Summer Internship Spotlight: Tyler Walton (MBA’19), HundrED
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Each year, our students spend their summers in Washington, D.C., across the nation, and around the world working in corporate, nonprofit, and government organizations. This month, we’re featuring Full-time MBA students with particularly interesting summer internships.
Tyler Walton (MBA’19)
Summer Associate, HundrED
Helsinki, Finland
What are you doing this summer?
HundrED is a Finnish nonprofit that seeks and shares inspiring innovations in K12 education. They brought me onboard primarily to support the research team with finding and selecting the innovations that will be showcased in this year’s HundrED Global, a collection of the 100 most innovative, impactful and scalable innovations in education from around the world.
As an MBA intern, I support them with database management and analytics (props to our APS profs!), but I’m also immersed in the innovation selection process, which involves researching and interviewing innovators directly. This part of the work helps me to understand the more qualitative aspect of improving education outcomes in a multitude of contexts and competing priorities. I also love that because HundrED is a smaller team, I’m able to contribute to larger strategic discussions about where the company sees itself going and what actions we should take to get there. Not to mention the view from the office toward the sea, which is simply perfect. It’s in my favorite neighborhood of Helsinki.
How does HundrED relate to your professional or personal interests?
Before coming to business school, I was a teacher in Finland, which greatly shaped my outlook on education, especially since the Finnish school system is so unique and successful. Education is one of my passions, and getting an MBA for me has always been about finding a way to use business skills to make a positive impact in education over the course of my career. Undertaking this internship has been an extension of that goal.
I chose HundrED because it’s important for me to see what innovators are doing across the whole spectrum of education, from classroom-based innovations to policy- and leadership-related solutions. I’m learning how others are making an impact, and it’s giving me many great ideas for how I can apply my MBA skills in the future. It’s also just a lot of fun to work with people who share my passion for education. Not everyone can say that about their work.
How did you find the internship?
I always have my ear to the ground for all things related to Finland and education. So when I found out about HundrED, I saw a clear connect between their mission and how I want to use my MBA. I wrote to them immediately. I feel extremely lucky to have found an internship that combines business knowledge with improving education, and in Finland of all places! It’s pretty much a trifecta of awesomeness for me.
What’s the coolest thing you’ve done so far this summer?
I started making YouTube videos again for my channel after a year hiatus. Adjusting to life as a first-year MBA student was mentally and emotionally taxing, especially on the heels of two years living and working in Helsinki where I had more of a balance. I mostly make videos about Finland and my experience as a foreigner there, but I also give myself freedom to create from whatever inspires me. I’m thankful to be in an MBA program that stretches me to my limit, but I don’t want to lose those things that make me happy. Underneath that business professional veneer, I’m creative and ridiculous and a little bit too comfortable with putting myself out there online, but that’s who I am. I’m glad I found that balance again.
What else should we know?
My internship wouldn’t be possible without the generous support of the Social Impact Internship Fund. So thank you to every single SIIF Sponsor who donated this year and in particular Net Impact leaders Amie Fleming and Lauren Cosgrove, who organized everything.