Will O’Leary - Stern ‘22
Where are you from? Newton, MA
What was your background before Stern? I was in Tech Sales.
Why did you choose to pursue an MBA? Why Stern? I wanted to break into the broader environmental field and shift my function to something more strategic than B2B sales. Stern’s emphasis on sustainability seemed like a great place to find the kinds of opportunities I wanted to explore.
What did you do to explore careers in your first year? What was most helpful? In my first year, I networked relentlessly both inside and outside of the broader Stern network to try to find people doing impactful climate work in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. SISA was huge for me to get exposed to a group of like-minded people, to share job and networking opportunities, and to think through class choices and other experiences that supported my job search. The most helpful career insights came from networking - either people I reached out to on my own or got connected to through classmates. Usually, they were people who had already done what I was trying to do before me or were trying to figure out the same career search problems that I was. A lot of my networking success came from cold outreach on LinkedIn. People were willing to talk to me and help me just because I was a Stern student who was interested in their work and I highly recommend taking advantage of the platform that the Stern name gives you. Even if you end up hearing the same answers to your questions three or four times from different people, that’s really useful.
What advice do you have for MBA1s or prospective students? The most helpful piece of advice I can give is to filter every tough decision on how to spend your time through the lens of your goals for your two years. If you can’t explain to yourself how a particular event fits into your goals, then there’s a good chance your time would be better spent elsewhere. If you came to Stern to explore, you should absolutely do that. Just don’t let the pressure that comes from fall semester recruits seeming really busy make you do something you don’t want to do, especially if your job search is geared more toward the spring semester.
What was your internship recruiting process like? My recruiting process was mostly but not entirely self-directed. I went through a couple of traditional on-campus recruiting cycles but otherwise, my most substantial opportunities were things that I found through networking and keeping my own list of target organizations. I applied to *a lot* of internships and full-time roles and if you’re recruiting for sustainability/social impact you may have to do that too. You should also expect that you won’t sign an offer letter until several months later than your classmates in finance or consulting, almost certainly not until second semester. It was a challenge, but in the end I found an internship that fit perfectly with my goals because I focused on networking and stuck to what I cared about.
Tell us a little bit about where you interned and the work you did over the summer. What skills were most helpful? What did you learn? I spent my internship at NY Green Bank as a Summer Associate on their Investment and Portfolio Management team. NY Green Bank is New York State’s financial vehicle for clean energy investments, and it was my job to help figure out how the state could finance solar, batteries, energy efficiency, and other clean energy projects. I learned a ton about how capital-intensive clean energy projects get built and how they get paid for, I got exposure to the incredibly complex world of project finance, and got to see how the clean energy industry and the public sector intersected. The most useful skill I brought to my internship was a passion for and knowledge of clean energy because it made it easier to quickly learn the parts of my job that I wasn’t as familiar with. It probably would have helped to be better at Excel and to have known more about project finance, but the NYGB team provided a ton of training and resources to help me ramp up quickly.
What are you up to post-MBA? While I enjoyed my experience at NY Green Bank, I now work as a project developer at Cypress Creek Renewables, which is a solar and battery development company based in Santa Monica, CA. My experience at NYGB provided me with a great foundation for the work I do now, while moving from finance to development led me to get exposed to a wider range of projects, activities, and skill development opportunities. At CCR, I know that everything I do in my job will help put clean energy on the power grid while reducing the use of fossil fuels like coal and natural gas, which was my most important goal.
What have been your favorite classes at Stern? Driving Market Solutions for Clean Energy with Vignesh Gowrishankar is a must for anyone with an interest in clean energy.
How has SISA played a role in your Stern experience? SISA was my primary community at Stern. I made great friends and really valued the ability to use other club members as sounding boards and to learn from their experiences. It was also an ideal forum to share internship and career opportunities because SISA members were often seeking similar things to what I was looking for.
What would you say to a prospective student who is interested in exploring careers in social impact or sustainability? Social impact and sustainability careers are not fallbacks for people who didn’t land their first choice in other spaces, they are extremely competitive. Expect some ups and downs and expect to have to hustle, but don’t let any of that discourage you. I would also develop a critical eye for greenwashers - a lot of organizations treat sustainability and social impact as a branding opportunity rather than getting serious about the work that needs to happen for things to change. If that bothers you, don’t be afraid to ask them tough questions and act accordingly if you aren’t satisfied with the answers. The most important thing to remember is not to lose sight of your “why.” If you really care about your career having an impact on a particular problem area, stay focused on it until you get to where you want to go, and don’t be afraid to think of your internship or even your first post-MBA role as a stepping stone along the way.
