr (Class of 2027). We talk with Sam and Christine about their decision to pursue an MBA, the impact of their time at Darden, how they got involved with the PSA, the PSA’s plans for the year ahead and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Jesse Kirk and Lara Myers. Jesse and Lara are second years students in the Executive MBA Class of 2026, and they are also leaders of the Healthcare Alliance student organization. We talk with Jesse and Lara about their decision to pursue an MBA, what led them to Darden, the impact of their program so far, their plans for the Healthcare Alliance in the year ahead and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba. 

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Whitney Kestner and Catie Yeilding, share advice for choosing a recommender, including who makes a good recommender, what the recommendation adds to the application and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.  

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Whitney Kestner, share advice for navigating the Darden admissions interview, including insights about the structure of the interview, how to prepare for the interview and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.  

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Whitney Kestner, discuss the role standardized tests can play in the admissions process, including how to build your academic readiness case, when a test waiver request can make sense for a Full-Time MBA applicant and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Christian West, share advice for crafting your best short answer responses, including what makes a great short answer response, the importance of authenticity and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Whitney Kestner and Catie Yeilding, share advice for sharpening your resume for the Darden application process, including how the resume fits into the overall application, tips for bringing a more personal element into the resume and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this special edition of the Darden Admissions podcast, Admissions Committee members, Brett Twitty and Zoe Mayfield Boykin, share advice for approaching Darden’s Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA application processes, including when to apply, tips for getting organized and more. For more insights, tips and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we welcome back Associate Director of Admissions, Professional Degree Programs, Zoe Mayfield Boykin to the podcast to talk about ways to learn more about our Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA programs. Zoe shares her thoughts on where to begin your research, how an application process can reveal a school and its values, upcoming events of potential interest and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

The applications for our Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA classes enrolling August 2026 are now live! In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Associate Director of Admissions, Professional Degree Programs, Zoe Mayfield Boykin to discuss the new applications, our application requirements, our application deadlines and more. If you are planning to apply in this cycle, this episode is essential listening. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Melissa Thomas-Hunt. Thomas-Hunt is the Vice Dean, John D. Forbes Professor of Business Administration, and the new Senior Associate Dean for the professional degree programs. We talk with Thomas-Hunt about her background, what led her to Darden, what she enjoys about teaching through the case method, what interested her about studying leadership and organizational behavior, what’s exciting to her about working with working professional students and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Stephen Xu. Stephen is currently pursuing his PhD at Darden in the Data Analytics and Decision Sciences area. We talk with Stephen about his background, his decision to pursue a PhD, what led him to Darden, how the program is going so far and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Morgan Lemley. Morgan is an Application Reader and Interviewer with our Professional Degree Programs Admissions team. We talk with Morgan about her background, what attracted her to this role, what she enjoys about working with Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA students, her thoughts on the value of the Darden learning experience and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

During this episode, we catch up with Angie Griffith. Angie is member of the University of Virginia’s Registrar Office, and she works closely with Darden’s students who are using military benefits to pay for their education. We talk with Angie about her background, what attracted her to her role, what she enjoys about supporting military students, her advice for military benefits users and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Skyler Clark-Hamel. Skyler is a member of Darden’s Full-Time MBA Class of 2023, and he is currently pursuing his PhD at Darden in the Strategy, Ethics and Entrepreneurship area. We talk with Skyler about his background, what led him to Darden for his MBA, how he decided to pursue a PhD, what he’s enjoyed about the PhD program so far, what he’s looking forward to in the months ahead and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.

In this episode of the podcast, we catch up with Maggie Nelsen. Maggie is the Associate Director of Global Programs with Darden’s Center for Global Initiatives, and she works closely with our Executive MBA students on the global residency portion of their program. We talk with Maggie about her background, recent global residencies, the value of doing multiple global residencies, why students should consider the GEMBA format and more. For more insights, tips, and stories about the Darden experience, be sure to check out the Discover Darden Admissions blog and follow us on Instagram @dardenmba.