No other business school has quite been able to duplicate the Associate Board mentoring program. Because Cox has close ties to the surrounding corporate community, it has been able to cultivate the kind of commitment from business leaders that is necessary to support such a program. Thirty years after its birth, the Associate Board continues to be one of the top reasons students decide to pursue their MBAs at Cox. Students and mentors take away from the program only what they are willing to put into it. Some students elect to continue with the same mentors for a second year.
Some students choose different mentors to broaden their network.
Other students build relationships with more than one mentor at a time. As illustrated by the following three profiles, each student-mentor relationship is as unique as the individuals participating. I set goals for myself to attend a world-class business school and to get a job with a large consulting firm. One of the main reasons I chose Cox was its mentoring program, which would allow me to establish professional contacts and meet business leaders while I was in graduate school. Professor of Energy Economics and Business at the University of Oklahoma, O'Brien also serves as executive director of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council Energy Forum.