Alexander Oubré MBA’22: Building and Expanding Community
Alexander Oubré MBA’22 earned his diploma and became a new dad in the same month. It’s a fitting conclusion to a productive Babson career, where he was co-president of the Babson Black Graduate Club and chief of graduate student life on the Graduate Student Council.
The Los Angeles native was drawn to Babson’s “nontraditional, customizable” approach to business. “It seemed like people were really good at making that experience their own. It’s not a cookie-cutter MBA experience,” says the former music producer and engineer.
Oubré made the Babson experience his own, too. After arriving on campus, he asked for information about the Babson Black Graduate Club. Instead, he was quickly recruited as a co-president and charged with increasing membership.
“One of the first things that we did was rebrand from the Babson Black MBA Club to make it a Babson Black Graduate Club and figure out: How do we appeal to all Black students who are part of the Babson ecosystem and do community-building? How do we make sure that the next generation of Babson students has a place to call home?”
It was a big job; the club’s membership was dwindling. He approached the challenge like a true Babson student.
“We’re entrepreneurs. How can we take what we’re learning in the classroom and apply it to this very specific situation?” he says.
With the support of Babson leadership, Oubré generated meaningful programming. He’s especially proud of securing former NFL player Paul Francisco, chief diversity officer at State Street, for a candid talk about race, careers, and leveraging Babson’s alumni network.
“He gave a very impassioned speech, telling our students: ‘This is how you navigate the job market looking … in areas and in spaces where we’re not always welcome, where we’re most likely to be the only one,” he recalls.
“How do we appeal to all Black students who are part of the Babson ecosystem and do community-building? How do we make sure that the next generation of Babson students has a place to call home?”
Alexander Oubré MBA’22
As chief of graduate student life, he also created community despite pandemic-induced distance. Oubré realized that his role was about more than mere events programming; it was about acknowledging and rewarding his peers’ outsized commitment to learning, despite the pandemic odds.
“One thing we all have in common is that we were bold enough to take that risk. That’s really what Babson is all about: being bold enough to take a risk,” he says.
Now, Oubré will use his Babson MBA to take on a new one. He hopes to launch his own brand marketing consulting company to advise minority-owned startups.
“Going to Babson made me more interested not just in getting a job with the biggest company, but taking the skills I’ve learned and making the biggest impact,” he says, ideally back in Los Angeles or on Maui, where his wife is from.
“It will be sunny, wherever I end up,” he promises.
More Graduate Standouts
Lucas Brown ’07, MSF’22—whose software company he started with his brother, Lee Brown ’07, was acquired in 2020—earned the MSF Academic Excellence Award as class valedictorian. He plans to help the state of Alaska develop a growing and sustainable economy that focuses on renewable financial resources.
JerDrema (Dreme) Flynt M.Ed., MBA’22 earned a U.S. Student Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship in South Africa, beginning in February 2023. Flynt is the first Babson graduate student—and 10th Babson student overall—to earn a Fulbright grant.
Karyn Elga Glemaud-Anis MBA’22 wrote and published a bestselling children’s book, Mommy’s New Friend: A Heartwarming Story for the Single-Mom and Child, during her time in the Evening MBA program. She also was co-president of the Babson Marketing Club, while working full time and raising her four sons.
Puanoa Higginson MBA’22 served as co-president of the Out Network at Babson and was invited to join Beta Gamma Sigma, the exclusive business honor society, as one of Babson’s “most outstanding business students.”
Jonathan Prosser MS’22—the founder of social movement PaxHax—was selected as a fellow with the Clinton Global Initiative University and now is the director of an innovation lab with a global nonprofit focused on child poverty in developing countries.
Sukreet Singh MBA’22, the Roger W. Babson Award winner, was known across campus for his leadership skills (juggling positions in the analytics, marketing, and finance clubs), his academic excellence, and kindness.
George Zilu Wang MSEL’22, one of 11 Dean’s Leadership Award recipients, was a leader in the MSEL program, serving as a student representative during both semesters. “It is my pleasure to know that I have made a positive contribution to my peers’ experience at Babson,” he says.
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