Meet Cohort 101’s Ambassadors
In every executive MBA class, two cohort ambassadors are chosen to be the leaders of their cohort. They have a wide range of responsibilities, from representing the cohort to the administration and acting as a liaison for all communications, to defining and supporting the culture and positivity of their cohort.
EMP 101 (class of ’16) elected Jaime A. Valles and John John as their cohort ambassadors this month. Valles is a former president of Cisco Systems, Asia Pacific, Japan and Greater China, and John is an expeditionary warfare analyst in the United States Navy.
Valles and John shared more about their Kellogg journey and how they plan to impact their Kellogg cohort.
Why are you getting your MBA?
Valles: After multiple years of very focused industry experience, I want to broaden my mental horizons and scope. This includes not only professional and business skills but also personal and human-based skills. I’m also using my time at Kellogg to develop a network of some of the community’s top leaders.
John: I’m getting my MBA to take my career to the next level in support of the eventual transition from active duty military service to a management or executive position in private industry.
What appealed to you about the EMBA program at Kellogg?
Valles: The quality of the faculty, leadership focus and the very high level of my peers all encouraged me to go to Kellogg.
John: What appealed to me most about Kellogg is the collaborative learning environment that places equal emphasis on individual growth, teamwork and leadership. Also, with five international campuses, Kellogg provides the perfect opportunity to network across geographic, cultural and industry boundaries with professionals that share a common goal: to inspire growth in all that we do.
What was your reaction to being named an ambassador?
Valles: It is an honor, and a responsibility, in addition to being a commitment to help maximize EMP 101 learning experiences and transformational outcomes.
John: I was honored and humbled that so many people for whom I have an extraordinary amount of respect and admiration chose me to represent our cohort.
What are you most excited about doing as an ambassador?
Valles: Being an ambassador give J.J. and I the opportunity to leverage our professional and personal experience to make a difference to EMP 101 and Kellogg to maximize our success in this program.
John: Working with the faculty, staff, alumni and members of other cohorts to help make EMP101’s collective learning experience better.
What have the first couple of months with your cohort been like?
Valles: It has been a great experience. I am humbled by the quality of my peers and team members and positively impressed by the quality of the faculty and Kellogg management team. Their focus is to help all of us to maximize our learning experience and succeed in the program.
John: The first few months have been more academically demanding, yet more mentally and professionally rewarding than I could ever have imagined. The cohort has evolved from total strangers to close friends in only a few short weeks. In doing so, we have developed the strong camaraderie that all great organizations share. I truly look forward to our class sessions together and feel professionally and personally recharged afterwards.