Cynthia Pongweni: 00:04
I am a Zimbabwean living in South Africa, and I'm currently working as a financial director for a private-equity firm based in Johannesburg. Our company is a private equity company that was set up to invest in cash-generative assets, which would enable us to fund the social activities of previously disadvantaged mine workers, one of the lowly paid members of society. Having spent approximately 15, 16 years in business, I thought that an MBA was that tool that would be able to help me consolidate my knowledge and help me to be able to become a better business leader and to be more effective in my role. I am married and we have a two-year-old daughter. When I started with my daughter was 10 months old. Being a new mom and starting an MBA program was difficult to say the least. The way I personally balance the home life and work responsibilities is that I stick to strict timetable.
Cynthia Pongweni: 01:02
I've had to make sure that I set aside specific time for studying and also set aside time to be able to catch up with the family. My upbringing has taught me that anything worth having in this world needs to be worked hard for. So, I acknowledge the fact that the Chicago Booth experience is intense. It requires a lot of hard work and it requires one to make many sacrifices, in terms of work and family. But knowing the quality of the Booth experience, knowing that qualification is going to make me a better leader and great to set me apart from my counterparts, makes it all worth it.