Emma Orr

Second Year Darden Student Emma Orr (Class of 2020) is always a step ahead. As president of the student-run Net Impact club, she’s always thinking about the next way to make long-term positive impact through the power of business. Orr graduated with a degree in media studies and a love for Charlottesville that she couldn't quite shake. As she completes her MBA, Orr’s passion for creating societal change through business opportunities has only just been ignited.

Q: What did you do after graduating from UVA undergrad?  

A: I ended up working at Bloomberg News as a financial journalist and was assigned to write about Latin American markets and U.S. corporate bankruptcies. It was during that job that I began to really understand the power that the private sector has to impact societal change.  

Q: When you were an undergrad student, did you know that you wanted to go to graduate school or get an MBA?  

A: I was aware of what an MBA was, but in fact I was actively not thinking about it. My dad worked in finance, so growing up I was aware of business vocabulary, but it was definitely not something I chose to think about when I was an undergrad. 

Q: What led you to return to school for your MBA? 

A: After writing about business for several years, I was ready to do more than just write about it. The concept of inclusive growth had become a priority for me — how the private sector can help create equal opportunity through patient investment in solutions to societal and economic issues. I think there can be this myth that business is all bad, when really there’s so much opportunity to effect positive change in our societies.  

Q: Why Darden? 

A: At first I was convinced that I shouldn’t go to Darden. I felt like I needed to branch out. As part of my decision to get an MBA, I looked at other schools and weighed my options. But once I let myself consider Darden, I knew it was exactly where I was supposed to be. Plus, Charlottesville is the best town in the world. 

The biggest resources are truly my classmates. There are 300 peers who each have a different experience, perspective and world view. I did not expect to have my own views challenged, but each interaction has expanded my perspective. I have allowed myself to become more thoughtful and introspective, which is difficult at times but immensely important.  

Q: Can you share a bit about your experience with Darden's emphasis on leadership?

A: The classes coupled with hands-on leadership opportunities have given me a great platform to develop leadership skills. I’m the president of the Net Impact club, so I have the unique position to lead a club of around 150 members and practice using leadership to advocate for positive change. Business school propels you into jobs that carry weight and have higher visibility, and it's my belief that as future business leaders we have a real responsibility to consider what kind of impact we want to have in those roles.   

Given that path, it’s been so important to think about my values and what kind of leader I want to be. The environment at Darden lets me practice that in a real way in a safe space.  

Q: Advice to UVA undergrads? 

A: If you’re a good student in undergrad, it’s easy to float through the courses. At Darden, the case method really challenges any learning experience you’ve ever had before. You are engaged in deeper learning because the class is not a lecture. The classes are led by some of the most amazing faculty in the world, but it’s the formative conversations with 60 other people that are creating the learning environment.  

Say, for example, you’re learning a case about an oil company making a strategic decision on where to drill a new well. In your classroom of 60 people, you’re likely to have somebody who worked for an oil company like the one in the case, somebody who was an environmental advocate, somebody who worked in energy finance. The diversity of perspectives and experiences creates amazing conversations and learning opportunities unlike any I’d ever experienced before.