Student Stories

Brooks Wallace

Public relations professional looking to learn about sustainable business practices

"I now have a better understanding of sustainability and which companies are doing it right. I’m armed with talking points proving that sustainability is good for business, the environment, and its people."

Marcos Cordero

A recovering management consultant-turned-entrepreneur, Marcos Cordero is the CEO of Savingforcollege.com, a financial publisher of 529 plans and college savings information.

"The case studies were from present-day technology companies, and were so relevant and relatable. The virtual, real-time classroom case discussion also made me feel like I was at Harvard Business School again. It was truly fantastic."

Having a deep understanding of finance is crucial to effectively lead a business, and Mihir Desai’s engaging delivery of rich content through the case study method has given me the confidence to clearly message important financial updates and decisions to our key stakeholders.

Dave Nelson

Meet Dave, a Disruptive Strategy participant who took the course to improve his decision making.

Live felt like a real classroom or even like an enhanced classroom. The experience is so well designed and supported that I felt like I was in the same room as classmates. I even liked it more than a regular classroom!

Raymond Porch

Employee in Boston Public Schools who took Management Essentials to develop and improve his managerial skills.

My favorite part of the program was interacting with my cohort members where I received valuable shared experiences, feedback and was able to be a thought partner around strategies and best practices in varying scenarios.

I use my CORe training every day. Whether at work on in my private life, CORe was a paradigm-shifting event for me.

Tadashi Abe

Special Forces Officer with a science background looking to pursue an MBA

In my opinion, the true value of CORe is the ability to interact and network with fellow CORe members.

The course surpassed my expectations…I actually regret not having more time to fully utilize all the optional features!

If you have no formal education in business, this program will dramatically change the way you think…The combination of subjects covered will give you the fundamental knowledge to think deeper about what it takes to run a successful business, how to win in the marketplace, and how to make decisions as a manager.

Elizabeth Narehood

Vice President of Technology at Region 2000 Business and Economic Development Alliance

I really appreciate how Professor Christensen introduced high-level complex theories and broke them down into digestible chunks. When applied to real-world examples, the concepts are brought to life.

Chris Gaffee

"This was a class where you could contribute your opinion and hear from two participants who were on opposite sides of the debate, as well as the globe."

Jacqueline Lewy

Liberal arts student seeking a practical business education

So far, it has been pretty great to be able to pick up a newspaper and understand what it means when financial terms are used.

The collaborative environment encourages you to help your peers learn and will help you become engaged in the material. It's not an easy program, but every ounce of effort you put into CORe will yield results in your understanding of the complex world of business.

Esra Ugurlu

Business Development Manager at Sanita Farma Healthcare Logistics

My certificate gives me a competitive advantage and the opportunity to contribute to the success of my company in a unique way. Moreover, a Harvard certificate opens news doors wherever I choose to work in the world.

Adriel Tjokrosaputro

Adriel, a graduate of Berklee College of Music, explains how CORe is different from other online courses he's taken and discusses how the fundamental business skills he's learned in CORe have helped him connect the dots between his interests in music, marketing, and live entertainment.

Yashvardhan Gusani

"The personal interaction I had with the professor and other participants was the best part. It was informative, transformational, and rejuvenating!"

Sam Campbell

College student and manager of The Bitter Student

We are at a time in history where we need leaders now more than ever. Someone who has CORe on his or her resume is a leader, in my mind.

Dan Grünstein

Co-founder of a tech startup in Strasbourg, France

Recently, I realized that I did not have the business “toolbox” and that is why, while I am still involved in this amazing project, I am reaching out to new horizons.

Michelle Headrick

Business Analyst and Multidisciplinary Studies Student

"I found myself constantly considering ways that my own company could immediately adapt and adopt some of those practices [from CORe]."

Abhilash Sharma

Student and entrepreneur from India using CORe to learn about the business world

Each course provided distinguished knowledge and presented that in a beautiful manner.

Amy Wallens Green

Senior Manager at WGBH Educational Foundation

I'd never taken any official coursework in negotiation. I was drawn to learning to master a skill that would help me in both my personal and professional life.

Fernando Garces

The Negotiation Mastery course has taught me that everyone has their own motivations. Even though we may all be working towards the same goal, there are different priorities depending on who you talk to.

Daily, I use the accounting principles succinctly enumerated by Professor Narayanan. I especially use what I learned in the volunteer work that I do as a board member for two nonprofit organizations.

Juliana Casale

Juliana Casale is the Head of Marketing at Crazy Egg, a SaaS company that builds website optimization tools.

"I'm now more mindful of how my colleagues are experiencing me, and less averse to having difficult conversations."

Megan Lacy

Engineer and varsity athlete working towards her master's in Athletic Leadership

I was considering taking economics and accounting classes on the side while completing my master’s degree. However, I realized that through Harvard Business School Online I could get the same experiences I could get in a classroom over time all in only a few months.

Megan Valanidas

A designer who took CORe to understand the language of business.

It is really helpful as I apply for jobs to be able to demonstrate that I have the capability to consider economic constraints or opportunities.

J. Holden Gibbons

Meet Holden, a CORe‬ participant who took the program to help with the transition from military to civilian life.

…the CORe program will help me transition from being a liberal arts student with a humanities major to being a successful consultant…

I found the content [in Economics for Managers] incredibly eye-opening to how the world worked around me, as well as helping to understand several foreign and long-forgotten concepts about how businesses and economies function.

Leslie Pico

A small business owner and tech entrepreneur from Arizona

Participating in the student discussions and answering cold calls was empowering. It ignited a drive within me to learn and absorb as much as I could.

Sam Gant

Pursuing a career in International Development

I think CORe may be the extra push I need to connect with jobs that really interest me.

Sustainable Business Strategy should be required learning for everyone, regardless of their sector or beliefs about business. Professor Henderson’s approach empowered me with a fundamental understanding of economic systems, in the U.S. and abroad, in order to make it possible for me to question the assumptions upon which they are built and challenge me to rethink how we construct entities—public and private—to ensure long-term success.

Ivan Seah

Third year undergraduate medical student from Singapore

At the end of the day, hospitals still have to be sustainable businesses. I am confident that CORe will impart the necessary fundamentals to understand and analyze such concepts.

Being an entrepreneur, every concept I learned in CORe was immediately applicable to my company. My understanding of how business works got much stronger. For me, the change CORe brings about in you is extremely subtle. It's like you're looking through the world with a completely different perspective altogether, yet it's so obvious.

Pioneer Testimonial Cards

Students from our pioneer Credential of Readiness (CORe) cohort describe the program in one word.

A few weeks into the course, accounting terminology came alive as I realized why accounting is the language of business. I can now talk confidently with clients and understand the business aspect of their problems.

I could not be a bigger proponent for online learning following my CORe experience. The ability to pause, rewind, and repeat what your instructor has to say was very helpful in learning business concepts. The course increased my confidence in the world of business and helped me formalize my career path.

Jocelyn Johnson

Working in Marketing/Social Media for an edtech startup in NYC

But in the few years I have been out of school, I have found that being able to understand key business principles is essential, especially in the startup world.

This program debunked many myths about management. I highly recommend anyone with or without managerial experience take this course. It is much more than just about managing the people.

Tyler Sonsalla

PhD candidate studying molecular sciences and nanotechnology and interested in learning about utilizing sustainability within a business model

"I enjoyed hearing from top executives of large firms and their sustainable initiatives. Additionally, speaking with individuals that lived in different countries was very enlightening. Lastly, I enjoyed the ability to complete at my own pace because I liked to step away and think about each question."

William Tran

Educator interested in improving student outcomes and promoting college access

The business skills and concepts I learned through CORe will be invaluable in helping me assess the Chinese market, the demand and pricing of our service, and how to differentiate ourselves from our competitors.

Shrutesh Lati

Petroleum Engineer in Texas who took CORe to expand his knowledge

By the end of the program I realized that CORe was a total game changer on how I see and understand things around me.

Neeti Mathur

Assistant Professor of Management and Assistant Registrar (Placement) at National Law University in Jodhpur, India

The program is beautifully designed and has so much to offer. Professor Desai explains the concepts effortlessly and it’s easy to grasp and absorb them.

…it was a great experience being able to interact with so many intelligent students all over the world…it's a perfect combination of teaching from the professors and help from all of your classmates.

Robbee Minicola

Director at Microsoft

Within five days of finishing the course, I had a plan of action for a major part of our business and presented it to our corporate executive. It applied the theories of the customers' Job to be Done and caused us to re-think our strategy to get the customer to “hire” us over the competition.

Abby Katz

Abby Katz is a Senior Marketing Manager at Mavrck, a Boston-based influencer marketing software company.

"I found the content of the course to be extremely informative and applicable to the real challenges of being a leader. I loved the frameworks and the case study model of the course, and I thought the course was very manageable on top of a full-time job."

I feel like now I can speak more high-level about where we want to take the company and what strategic initiatives we want to put in place….It has given me an entirely new set of tools.

I'm using regression analysis and other statistical concepts from Business Analytics to build predictive models, analyze trends, and conduct surveys and hypothesis testing. Business Analytics has helped me pursue a career in data analytics and land a job as a Business Intelligence Analyst at Ministry of Justice New Zealand. I'm leading a few modelling and reporting projects across the Ministry using the knowledge I gained from the course.

I was worried that the courses would move too quickly for me to master each concept, but the instructors, the materials, real-world case studies and the class interaction allowed me to truly understand the fundamentals of each…