Meet MBA Ambassador Mychal McLean

Each of our MBA Ambassadors are exemplar of the MBA experience here at UF Warrington. Unique in every way, they truly reflect what it means to be a Business Gator. Ambassadors answer questions, provide guidance and will encourage you to join them on what will be an academic journey you won’t forget.

While our students cannot answer questions regarding the admissions and applications process, we have a dedicated Admissions team that can help. You can reach them directly via email or by phone at 352-273-1836.

Mychal McLean (MBA ’27) is a current MBA student and Ambassador. Get to know Mychal and about his experience in the University of Florida’s MBA program.

Where is your hometown? 

I’m from Niceville, Florida. It’s in the Panhandle. About as close to Alabama as you can get but still be in Florida. In my opinion, it has some of the best beaches in Florida.  

What are some of your interests, personal or professional? 

I did have a bunch of hobbies before I had kids. I used to play video games and workout more. But now I have twin toddlers, a boy and a girl, running around the house and they take up most of my time. But when I’m not busy chasing them around the house . . .  academically, I am really interested in leadership, talent identification, and I’ve started to get more interested in AI.

Do you participate in any Warrington student organizations? 

The Graduate Career and Peer Mentorship program.

What is your favorite class? 

Right now, it’s Game Theory. All our other classes are finance based, accounting based, or marketing. I enjoy strategy which is quite different and allowed me to exercise that interest.

Who is your favorite professor? 

Dr. [Paul] Madsen who taught accounting, which arguably is my least favorite topic but he brought a lot of energy to the material he presented. The way he teaches can keep anyone engaged.

What were your plans, pre-MBA?

Graduate, obviously. Ha. But my plans were to learn as much as I could from the curriculum as well as my peers. I came in with an open mind hoping to learn as much as I could.

What are your plans post-MBA? 

My wife is finishing up a residency program at UF Health Shands Hospital, so a lot of my career progression will be based on where she ends up.  At the end of the semester, we’ll have a good idea what city we’ll be heading to. I am looking for something that interests me, I like technology, defense, and leadership. Strategy, operations or something like that.

What is your favorite thing about Gainesville? 

Just outside of Gainesville within 20 to 30 minutes you can go to Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park or Sweetwater Preserve, which is a walking trail that surrounds natural ponds. The ponds are home to alligators and other wildlife.

What is your favorite business book?

I’m a huge fan of Simon Sinek while his stuff doesn’t directly tie into business. I would say my favorite is Leaders Eat Last.

What is some MBA advice you may have given a younger self?

Invest in Bitcoin? Ha. I’m not sure I would have given myself any MBA advice because I was on a different journey then, which luckily led to a bunch of great places. 

How about those who are just beginning the application process? 

I think a lot of people get really hung up on scores for getting into business school. That is one metric to measure how successful a person might be coming into this program but it’s certainly not the only metric that would predict someone’s success. So, as you begin the journey of applying, I wouldn’t get to wound up in it. Obviously, try to do your best, but realize even if you don’t get a good score, that doesn’t mean you’re not going to be successful wherever you land.

Connect with Mychal via LinkedIn to learn more about his experience.