listen on ituneslisten on stitcher

Latest Episodes

Welcome to Season 2 of The Riordan Recorder

Welcome to Season 2 of the Riordan Recorder! This season we are honing in on topics that affect underrepresented minority (URM) students in business school. In our opening episode, we talk with the Executive Director of the Riordan Programs about what listeners can expect to learn on the new season of the Riordan Recorder.

Featuring: Roxanne Mendez, Executive Director, The Riordan Programs

You‘re Admitted Into B-School, You Are Enough

In our first episode, we talk with Denice about what strategies she utilized once she was an MBA student and her advice to admitted URM’s.

Featuring: Denice Gonzalez-Kim ‘19
Riordan Scholars ’04, Riordan MBA Fellow ’14
Director, Strategy and Transactions at EY-Parthenon

Creating an MBA Blueprint…Am I MBA Material?

Riordan All-Star Satiya Witzer shares strategies for URM students applying to business school.

Featuring: Satiya Witzer ’13, Riordan Scholar'01

Director, Human Capital M&A, Private Equity Services at Alvarez & Marsal

B-School Entrance Exams, Do Not Give Up

Sean shares his experience with both the GMAT and GRE and strategies he recommends for applicants. Sean also discusses the importance of community and how he eventually achieved his highest score.

Featuring: Sean Moore II, Riordan MBA Fellow ’19

Building Your Quantitative Profile 

Learn about how Riordan Alum Catherine Valle made it into business school without having the cookie-cutter business school applicant profile.

Featuring: Catherine Valle, Riordan MBA Fellow ’18

Investment Banking Associate at Avivar Capital 

How To Prepare for The MBA Interview 

Any interview can be daunting. Chandler shares several strategies applicants can utilize when preparing for an MBA program interview. Chandler also discusses great strategies for social impact applicants.

Featuring: Chandler Arnold 

Stacy Blackman Consulting

B-School, Getting to Know Yourself

In this episode, Christian walks us through the MBA essay writing process and tips you can apply to share the authentic you. 

Featuring: Christian Trigg, Riordan MBA Fellow '21

Season 1

 Dr. Justin Martin on My Doctoral Journey

Completing my PhD Dissertation: My Biggest Challenge so Far

This episode talks about challenges, we all go through them but seem to forget that other people struggle too. We tend to compare our struggles and behind the scenes issues with the finished product camera ready versions of others. Today Justin shares with us his behind the scenes journey of his most difficult challenge that he has face to date, the completion of his doctoral dissertation.

Juan Lopez on Beginning my Doctoral Journey

Juan has recently embarked on his lifelong dream of earning his doctorate. In this episode he discusses the difficulties he encountered before even beginning his PhD program. He also shares about his passion and reason for getting a PhD, in order to further research of the lack of Latino male representation in higher education.

Scott Torres on Blazing the Trail

Scott shares his story of being a first generation college student. In this episode he talks about why he was so committed to his own education. He speaks about how The Riordan Programs influenced him as a high school student to broaden his mind and expectations for himself. This very personal story touches on hardships including being evicted from his family home as a child all the way through Stanford and ultimately Harvard Business School.

DaVeon Smith on From Humble Beginnings to an Ivy League University

In this episode DaVeon, a first generation college student, talks about his journey from South Central Los Angeles to Hanover, New Hampshire where he attended the prestigious Ivy League University Dartmouth College. At a very young age he had his sights set on an Ivy League education. He talks about his experience as a person of color attending an Ivy League University and his transition from college in to corporate America.

Miguel Marshall on Cross Boarder Entrepreneur

In this episode we hear from Miguel a cross boarder entrepreneur who was born in San Diego but raised in Tijuana. Miguel now lives and works in Tijuana, and his love for his home city has inspired him on his quest to try to help make Tijuana one of the most prosperous boarder cities in the world, we hear about what exactly defines a cross boarder entrepreneur and why this passion is so important to him.

Desiree Davis Stolar on Fear was my motivation

In this episode Desiree shares how she was able to overcome her fear of speaking up in class at business school and ended up speaking in front of the entire nation on the popular TV Show Shark Tank.

Torianna Peete on It's just me. The story of being the only woman in the office.

Torianna shares the story of her experience in the corporate world as a woman of color. Discussing the barriers and stereotypes that she faced and overcame on her way to a position of leadership in her company. In this episode we hear of her clever strategy to use sports as a way to break into the boy’s club society of Corporate America and raise to a position of leadership.

Jarrod Fong on Decades of Leadership

In this episode Jarrod share with us his leadership journey from taking on volunteer positions as a leader in the Riordan Fellows Program to his current role as Managing Director at JPMorgan Asset Management.

Sid Shah on An International Business Perspective

Sid has successfully launched businesses in the US, India, and China. In this episode we find out more about his international career journey and perspective.

Jessica McLemore on Life after College - Living Abroad in Japan

In this episode we hear about Jessica’s post graduate life in Japan.

Brian Henry on Living out your passion

In the Episode Brian talks about his transition from working in Corporate America to risking it all and following his passion of music to becoming a full time DJ. He tells the story of how and why he made this risky decision and what his life is like now as he lives out his passion as DJ B Hen.

Christina Flores on Choosing between your passions

Christina Flores from a young age was very passionate about Opera and dreamed of becoming an Opera singer. In this episode she walks us through her journey of deciding between her two passions.

Satiya Witzer on College: you’re doing it wrong- all the mistakes I made my first year of college.

In this Episode Satiaya Tells the story of how she navigated college and looks back at some of the mistakes she made along the way and what she would have liked to do differently. She also gives some advice to first generation colleges students on how to make the best of your college experience.

Karina Arellano on College Tuition: the biggest obstacle to graduation

In this episode Karina tackles the difficult topic of how to pay for college tuition. She shares with us how she was able to pay for both her undergraduate degree and her graduate degree on her own. And talks about the difficult choices she had to make along the way.

Welcome to Episode 0 of the Riordan Recorder!

Join us as we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Riordan Programs by hearing the stories of the most important aspect of the Riordan Programs Legacy, our alums.
Roxanne Mendez is the 5th Executive Director of the Riordan Programs
Rebecca Stuart is the host, producer and editor of the Riordan Recorder.