Bukola Ekundayo: Girl Gamer Meets Business, Pt. 1

I became acquainted with Bukola after checking out her profile on Brazen Careerist. And, I have to admit – she’s pretty cool. She’s a Northwestern alum with a love for anime and games  – that automatically makes me have a supreme blog crush.

Side Note: If you get nothing out of BC’s site, at least get this – you can find some e-xtremely talented, smart, interesting and engaging bloggers.

OK, all gushing aside – Ms. Ekundayo blogs at the incredible site, Ms. Pixel. This is not your usual gaming blog where some nameless dude is ranting about the merits of Halo 3 (although, I’m sure there are merits to rant about). Her writing is intelligent and accessible. You can have fun when you read it and not feel dorkified.

So, moving on, I learned about Bukola’s foray into business school. Always curious and currently sitting on the b-school fence myself, I wanted to especially dig into Bukola’s professional pursuits.

What was the process that led you to the decision, “I’ll go to B-school.”?

Since graduating from college I’d taken on positions in Marketing and Brand management consulting. Throughout much of that time I thought I wanted to attend law school.

After going through a grueling admissions process I was admitted to a school in New York. Last summer, I was faced with the prospect of signing loan documents (of over $100k) to enter a field I was sure I would hate so I dropped my law school plans and started thinking about a long term career in marketing.

I’ve always wanted to become a Brand Manager and I discovered that an MBA is required for many entrey level brand manager jobs. That’s when I decided to pursue an MBA.

I believe you were a poli sci major (like me) in college – tell me something liberal arts majors may not expect from the B-school experience that actually plays to their background in the lib arts.

Or, in other words, do you think being a lib arts major was a plus or a minus for you?

I think my degree in political science was helpful in that in aided me in developing a valuable skill set. For example, writing papers and participating in discussions on failed African states, the history of the European Union and the political theories of Locke, Rousseau and Debord helped me develop excellent written and oral communication skills.

Studying political theory and philopsy enabled me to gain a fundamental understanding of human nature that informs my thoughts on desire and building relationships with consumers.

There’s a lot of debate on whether an MBA is worth the value (especially now) – beyond the financial costs, what do you hope will happen for you after you get your degree? What do you expect?

By the time I graduate from my program I hope to have a strong network of people in consumer packaged goods and consumer technology brands and a position within that industry.

More importantly, I want to strengthen my capability in financial accounting, marketing management and operations.

I have to ask this: How do you think a business degree will mesh with the quirky world of gaming?

That;s a very good question! At this point, I’m not too sure. Someday, I might move into a brand management position in the gaming industry.

But right now, I enjoy writing about games and playing them in my free time.