Pivot Point

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Welcome to the Pivot Point where we talk about all things pivot, all things business, and all things Vegas. I'm your host, Bardea. Let's get the ball rolling. All right, everybody. Welcome back to another exciting episode of The Pivot Point. Very special one today because I have with me my very special guest, who's actually the director of my program, the EMBA program at UNLV, Nadine Bentes. Pleasure to have you today.

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Thank you so much, Bardea.

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Now, I want to talk a little bit about your career history. Very impressive career history in admissions. So tell us a little bit about your story.

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So this is actually my 20th year in higher education. Prior to coming to UNLV in 2018, I actually went to the University of Southern California, fight on, go Trojans, for 15 years. I actually started my higher education career with a really funny story, actually. When I was an undergrad, I went to University of California, Irvine. I actually did not have a good experience with my admissions, my counselor in the program. They just signed my documents and I got myself through the four years. But I feel like they could have provided me so many more opportunities of like opening up my eyes, maybe study abroad, doing a project, your undergraduate research project, but they didn't provide that. They just kind of just did their job, signed off, and I graduated in four years. I felt like there's so much more I could have done if I knew about the opportunities in higher education there. So I actually decided after a year, I took a year break, I thought I wanted to be a kindergarten teacher. I volunteered at a kindergarten, loved the students, thought they were so cute, but I'm like, I don't think I can do this for the rest of my life. So I decided actually to study higher education administration. This is back in 2002, and it's been my career ever since. So I actually started because I actually didn't have a good experience, and I wanted to provide opportunities for our students. So that started my career in higher education. So one thing I really appreciate in my career is I started from the bottom. So my first job was a student worker when I was doing my master's program. So I was able to make a trajectory, started as a student worker, work up to a grad assistant, work up to an advisor, associate director, director, and now I'm now director of executive education here at the Lee Business School. I think it's really fortuitous for me that I've seen all levels, I know the impact everyone can have. So I appreciate everyone who does any role in higher education because I've done all levels

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to get to where I am.

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Yes, well in a way, college students and master students can be kindergartners at times. But I think that's amazing how your story has led you to where you are now. And I think that just being here with me is amazing because it's a testament to what you just said. Like you're making those relationships with those students that you actually recruit and admit. And I think that your guidance during the first couple weeks of our executive MBA program was just so critical to us forming bonds as a cohort. And truly as like friends, like almost like a family that you've created here from all different types of backgrounds. So what values were important to you or continue to be important to you when creating these cohorts?

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I think the first thing is being a continual learner. People want to come to our program, I want them to understand those MBA programs, executive MBA program. It's not just to be a checkmark to be the next step of going to the next position. Our program is really to get people who want to learn about business skill sets, the mindset, and also to learn about the Las Vegas community in Southern Nevada, what industries are out there, because our students may want to increase or change their job in their field, but at the same time, they want to start something completely different. They may come in as corporate and become an entrepreneur in our program. So I want them to be an open, continual learner, and also being open to all the different concepts. So I think that type of student, that mindset is beneficial to having that in the cohort. And also I look at each student individually. When I speak to them and through the submissions process, I get to know each student individually. We talk throughout the process and I can discuss with them. We have more conversations. I really get to know them. So as I build the cohort, I can see the different personalities. And I don't think it has to be, everyone has to be this, I need this many personalities type A, these type of, I just want to make sure that they're open to learning, open to all communities, open to just being open, I think that would just bridge the cohort together.

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Exactly, so you already touched on a little bit, but about unity in the teams that you build here. So how would you also, I suppose, foster unity in teams that you, people that you haven't even met yet?

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I would say foster, I don't think I'd do it, I think they'd do it. I think with the people that we recruit, the people we bring into the program, we kind of defer to the student to kind of bring that together and bring that unity together and be open to one another. And I think that the first course that we do, we're very purposeful in the courses that you take. The first one you take is about team leadership and effectiveness. We think that's the most important to start off because you are going to take this journey for the next 18 months with your cohort members. So you have to learn the skill sets and communication skills to work with that team because it will always be unity. There'll be times that you're like, why doesn't so and so do this? Or why is that, you know, why is this happening? So we want you to be able to build on that community, build on that unity, and learn the skills to cope in case things aren't going perfectly well in the program. So I just want to have that as well.

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You really learn how to lean on each other.

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Exactly.

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If you're the classes that you take. And I think that's so cool because you have to take all this into account when structuring a program. How has that changed how you look at program development?

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I think the most important thing to do, because I think with, of course, we need to get an MBA program, executive MBA program, people are looking for stats or accounting or finance management or marketing and different things. But before all that can happen, that content knowledge has to be done. In our program particularly, you need to be able to work in a team. So even when we start this program and the missions process, I think I always try to overstate the importance of teamwork because that's something that's really important to our program and that's something you cannot avoid in this program. If you don't like teamwork, then our program is not designed for you.

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Right.

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But we say it's really important to be in a team because it replicates the business environment. And other programs may have different mindsets, but we think that's really important. So we stress that throughout the admissions process and throughout the program. And then also we start the cohort with a team effectiveness class because we understand how important that is. Because if you don't have that team, then you won't, I think the success of the cohort is kind of in jeopardy if you don't do that.

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Yes, yes. And I presume that a lot of the inspiration behind it came from the fact that you had maybe a lacking experience in the admissions process yourself. So I think that's really cool how you sort of made it how you want to see it. You had a vision and you wanted to put something into the world that you thought wasn't there. So I think that's really admirable in how you made the program.

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I hope in the future I can actually do more teamwork. I go, what we do now, I think it's good at the beginning and then the end, but I think there also should be, there should be some midpoint kind of, so I'm actually working right now on a new program with the former executive director who's now a coach and having team building between the, in the middle of the program, just to make sure that, you know, we're checking in and you're in the middle of your coursework, but teamwork and unity between the cohort is really important, so we do that check-in point.

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Yes, I want to touch on a recent article I saw where you talked about terms that I thought were interesting. Conscious capitalism and philanthropy. What does that mean to you and how is it any different from any definitions that we

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already know of these terms? I think the conscious capitalism is really important to me just because in regards to, before being in this role, I was in the Entrepreneurship Center, and I learned a lot of, and then before that, I was in the Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship at USC. And I think I used to see capitalism and consciousness kind of as separate entities, but now I feel that they can have a huge bearing on one versus the other. So people should be mindful of that. Everything that you do, every purchase that you make can have a benefit outside of that initial product. So I always want people to understand that every decision that they make can have an influence on a different community, the environment. So that's something that I wasn't really aware of until I thought about it in the past few years based on my past roles that I've had.

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Yes, yes, exactly. And a little bit about the impact part. What impact do you hope to have on UNLV and the Las Vegas community?

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I hope to have a great one in many different ways. One thing that I really enjoy about UNLV and being in this role, because people are like, why did you change from USC to UNLV? And one thing I really enjoy about UNLV is their openness to try things. So when I was in the CHO Center, I noticed a need. I just looked at, just interacting with the students, that there was a need for professional clothing, that students, unfortunately, due to financial implications, cannot afford professional clothing for headshots that we were providing. So I was thinking, so I was listening to podcasts and someone said that they had heard of an organization that provided to women free clothing and coaching for women entering the workforce, re-entering the workforce. So I was thinking, well, we can do that here at UNLV. Our career center provides that coaching and that resume building, but the clothing, we can provide that. So I put the idea out, I talked to our Troche Center donor, and they agreed that we could take a closet that we had, and I had it redone that looks like a professional closet, and then I asked for donations from the school, and I got more than I could even imagine, and I still get them, and our donor has agreed that I could use the funding to dry clean them. So it's a constant 24-hour free closet that people can just walk into and take. Now something that just because I thought is a need, my director's like, if you wanna do it, do it. I said, okay. So that's been something that has been really impactful and it makes me so happy and I just wanted to do it just to see. It wasn't in my role or anything like that. Because one thing I've done, noticed in my career path is that I like to try things. I try to say yes to do a lot of things, even if I don't know if I'm the most qualified or I'm kind of questioning myself, I still say yes even though, because it makes you grow. It makes you grow, and if it failed, my closet had failed, it had failed, but at least I tried it, but it's been doing really well. And actually, other schools now donate, like donors from other schools, like law school donated to the closet. So my always mantra for anyone is just try. You fail, you fail, but if you never try,

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you never. Something I always would say to someone coming to UNLV or just anybody who asks me is to always try to see these opportunities, always say yes to it. And especially if it's fun. I never thought podcasts would be fun, but yet here I am. And having just such an exciting and and reaching experience at UNLV. It really doesn't matter at the end of the day, because I think it's just such a great experience. You never know what's going to happen, is what I'm trying to say. You never know who you're going to meet, especially that one person who could just change your life. You never know whose lives you're going to touch or who you're going to inspire. So that's amazing. I want to touch on the Trosh Center, because that's also something that I didn't really hear of until recently. And something that I recently said yes to was this new boot camp I heard about at the Trush Center, or maybe it's at StartupTree, I'm not 100% sure. But there is a three-week boot camp for entrepreneurs, you know, experience necessary, starting in September. So I encourage everyone who's listening, you can also check that out at unlv.startuptree.co. But tell us a little bit about the Trost Center.

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So actually the book is something I created about two years ago. And the reason I created that, and so just to give you some background, let me step back a bit. The Trost Center for Entrepreneur Innovation is open to all UNLV students, grad, undergrad, all majors. It's housed at the business school, but it's open for everyone. So a common misconception is it's only for business students, but that's where we happen to live in the home, but it's open for everyone. So we offer all types of programming, co-curricular, and we also offer a major and a minor in entrepreneurship. But if you have any idea if you want to start a business, go to the Troche Center. But the bootcamp is really for people who want to understand what is an entrepreneur, what does that even mean? Because I think some people, when they think entrepreneur, they think they have to do a Fortune 500 company, which they then will make into a million dollars and sell it. But then entrepreneur can be, you have a side hustle that you're doing on your own. You can be an entrepreneur in that way too. So the bootcamp is really like a three-step process on really acclimating you to what is entrepreneurship and then also building steps on how to develop a business plan, which is something very fundamental, as well as how to pitch yourself. So we have a workshop that's like basically, if you're in an elevator with someone, you have 30 seconds, how do you pitch yourself? And that's applicable to everyone. You could be in an interview with someone, you could happen to be in an elevator and you notice someone that you've wanted to talk to. How do you have that 30 second pitch ready in your pocket? So we've created this bootcamp series, we offer it every fall and spring, sometimes multiple times depending on the need, for anyone who wants to be an entrepreneur, small business developer, or just have an idea and they wanna see where it goes. We actually have a competition in the fall, it's called Ideas Competition, and we do provide funding. We are sponsored by the Blackstone Launchpad, which is a national organization, and we get a grant from them. So first place is $3,000, second place is $1,500, third place is $500, just for an idea. You would, we do not check if you, a year from now, if you've launched that idea. Some people do, some people may not, but it's an idea and everyone has ideas, but you'll get funding for this idea, why not try it?

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Absolutely. That sounds like an amazing competition. So I think that all those sound like really cool things going on. Are there any other interesting developments happening at Troche?

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I'd say at Troche, we are always bringing guest speakers. So also to be something mindful to all students or anyone listening to this is you never know who you're going to meet. And Las Vegas is very unique in that it's a big small city. So one thing I love about Las Vegas versus living in Los Angeles is I have so many opportunities here meeting different individuals. Like if you had told me a few years ago I'd be able to meet the president of the Raiders, I'd be like, that will never happen. But I've actually met her on certain occasions and many different events because you just have to be open to trying new things or meeting with new groups and you get that opportunity here. I feel like Nevada in a way is like six degrees of separation you'll find someone who knows someone who can connect you to it. So that's one thing I really enjoy about that. So we're bringing a lot of guest speakers to try to come to those events. If you, again, even if you think you don't have the idea to full fruition, apply for these competitions in these programs. Take the time. It only takes about half an hour, an hour. Make sure you do those type of things in the church

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center. Yeah. So I actually have an interesting question for you. A little on the harder side, but I think you can handle it. So in, for example, this competition where you're thinking creatively, taking risks and thinking about something that may or may not work. It's a scary thing, especially I think in my perspective, that seems pretty scary. How do you manage thinking out of the box to make something that could potentially be really, really cool, but then how do you manage potentially failing or making mistakes?

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I'd say the first thing to realize is that everybody fails. Even companies that are wildly successful now, they probably failed numerous times ahead of time and then had the one idea that worked. But, so I don't think you should ever be afraid of failure. You learn from failure. So even if you fail at something, either it be a bad grade or idea, business idea doesn't work, you will learn from that, and you'll carry that with you next time. So I think failure actually is not really a bad thing. I think you can learn from it. Yeah, it does hurt the ego, or maybe sometimes it makes you question, should I do this again? But how would you know if you never tried it? Because for me, the worst idea is, I could have done that, or maybe I should have tried

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that.

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I'd rather have tried it and failed at it, or learn something, and then take that skill set. And also know that everyone you admire, everyone you want to learn about, listen to podcasts about them, and you'll hear a thousand failure stories before they hit that one big idea.

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Yes. Imagine thinking like, oh, I should have done that. I don't want to look back and say that I should have or I had regrets. And I wanted to, and if you want to be the, if you see something that's like, so you're passionate about and it's no one's doing it, like, I think that's a really cool opportunity for you and you should absolutely go for it. Now, something that I kind of want to touch on, kind of relates to being more of an admissions director and the rise of AI and technology. You've probably heard of Chattu P.T. Yes. So recently, Chattu P.T. has passed Wharton MBA exams, law school exams, and the three part USMLE. Many are postulating that the potential of AI to upend many careers, yet others assert there are complex matters that require the explicit judgment of humans. Has AI played a role in your career or has it affected you as an admissions director?

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So as of now, it has not. I believe in the uniqueness of each individual. So when I read a purpose, when I read a statement of purpose, I believe it is the reflection of that person. I don't know if chat GBT, because I haven't utilized it as much, can replicate the feelings. You know, if you feed a resume would I think that human aspect would be missing the Vulnerability because when we talk we read our student missions essay, they tell us sometimes things I feel like wouldn't be intuitive for an AI machine to do could be like that's not perfect That's a flaw but to me if I make some human So it has not been something that we have utilized the university as a whole in higher education I think still grappling with chat GPT and how it can be utilized. Some have used it in social media to create a post on this with your recommendations to get ideas, but they don't solely rely on it. And to me, I feel with admissions and the human touch and speaking with individuals and building a program like this, ChatGPT couldn't really capture that in understanding the human complexities and building a team that I think is required for this program. So I don't – I'm not against it. I'm not for, but I'm not for it because I feel like then it makes, yeah, it could be that it replaces me one day. I hope not. But at the same time, I feel like the human aspect of our program with the team unity discussed and having this formulation of the strong team, I don't know if AI could capture that. Yes. I just want to go on record,

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everyone as my witness, um, to know that I did not use chat QPT when writing my admissions essay. But yeah, where do you think it fits in the academic or entrepreneurial lifestyle?

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I think it can help you. I don't think it's something that you should turn away, but it can be a motivation or can help you for the same, a mind block, or you have an idea and you want to kind of understand the research aspect of it, right? So, let's say I want to create this product. Ask Chats UBT does it exist? Maybe it can help you that way. Or maybe you're thinking about an upcoming project or company, it can help you guide you that way. So use it as something to help you, to supplement you, but not to replace you.

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Absolutely.

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So what's an important piece of advice that you would give to someone listening, interested in joining the EMBA program or the MBA program, or any of these awesome programs at UNLV, what would you tell a prospective business student?

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I would tell prospective students, first, don't be afraid, right? If you feel like, I haven't been in school for 10 years or I haven't been in school for X amount of years, am I ready to go back? I don't think you're ever ready for anything. I feel like sometimes, you know, you feel you're ready for the next step, no, but you should still try it. Because at the same time, if you don't do it, then you don't know what you've been missing out on. So the first thing is there's never a right time to do any program. EMBA, bachelors, whatever you're thinking of, even continuing education. If you want to learn something, try it. Never feel you have to meet a certain criteria, a certain number to get into it. Just reach out, talk to the individuals, talk to admissions counselors, advisors, current students, alumni, and really get to understand the program. So I would say one thing is, yes, just try and get that information and then make an informed decision, but don't let fear or thinking you're not ready yet to be that hindrance for you.

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Yes, and I think you don't have to be alone either. There are so many events, right, held on campus. Exactly. That promote these programs.

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And also one thing also, even then for current students, like someone like you, Bardia, who's in the program, is I know you're so busy with work-life balance. I don't know if it's even balance, it's just work-life. And then, yes, I don't know if I believe in work balance. Schoolwork, everything is on your plate. But also don't forget you are a student at this university, so take advantage of all the opportunities available to you too. Going to other events outside of our program, like Brews and Economic Views, or going to Outlook event, which is also about the Las Vegas economy, go to a choice-strategic speaker series, because you never know who you're going to meet and how that one person could change your life.

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Yes, there are so many, even student organizations and graduate student organizations. Something like the RVF was really interesting because they have, we talked about this, I think on a previous episode, but they're such a cool organization because they're actually a venture capital firm. It uses funds from the university or from donors and can make actual business decisions based on researching these companies.

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Yes, I've actually had a really close relationship with RVF in my troche days. Yes, they actually invest, they have a donor that has given them funds. So they actually invest about $30,000 in these companies and all the companies have, some of them they've sold and they've gotten their funds back or more so. And then there are some that have completely failed but that's the purpose of where you get real life experience you have real you with real companies a lot of the students in rvf actually have gotten internships or jobs with those companies and then they have to present it to a board so they actually have to present their findings the due diligence report to a panel of entrepreneurs and investors in the vegas valley and they vote based on the students research on investing these companies or not. I think it's such an amazing experience that you actually can say, I helped find this company and now it's sold. So, CircleIn is one of them, which is actually a program that's used in many different universities, Arizona State being one, which is a huge organization because of their partnerships online that use the CircleIn technology to provide support services to their students. RVF founded that company years ago. And they've invested in them. So it's amazing to see that, and there are some that, you know, open one year, two years later, they fell apart, but that's the business environment. And they learn from that. They learn from those experiences too. And they were able to invest those funds. And I don't know how many programs you can say that you actually invest in money, met with donors, corporations, and different things, and then saw that company grow and or fail.

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Right, not a lot, I would imagine, because it's student-led. Yes, you know, yeah And so it's not coming just from the university is coming from the students of the university and all these like Like the power is kind of in their hands exactly

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Yes, like the board only needs to do you yay or nay all the reports all the companies they found it's all student-led

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Yeah, absolutely. So what what excites you the most about the city of Vegas in the next few years?

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I would say the numerous changes coming. And I feel like also the ability to try new things. And one thing about Vegas is that I feel like if you have an idea, try it here. In a way. And the university I think is the same. So my role of course is with executive MBA, but also I'm working on expanding executive education. So I want to be able to provide to communities in Las Vegas, like other needs that they have, they might need in business. So I'm trying to ask for change from community. Maybe there's individuals, for example, who want to be an entrepreneur, you know, but going back to four years is not what they want to do. Masters is not what they want to do, but they want to do something that does expose them to the topic, like a boot camp in a way, for the community. So I want to really create programming that the community needs and wants at the business school. So that's something, in addition to the EMBA that I'm working on for individuals who may not hired Full like traditional hiring may not be the route to go but they want to expand their knowledge base Wow

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So, where do you get feedback for that?

0:25:23
Where do you meeting with organizations? Being with big companies like for example, I know MGM and Caesars for example have professional development They want to provide to their staff members. So what what are those kind of things? You know a lot of them want to learn about business, but again, they don't have the time to come back to their business degree, so what do they need? We can customize that for them. So going to companies, sometimes people have reached out to me and say, I'm creating this board, I want a board training. So I'm like, what do you want, what do you need? So I see people coming to me and or going to big companies and different organizations to figure out what their needs are and building from there.

0:25:58
Yeah, that sounds like a great plan. So what's next for you in the next five to 10 years?

0:26:04
I wish I could answer that question. Actually, it's very poignant that you ask me that question because when I interviewed here at UNLV in 2018, I actually had a surprise interview and the dean was actually added to my panel of interviewers. He asked me that. He's like, where do you see yourself in five years? And I told him, I didn't know because when I was in my master's program, they asked you to write what's your 10-year plan, and my 10-year plan was to be a director of a program. And I got to attain that at USC, so I was like, oh, is my career over? Does that mean my career's done? Because I reached my goal, and I hadn't thought about that. So at the same time, I'm open and willing to try different things. So in this, I really enjoy it, because of course I love working with EMBA students, but working with the community is something also I really value. So to me, the sky's the limit, like the closet was something I just created. So what more impact can I have? So I am very happy in my role, but also I'm also thinking about ways we can improve working with the community, working with so many different groups of students, what else I can do for the MBA program. So I'm always looking for continual ways for improvement and how I can help others.

0:27:12
Same. I think I also wouldn't know really what to say. There's really so much going on and you never know what you're going to discover. And when this program is culminated in next December, and we do the international trip, that might influence everything entirely. I was always thinking health administration. Maybe I could be a startup consultant. I don't know really what to do. but I just want to start doing more now that I'm in this program, just to learn more about myself, to be honest. So just a fun question for you. If you were in the EMBA cohort this year,

0:27:48
where would you go for the international trip? So I actually saw, so two, one region that I, in my previous work at USC, I had the opportunity actually to go to the United Arab Emirates. So I was in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. And I hadn't been to the region before. So that's one area that I feel like has so much potential for growth. And to see it, it's like a whole other world. So that would be one place I would recommend to the cohort.

0:28:19
That's my number one. I can't believe you said that.

0:28:21
Yeah, so that's one area I would recommend. And then it's also so multinational that you see so many different cultures. That would be one. I know the students have said Japan. Japan would be interesting to me because I've been all over Asia except for Japan. I've been to Okinawa, but never to Tokyo. I think that'd be interesting. So that would be one. And I would say also maybe South America. Maybe like Uruguay. I have not explored South America as much, so I think it'd be interesting to go to somewhere in South America. I've been to Brazil, but that's about it.

0:28:53
So what else would we want to visit? Maybe that's something. I know. Yeah. So I really appreciate your time. I would have loved to continue this for another couple hours to be honest. I think you have a wealth of information and you've been an awesome admissions director and just mentor for us in the program. So if you want to know more about the EMBA program, you can go to unlv.edu slash EMBA But thank you Nadine for being here today. Thanks for having me Bardia Thank you all for listening to the pivot point you can follow us at pivot point you and LV on Twitter all one word and hope Thank you all for listening to the pivot point you can follow us at pivot point you and LV on Twitter all one word and hope You enjoyed the show