Darcy Drury, MGA/MBA '18
Senior Policy Advisor + Senior Consultant, Policy Innovation Hub Cabinet Office, Government of Ontario
What did you like most about the MGA program?
In the real world, you always work with other people, yet so much of education asks students to operate in isolation. What I appreciated most about the MGA program was the amount of group work and the types of questions we were asked to answer. At the Munk School, we were regularly put on teams and challenged with projects such as modelling the likelihood of different climate policies by the federal government, researching and designing multinational taxation regimes, and mapping out the flow of small arms (i.e., guns and landmines) across the globe. You learn to work with others, to manage your expectations of them, while recognizing what you bring to the table in a professional setting.
How has your MGA helped position you in your career?
I wouldn’t have the job I have now without my MGA degree. The MGA is a badge of honour on my resume that reflects the fact that I can grapple with big-picture problems (like an executive), clearly communicate complex ideas succinctly, and tap a network of classmates and alumni for the questions I don’t understand. Every MGA leaves the program with a humble appreciation for the complexity of how the world works. We are also practiced at the art of taking vast amounts of information and synthesizing it into a succinct argument or idea: no executive has ever asked me for a 10-page paper on anything, but they regularly ask me for a slide or two that encapsulates a broad concept. I also use my MGA as my edge in interviews and introductions, it signals that I care about the future of our world and have awareness of some key social issues—often rare in the private sector.