Ryan Van Slyke
Daytime MBA
Prior Education:
Why I Chose Fuqua
I decided to pursue an MBA because solving wicked problems in sustainable development requires an interdisciplinary toolkit, an ability to translate across sectors, and a servant leadership mindset, all of which I wanted to grow and deepen through a versatile graduate education. Fuqua is the best place to do this, in my opinion, because it is fundamentally a business school that trains students to consider the wide range of stakeholders, not just shareholders, of an organization. This stakeholder-centric perspective, coupled with a leadership-minded culture and outstanding faculty, alumni, and resources of a world-class university, made Fuqua a clear outlier for me.
Five Ways to Maximize Your Time at Duke
- Reach Out! Some of my best learning experiences have been finding and developing opportunities for collaboration between Fuqua, the Sanford School of Public Policy, and the Nicholas Institute for Energy, Environment, and Sustainability.
- Engage with Student Organizations. As a Fuqua student, you're also a Duke grad student, which enables you to join a range of affinity, identity, religious, and service-oriented organizations on campus. I joined the Duke University Chapel Choir, one of the best decisions I've made here at Duke.
- Be Curious! Leverage resources on campus to help develop your startup idea (with Duke I&E and the UNICEF Accelerator), fund innovative startups (via Duke Capital Partners), and expand your global business horizons (via courses in Sanford, Duke Law School, Nicholas School of the Environment, and others). I am pursuing a Certificate in International Development Policy at Sanford to deepen my toolkit for working in climate resilient development in emerging markets.
- Participate in Student Life. Sport your favorite Duke gear for sporting events, learn at seminars and lectures by world-famous scholars and practitioners, and join Duke Performances for concerts and shows.
- Meet Duke Alumni! The Duke Alumni Office supports Fuqua students in connecting with the broad university alumni community. Their tools have been instrumental for me in meeting and building relationships with Duke alums in my areas of interest.
My Life Before Fuqua
Before coming to Fuqua, I worked in the United States and abroad in management consulting at Booz Allen Hamilton; international development with The World Bank, UNICEF, and UNDP; and veterans/military family affairs at Syracuse University's Institute for Veterans and Military Families. My work centered on the intersection between strategy, policy analysis and implementation, data science, organizational change, and partnership development across public health, migration, cybersecurity, climate, and supply chain risk management.
My Life After Fuqua
I hope to assume positions of greater leadership in organizations focused on climate resilient development. Fuqua has equipped me with a range of tools, perspectives, and experiences to lean on both now and in the future.
My Fuqua Activities
CASEi3 Fellow
COLE Leadership Fellow
Net Impact Club Cabinet
Duke Energy Conference 2023 Cabinet
Duke Sustainable Business and Social Impact Conference 2023 Cabinet
Energy Club
Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club
Christian Business Fellowship
TA for Entrepreneurship Mindset in Action; EDGE Seminar
