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Ole MBAs create a virtual community to support each other an

By Amy Gage
September 27, 2006

They hail from the University of Chicago, Harvard, Wharton, MIT, Kellogg, Michigan, Duke, UCLA, Darden, Purdue, George Washington University, the Carlson School of Management, Stanford, New York University and the Garvin School of International Management.

After earning a coveted MBA, they're now employed by the likes of Target Corp., Ford Motor Co., 3M Mexico, Xerox Corp., Arizant Healthcare and Goldman Sachs.

And they all began their academic careers at St. Olaf College.

Now, thanks to the enterprising skills of alumni Lars Leafblad and Ted Hillestad, Oles who have earned a master's in business administration have a new way to stay in touch. Leafblad and Hillestad, both members of the Class of 1999, recently created the St. Olaf MBA Association (SOMA) for business-minded Oles.

The new "blog community" for Ole MBAs is attracting interest around the country -- and even around the world. Partnering with Hillestad and Leafblad are Professor of Economics Kathy Chadwick and General Mills executive John Haugen '86.

"We've received a tremendous response from the thousand-plus Oles who do have an MBA and are interested in helping the next generation of future Ole MBAs in their personal and professional journeys," says Leafblad, an associate development officer at the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs and an MBA candidate at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.

SOMA's mission is threefold: to serve as a resource to St. Olaf students and young alums who may want to go back to school for an MBA; to provide professional development opportunities for alumni who have earned their MBA; and, not incidentally, to support the college.

"We wanted to help aggregate the tremendous human capital that exists within the Ole MBA alumni community to support fellow Oles and the college," Leafblad says.

"St. Olaf graduates are successful in many different vocations," says Hillestad, a consultant with The Monitor Group in Santa Monica, Calif., and a recent graduate of the UCLA Anderson School of Management.

"We want to provide Oles with MBAs an outlet and a forum to meet and help one another, and most importantly, to help aspiring MBA applicants navigate the process," Hillestad adds. "Our hope is to increase St. Olaf's representation at top MBA programs throughout the world, and to enhance the network of Oles with MBAs."

Already, the blog is making a difference. Various alumni have told Hillestad and Leafblad that they welcome the chance to collaborate with each other and to serve as mentors to prospective MBA students.

"I'm a real believer in the power of networking," said Steve Heim '76, president of Heim & Associates, a medical marketing and business development firm in Louisville, Colo.

Mark Wilterding '99, a graduate of the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, could have used the expertise of other MBAs when he applied to graduate school. "I didn't have a clue about the application process, the GMAT, part time vs. full time, etc.," he wrote to Leafblad. "I think this is a great resource, and I'm excited to help you any way I can."

Other Ole MBAs are excited about the opportunity simply to find one another. "How lonely it feels sometimes to be an Ole with an MBA!" says Schele Gislason Smith '90, a self-employed consultant in Eden Prairie, Minn.

The SOMA blog offers an opt-in monthly e-newsletter, information about the founders of the group and news about occasional networking events.

To join SOMA, send an e-mail to: olemba-subscribe@yahoogroups.com.

For more information, e-mail Lars Leafblad '99 at larsleafblad@yahoo.com or Ted Hillestad '99 at theodore.hillestad.2005@anderson.ucla.edu.

Contact David Gonnerman at 507-786-3315 or gonnermd@stolaf.edu.