Hi, I’m Heather Jackson, and to be honest, Harvard Business School wasn’t on my radar for most of my life. Growing up in rural Kentucky, in a town of just 4,000 people, my world was filled with catfish buffets at Betty’s OK Country Cooking and the close-knit community I called home. Higher education, let alone an MBA, felt like a distant concept. Neither of my parents had attended college, and in my family and community, it wasn’t the norm. The idea of a career in business, or even understanding what an MBA was, simply wasn’t part of my upbringing.
Years later, after venturing beyond my hometown, I encountered a phrase that resonated deeply: “The answer is YES!” During my final year at Vanderbilt University, graduate school started to enter my thoughts. I had received an exciting offer from Restaurant Brands International in Miami, a fantastic opportunity within their Leadership Development Program. However, I couldn’t shake the feeling that there might be more on my horizon. That’s when I learned about the 2+2 program at HBS.
Honestly, the idea of being accepted into such a prestigious program felt improbable, and the financial aspect seemed insurmountable. As an English major, my path to business was still developing, and I didn’t see myself as the stereotypical ambitious corporate figure I imagined at HBS. Yet, encouraged by friends and professors, I decided to apply. To my surprise and immense joy, I was accepted.
I vividly remember receiving the acceptance notification at LAX airport – not the ideal location, but the excitement was overwhelming. While thrilled that Harvard Business School had chosen me, a wave of panic followed: how would I afford it? My undergraduate degree at Vanderbilt was fully funded by a scholarship, and I worked part-time to support myself and my family. Debt was a foreign concept, and the financial burden of an MBA felt daunting.
This is where the Career Forward Fellowship Program at HBS became a beacon of hope. Through conversations with the incredibly helpful Financial Aid office, I discovered resources designed to make HBS accessible to students from diverse financial backgrounds. The Forward Fellowship, specifically, is tailored for students like me, whose family circumstances present significant financial challenges in pursuing an MBA. Learning about this fellowship was a turning point. It brought a sense of reassurance, knowing that there was a community at HBS for students with similar stories, even if our backgrounds appeared different on the surface.
Being a recipient of need-based financial aid and the Career Forward Fellowship Program has been transformative. More than just financial assistance, it’s connected me to a growing community of fellows who share similar journeys and experiences. My time at HBS has been truly life-changing – a cliché, perhaps, but undeniably true. I now embrace my background as a strength, something I hadn’t fully done before. Kentucky pride is a constant in my conversations, and I even co-founded The Heartland Club on campus to foster understanding and empathy for rural America. As I prepare to graduate and move to Seattle to join Amazon Web Services as a Sr. Product Manager, I carry with me the profound impact of HBS and the Career Forward Fellowship Program. It’s a reminder that paths to success are diverse and that places like Harvard Business School are becoming increasingly accessible to individuals from all walks of life, making the seemingly impossible, possible.
