Neha Mandalapu

With the vision to one day open her own private dental practice, New Jersey-native Neha Mandalapu knew she needed to gain key leadership and management skills. “What drove me toward the Master in Management program was the gap between clinical expertise and private practice management,” she says. “I saw that I needed to make sure that I honed in my own fundamental leadership capabilities and understand what type of leadership style that I would be able to take on with me as an aspiring dentist.”

Neha’s various courses in the program have helped her excel as a leader and gain valuable skills to help her in the long term. 

“Through this program, I've grown so much as an aspiring leader in dental medicine,” she says. “I've learned to really understand my leadership role and capabilities, what the numbers and values mean, what it takes to be able to fundamentally drive human decision making skills and processes, and what drives human decision behavior.”

Neha was surprised by the diversity of backgrounds, interests and experiences among her classmates. “There was a way that we were all connected together and that enforces community within our program—not only within our cohort, but as a school in general,” she adds.

Her various experiences have helped her to gain a better understanding of herself and what she is capable of, including learning that she does have a collaborative leadership style. “This was something that I've grown to learn by working with a diverse group of individuals in my cohort,” she says. “And from this, I know that I will be able to use these fundamental building blocks and leadership capabilities as an aspiring physician while also building a private practice platform.”