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Speaking out on behalf of the disabled
“When I first came to HBS, part of my goal was not to be too loud, too boisterous—not to be the center of attention,” says Danny Lipsitz (MBA 2014). But Lipsitz, who has a hearing disability, found that his verbal discretion was noticeable to his colleagues. The feedback he received challenged his assumptions. “They wanted me to contribute more,” he says.
“I made a course correction,” says Lipsitz. “I’ve come to realize that a large part of my purpose here is to set a good precedent for people with disabilities who will follow me. At HBS, that means proving myself as a capable contributor.” He does this through his participation in case discussions and in extracurricular ventures, such as a recent apprenticeship program, in coordination with Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s “Downtown Project,” which connected local youths to businesses in Las Vegas.
“In the future, when my HBS peers make hiring decisions, I hope they will remember me; that they’ll have a lot less concern, less fear, about hiring a qualified candidate with a physical disability. I hope my example will smooth the way for people who might not have gotten the job otherwise.”
(Published April 2014)
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