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Before the Come Up

Before the Come Up

By GT Svanikier

To learn more about the inspiring people in his class, GT decided to start "Before the Come Up," a podcast that brings his classmates' remarkable stories and life experiences to light.

Each week the podcast features a different member of the Columbia Business School class of 2023. The podcast's goal is to foster community, empathy, and understanding as we learn about each guest's unique background and explore their passions and motivations.
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Wilburt Carpenter

Before the Come UpFeb 11, 2022

00:00
42:55
Impana Srikantappa
May 05, 202335:27
Anika Islam
Apr 28, 202301:00:38
Sophia Göppinger
Apr 07, 202340:10
Daniella Levitan
Mar 24, 202335:56
Isabella Luna
Mar 03, 202339:19
Levi Palmer
Feb 10, 202336:45
Yen-Chu (Jack) Tu

Yen-Chu (Jack) Tu

We are back for our final season in our final semester! You don't want to miss this episode with the amazing Yen-Chu (Jack) Tu. So sit back, relax, and get ready to take some notes as we dive into the story of one of the most interesting individuals in our class. Don't miss this one, folks!

Jan 27, 202336:28
Martavius Leonard

Martavius Leonard

In episode 21 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Martavius Leonard. Before CBS, Martavius worked in finance at Goldman Sachs for 7 years. Over this time, he championed diversity, serving as a lead ambassador for the firm’s HBCU alliance initiative, which aims to recruit and retain top-tier candidates from Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He is also the co-President of the CBS Black Business Students Association. In this episode, we learn about his passion for music and how that weaves into his career pivot and future goals.

Oct 14, 202256:34
Sophia Segreti

Sophia Segreti

Episode 20!!

Sep 30, 202238:55
Colin Rodgers

Colin Rodgers

In episode 19 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Colin Rodgers. Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Colin reflects on his family's formative impact on him and discusses his experience pushing himself to his physical and mental limits through his incredible career in the US Army. He also talks about his wide-ranging passions, from sports to travel, and what led him to Columbia.

Sep 23, 202251:25
Samantha Shapses

Samantha Shapses

In episode 18 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Samantha Shapses. She is a student affairs professional committed to engaging students, faculty, and administrators in the practice of exploring diversity, equity, and inclusion within all aspects of higher education. Currently, Dr. Shapses serves as Associate Dean and Dean of Student Affairs, Full-Time MBA Programs at Columbia Business School, where she draws upon 20 years of professional experience working in the field of higher education as a student affairs professional. Dr. Shapses has also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at SIPA, New York University, and Teacher’s College, Columbia University where she teaches courses on social justice education and higher education administration. Dr. Shapses has presented at numerous national conferences on this topic and has published articles featured in the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education, Education and Whiteness, and the Journal of South African Higher Education.

Sep 16, 202249:44
Owen Odigie

Owen Odigie

In episode 17 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Owen O. Odigie. Owen is a 3rd year grad student at Columbia co-currently pursuing his MBA and Masters of International Affairs. At CBS, he served as the Student Body President for the 2021-2022 academic year. At the Public Policy school, he is Co-Chair of the Columbia Africa Conference for the 2022-2023 academic year.

Owen has worked at Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo, Nike, the startup space, and recently got into Venture Capital. His dynamic work experience is matched by his dynamic upbringing growing up in Nigeria, the UK and the United States.

He's super passionate about bringing people together, self-development and leadership, mindfulness and enjoying what life has to offer. Post graduation, Owen hopes to have a career spanning the private sector, government and the non-profit sector.
Sep 09, 202242:57
Yvoire Whittaker

Yvoire Whittaker

In episode 16 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Yvoire Whittaker. Prior to attending CBS, Yvoire worked at Deloitte Consulting, LLP as a Human Capital Senior Consultant. At Deloitte, Yvoire gained experience in start-up accelerators, branding, marketing, data and analytics, change management, training, project management, human-centered design, customer engagement strategies, and workforce development.

As a first-generation Ghanaian-American, Yvoire is passionate about stimulating the Ghanaian economy, influencing job creation, and increasing wealth in Ghana. She is passionate about enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and promoting anti-racism in her communities, using innovation, design, and dialogue to implement relevant and reliable DEI strategies.

Feb 19, 202247:21
Wilburt Carpenter

Wilburt Carpenter

In episode 15 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Wilburt Carpenter. Originally from Virginia, Wilburt reflects on his family's formative impact on him and discusses his experience in media, retail, technology, and diversity and how he seeks new ways to use marketing and technology for positive change. He also discusses his wide-ranging passions from fashion to food and what led him to Columbia.

Feb 11, 202242:55
Ijeoma Chimezie

Ijeoma Chimezie

In episode 14 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Ijeoma Chimezie. She was born in Nigeria but moved to New Jersey in her youth with her family. Before CBS, she got her Doctor of Pharmacy from Rutgers University and worked as a registered pharmacist before pivoting into brand communication strategy at varying capacities within healthcare. In this episode, we learn how she has fused her passions for beauty, marketing, and medicine as she seeks to leverage industry knowledge and her entrepreneurial drive to advance access to healthcare and science globally.

Feb 04, 202201:00:36
Spencer Borison

Spencer Borison

In episode 13 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Spencer Borison. Originally from Denver, Colorado, Spencer paints a vivid picture of his upbringing and reflects on his family's formative impact on him. He also discusses his wide-ranging passions and what led him to Columbia.

Dec 10, 202157:46
Mélanie D'Mello Genin

Mélanie D'Mello Genin

In episode 12 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Mélanie D'Mello Genin from Reims, France. We've all heard there's a professional harpist in the class of '23 - now we finally get to listen to her story! In this candid exchange, she shares her musical career journey and discusses how she defied social and professional expectations throughout her life. We also hear about what made her decide to get an MBA and her post-CBS career goals.  

Check out her website: http://melaniegenin.com

Nov 19, 202152:51
TJ Subramanian

TJ Subramanian

In episode 11 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with TJ Subramanian, originally from St. Louis, Missouri. In this episode, we learn about her Midwestern and Indian cultural upbringing, undying love for New York and the educators that have inspired her along the way.
Nov 12, 202149:43
Watson Leffel

Watson Leffel

In episode 10 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Watson Leffel an East Coast native most recently based in Washington DC. We hear about the family that inspires her, her passion for workforce and education issues, and what she hopes to contribute to and gain from the CBS community.
Nov 05, 202133:39
Dalisu Jwara

Dalisu Jwara

In episode 9 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Dalisu Jwara from South Africa. In this deeply moving & inspiring episode, we learn about his upbringing in Johannesburg, love for South African music, and diverse global career experiences that have brought him to where he is today.

Oct 29, 202158:38
Nine Chantawasinkul

Nine Chantawasinkul

In episode 8 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Nine Chantawasinkul. Originally from Thailand, Nine tells us about his upbringing, how he got his name, and what eventually led him to Columbia. Along the way, we hear about his passions for fitness, traveling, and exploring new places off the beaten path. He also shares stories from working in consulting at McKinsey. This role allowed him to travel to many countries as well.

Oct 15, 202131:48
Nia Johnson

Nia Johnson

In episode 7 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Nia Johnson. After leaving her hometown in Massachusetts, she discovered her passion for venture capital and affinity for big cities — which ultimately led her to Columbia. Listen to hear about Nia’s unique experience, career advice, and what’s it’s like to be low-key Twitter famous. (You can follow her at @_johnsonator.) You won’t want to miss it!

Oct 08, 202137:60
John Scalamandre

John Scalamandre

In episode 6 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with John Scalamandre. Originally from Lond Island, John tells us about his upbringing and what eventually led him to Columbia. Along the way, we hear about his passions for EDM music, playing the piano, and investment banking - all of which he plans to do post-MBA.

Oct 01, 202152:48
Nehika Miglani

Nehika Miglani

In episode 5 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Nehika Miglani. We learn about her upbringing in the San Francisco Bay Area and her career journey in tech sales on the West Coast. We also dive into what led her to CBS to fuse her passions for entrepreneurship and the beauty industry. She is a licensed esthetician as well as a classicly trained pianist obtaining an Associates Degree in Piano Music Performance from The Royal Conservatory of Music.

Sep 24, 202139:18
Javaun Francis

Javaun Francis

In Episode 4 of Before the Come Up, we sit down with New York City native Javaun Francis. We learn about his exciting career journey from Wall St to Texas and his passion for traveling the world. We also find out what it was like growing up in NYC and how he navigated being both American and Jamaican. 

Sep 17, 202157:35
Taylor (Lijing) Xie

Taylor (Lijing) Xie

In the third episode of Before the Come Up, we sit down with Taylor Xie. We discuss her experience growing up in a remote, mountainous part of China before moving to Hong Kong for college. Since graduating she has worked in finance with a focus on real estate, most recently at Goldman Sachs in Shanghai.

Sep 10, 202142:48
Adetola Olatunji

Adetola Olatunji

In the second episode of "Before the Come Up," we talk to Adetola Olatunji. She was born to Nigerian parents and raised in Boston, MA. She previously worked at New Profit, a venture philanthropy fund headquartered in Boston, where she leveraged her talents and unique experience to invest in mission-driven entrepreneurs and positively impact communities that have been historically underrepresented in some of the nation's largest systems. She hopes to pursue a career in VC / impact investing post MBA.

Adetola is the daughter of two serial entrepreneurs and faith leaders who moved from Nigeria to North America to ensure a better life for their children. Listen to learn how Adetola cultivated a passion for and commitment to the social sector, drawing from her family's experiences and example. She is an excellent orator and shares about her passion for performing as well. You don't want to miss this one!

To learn more about the inspiring people in my MBA class at Columbia Business School, I started "Before the Come Up," a weekly podcast focused on bringing to light the remarkable stories and life experiences that make up the historic CBS class of 2023. Each week the podcast will feature a different member of the class to learn about their background and journey to CBS and explore their passions and motivations and any fun stories they'd like to share.

Intro and outro music is by my amazing sister Sofie, and the song is her latest single, "If You Don't Stop."
www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOoTwQIskgk
Sep 03, 202101:04:24
Leon Galhardo

Leon Galhardo

In the first episode, we talk to Leon Galhardo, who was born and raised in Brazil. He previously worked in finance and real estate and is targeting a career in real estate investment banking after his MBA. 


Leon has been practicing martial arts since the age of 4 and has had incredible experiences, from being a professional MMA fighter to representing his state and country in Karate. Listen to learn how he used martial arts as a vehicle to meet people, experience different cultures, and explore the world! Whatever you do, DO NOT MISS the last 30 minutes of this one! 


As a way to learn more about the inspiring people in my MBA class at Columbia Business School, I started “Before the Come Up,” a weekly podcast focused on bringing to light the remarkable stories and life experiences that make up the historic CBS class of 2023. Each week the podcast will feature a different member of the class to learn about their background and journey to CBS and explore their passions and motivations and any fun stories they’d like to share. 


Intro and outro music is by my amazing sister Sofie, and the song is her latest single, “If You Don’t Stop.”

Aug 25, 202101:06:06