“Everything we’re going to expose you to are things that happen in a real fire.”
That was one of the first things a group of Penn State Smeal master of business administration (MBA) and Executive MBA students heard upon arriving at the Fire Department of the City of New York (FDNY) Fire Academy on Randall’s Island, N.Y., last month to participate in the Firefighter for a Day Challenge, a teambuilding and leadership development program through the FDNY Foundation.
“Leadership is one of the most important skills for new MBA graduates,” said Carrie Marcinkevage, managing director of the Penn State Smeal MBA Program. “We wanted to provide our students with an experience that removed them from their typical environments and offered some very daunting leadership challenges.”
As part of the college’s new leadership immersion experience, about 40 students spent the day learning to work together in disorienting circumstances, communicate under pressure and adapt to uncertain situations. This year, a smaller group of students also had the opportunity to experience a military simulation at the U.S. Marine Corps Officer Candidate School in Quantico, Va.