An MBA on Oprah's Big Give
Angelo Adams
Issue date: 4/7/08 Section: Features
With only a few weeks left of school to catch a moment to speak with him, the MSJ sat down with Angelo Adams to find out more about his experiences on Oprah's "Big Give."
How did you hear about this program?
My wife, Donna, was looking on Oprah.com for tickets. She saw an ad on it for Oprah's Big Give! The ad stated: "Are you a competitor? Do you have a big heart? Will you do anything to help your favorite non-profit?" Donna told me that she didn't know anyone more qualified to be on the show than me. So, she sent me on my way at 3:00AM to drive to Harpo Studios in Chicago for the casting call.
How did you go about differentiating yourself from the other contestants and how do you think that you were selected?
This part felt fairly easy, as I am a career counselor, so my interviewing skills were on point compared to the average person at the casting call. From the application, I had a good inkling about what Harpo was looking for in a contestant. With only 45 seconds to tell why I should be on the show, I pulled out all of the stops. My competitive side: I told them about being a three sport athlete in high school, a two sport letter winner in college, about serving in Iraq, graduating from West Point, and about becoming a full-time student at Ross while raising a family. Big Heart: I talked about giving my money and time to several non-profits (Consortium, MLT, West Point, and my high school). Yes, I was structured and talked fast, so I was able to give all of that information to my interviewer in 45 seconds.
What did you find to be the most challenging and the most fun about this show and the tasks asked of you?
The most challenging part of it was that the cameras were on me from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. It was "game on" for 18 hours a day, and far more intense than most business school interviews. The most fun that I had was seeing the reactions on the faces of the people that I helped. It is an indescribable feeling to see communities come together to help people they didn't even know.
How did you hear about this program?
My wife, Donna, was looking on Oprah.com for tickets. She saw an ad on it for Oprah's Big Give! The ad stated: "Are you a competitor? Do you have a big heart? Will you do anything to help your favorite non-profit?" Donna told me that she didn't know anyone more qualified to be on the show than me. So, she sent me on my way at 3:00AM to drive to Harpo Studios in Chicago for the casting call.
How did you go about differentiating yourself from the other contestants and how do you think that you were selected?
This part felt fairly easy, as I am a career counselor, so my interviewing skills were on point compared to the average person at the casting call. From the application, I had a good inkling about what Harpo was looking for in a contestant. With only 45 seconds to tell why I should be on the show, I pulled out all of the stops. My competitive side: I told them about being a three sport athlete in high school, a two sport letter winner in college, about serving in Iraq, graduating from West Point, and about becoming a full-time student at Ross while raising a family. Big Heart: I talked about giving my money and time to several non-profits (Consortium, MLT, West Point, and my high school). Yes, I was structured and talked fast, so I was able to give all of that information to my interviewer in 45 seconds.
What did you find to be the most challenging and the most fun about this show and the tasks asked of you?
The most challenging part of it was that the cameras were on me from the time I woke up to the time I went to sleep. It was "game on" for 18 hours a day, and far more intense than most business school interviews. The most fun that I had was seeing the reactions on the faces of the people that I helped. It is an indescribable feeling to see communities come together to help people they didn't even know.
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