Today, we have Alijah Talley, West Coast Growth Relationship Manager at Zimba Technologies and Founder and Executive Director at The Qonnection. Alijah is an experienced leader and executive with an extensive background that includes serving as a captain in the US Army, founding The Qonnection with the mission to advocate for African-American students pursuing higher education, and as a Consortium Fellow and MLT (Management Leadership for Tomorrow) Professional Development Fellow here at Haas. 

Alijah was born in Panama but didn't experience the country and culture because his family moved to the US when he was just a baby. He spent his formidable years and adult life in Texas. Alijah applied to West Point, but going there wasn't a smooth path. The admissions officer assigned to him said he wasn't West Point material. However, he didn't let it stop him. It motivated him to try harder and earned admission to the academy. 

In this episode, Alijah shares his experiences at West Point Academy and as an army leader. During this time, he also became the Diversity Outreach Admissions Officer, and his experiences in this position led him to found The Qonnection. He didn't want anyone to experience what he did, and he wanted the African-American youth to get a competitive advantage.

Lastly, Alijah talks about his reasons for pursuing an MBA, why he chose Haas, internships, his job at Zimba Technologies, and plans post-MBA.

Episode Quotes:

On being told he wasn't a “West Point material”

“I decided that no one's going to tell me what I can't do. I'm going to leave that up to the academy. And thank goodness that that was the information that I got at the time, because the only thing that that did was motivate me to try harder, to go faster. Pride is something else, because I was dead set on proving this guy wrong. And thank God I was, because I ended up earning admission to the academy. And I was really excited to go there and embark on a new opportunity.”

On his experience at the Academy

“It's definitely tough. But one thing I will say about the academy is it really forced me to grow up extremely fast. And the good thing about West Point is that everybody at the academy is just as motivated as you are. It's almost like an incubator. When you get into a room with 1,000 of your classmates and everybody's motivated, you just continue to push yourself and push yourself and push yourself.

But in full transparency, I struggled with imposter syndrome very, very, very heavy at the academy. There were some days where I just felt like the dumbest guy in the room. These kids are just so smart. But that feeling that I didn't belong in the same space and that I was not as smart as my classmates served as a motivator for me to try much harder and to push myself as hard as I can go and get the best experience out of the academy that I possibly could. I think that everybody goes through that in some form or fashion at the academy. It has a very special way of testing you mentally and physically but definitely keen on the mentally.”

On pursuing an MBA at Haas

"The more research I did, it just started to make more and more sense that that was a time to transition, and specifically, Haas. And I started to notice this arc throughout my story that Haasies always made time for me. And I would say even in my experience here as a current student, that has continued to be a consistent long line. And it doesn't even just have to be Haasies, but Haasies just make time for people. Haasies care about humans. And I just loved that so much.

During my exploratory phase when I was in a different MBA program, I was really concerned about the culture. I work best in collaborative environments. And I'm not a huge fan of the doggy dog mentality, we're all competing for a very small set of slots, billets, positions, whatever you want to call it. And every time I got on the room with a Haasie, it was just a great conversation. It was for sure the culture that got me."

A piece of advice to somebody, either personal or professional

"Don't close any doors, for whatever reason. We set deadlines arbitrarily. We get on this one track sometimes. So many things in this Haas experience and the army, just serendipitous conversations, something that may not look like an opportunity or something that just starts off as a very small conversation. It may turn into a whole non-profit. So, always keep your options open. I try to say yes to as many things as I can, just because of new opportunities and new experiences. And just keeping the doors open, truly being open to where life may take you for your next experience."

Show Links:

• LinkedIn
• The Qonnection

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