MBA applicants are usually told to connect with admissions officers, alumni, career coaches, and consultants. And that's good advice.
For Anna Lazzereschi and Ketia Momo, those connections were an important part of their MBA journeys. Through Forté MBALaunch, both women gained access to webinars, resources, admissions guidance, and a clear framework for navigating a process that can often feel overwhelming.
What neither expected was that one of the most valuable parts of the experience would come from another “Launcher.”
The two met through their MBALaunch peer group, but they arrived at the program from very different places.
[MBALaunch] helped transform what felt like a mountain of unknowns into a series of achievable steps.”
Anna had known for years that she wanted to pursue an MBA. Working in project management for a transportation infrastructure consulting firm in Vancouver, she was looking for guidance on how to turn that goal into reality.
Ketia worked in proposal development for major infrastructure projects, an experience that sparked her interest in infrastructure investing. She had also been considering an MBA for years, but the process felt daunting. There were tests to prepare for, applications to complete, recommendations to secure, and countless decisions to make along the way.
Both women credit MBALaunch with helping make the process more manageable.
For Anna, the program provided structure. "It gave me a timeline. It gave me the steps," she explained. "I was very lost before Launch."
For Ketia, it helped transform what felt like a mountain of unknowns into a series of achievable steps. "It really demystified the whole thing," she said.
The program also introduced both women to a community of peers navigating many of the same questions.
When Anna realized there were several MBALaunch participants living in Vancouver, she created a local Slack channel and invited anyone interested in studying for the GMAT to meet her at the library.
Ketia was one of the people who said yes.
They were supposed to study. Instead, they spent hours talking about their careers, their goals, and the uncertainty that comes with applying to business school. As the conversations continued, both women realized they were getting something they hadn't expected: not just information, but support from someone experiencing the process alongside them.
An admissions consultant can tell you what to do.
A fellow applicant can tell you they're staring at a blank essay document at midnight too.
An admissions officer can explain the process.
A peer can text, "I have no idea what I'm doing either."
An admissions consultant can help you prepare your application.
A fellow applicant can help you survive it.
Through MBALaunch, Anna and Ketia gained access to both: the expertise that helped them navigate the process and the peer support that helped them through it. What started as one study session became regular check-ins, more study sessions, and eventually a standing monthly conversation that continues today.
Along the way, both women achieved the goals that brought them to MBALaunch in the first place.
They talk about having someone who understood the process not because she had already been through it, but because she was living it too. ”
Today, Ketia is pursuing her MBA at Queen's University Smith School of Business as a Forté Fellow. Anna will begin her MBA this Fall at Chicago Booth
Yet when they reflect on the experience, neither talks first about admissions outcomes.
They talk about the confidence they gained. The clarity they found. The support they received from experts, alumni, and fellow applicants alike. They talk about having someone who understood the process not because she had already been through it, but because she was living it too.
Today, even as they prepare to begin MBA programs hundreds of miles apart, they still make time for the monthly conversations that began with a Vancouver Slack channel and a study session that never quite became a study session.
MBALaunch helped both women navigate the path to business school.
It also helped them find someone to walk it with.
