“You don’t have to fall apart to prove you belong.” Beca Sousa on Burnout, Belonging, and the Real Haas MBA Experience
Everyone talks about the highs of the MBA experience. New friends. Dream jobs. Transformative learning. But what about the hard parts? The anxiety. The pressure to keep up. The burnout no one warns you about.
For international students, especially, the pressure can be overwhelming. You’ve moved countries. You’re building a network from scratch. You’re expected to thrive academically, professionally, and socially, all at once. But no one hands you a roadmap for what to do when it all starts to collapse.
On this episode of the MBA Golden Buzzer podcast, I sat down with Beca Sousa, Berkeley Haas alum and former client, for one of the most candid conversations we’ve ever had. From first-day optimism to full-on burnout and back again, Beca shared what it really takes to get through the MBA and how to protect your well-being along the way.
Choosing Haas and Choosing Herself
Beca visited many schools during her MBA research process. When she walked into Haas, something clicked.
“There was something more. I just had a feeling that I wanted to belong to this school that states in one of their values ‘question the status quo.’”
She connected immediately with the program’s values-driven culture, and that sense of alignment never faded. Haas didn’t just talk about its values—it lived them.
“Even on my first day, someone from the admin team said, ‘We prefer to have a smaller class than accept people who don’t share our values.’ That really stuck with me.”
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A Different Kind of Confidence
Though Beca had a nontraditional background, marketing, not consulting or finance, she never felt out of place.
“I felt that the university embraced my profile. If anything, it was good to belong to such a diverse student body.”
She tackled imposter syndrome head-on, both for herself and the other international students she mentored. Her go-to exercise?
“Write down the milestones you’ve achieved. Not feelings—facts. If you look at that list, you can’t be an imposter. You lived through all of that. It’s real.”
When Everything Collapsed
But even with perspective and support, the demands of the MBA eventually caught up with her.
“It was the perfect storm. I missed two weeks of class for my parents’ wedding. Then I signed up to be a TA for an advanced finance course. I was waking up at 7 and going to bed at 11:30 every day. And still recruiting. And still going to events.”
Her breaking point came during a coffee chat.
“I was five minutes late, and the person didn’t take it well. I started crying like the world was ending. That was the moment I realized something was wrong. I had no space left. No room to breathe.”
The Recovery No One Talks About
What does it take to come back from that?
Beca gave herself four months to stop. No job applications. No networking. No pushing.
“I went back to Brazil. I watched Disney movies. I painted. I got sunlight. I let myself just be.”
She also quit social media and never looked back. That time off wasn’t just healing. It also reframed how she wanted to move through the world.
“The only thing we can control is taking care of ourselves and doing our best. The results are not in our hands. Spending energy trying to force outcomes will only drain you.”
Doing Less to Do What Matters
If there’s one lesson Beca wants future MBA students to hear, it’s this:
“Not everything is essential. Actually, just a few things are. Prioritize two things, no more, and build time into your schedule for rest. Go for a walk. Talk to friends. And do it for joy, not to network.”
She recommends the book Essentialism for anyone caught in the trap of doing too much. Her advice is simple but powerful: don’t normalize burnout. “You don’t have to fall apart to prove you belong.”
We Help You Build an Application That Holds Up Under Pressure
The MBA is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, but it shouldn’t come at the cost of your health. As Beca’s story shows, it’s not about doing everything. It’s about doing what matters.
At Ellin Lolis Consulting, we don’t just help you get in. We help you stay grounded in your story, your values, and your goals, even when the process gets intense. Because what makes an unforgettable application isn’t how much you cram in. It’s how much of you shines through.
That’s how our clients earn offers from the world’s top MBA programs. Because their applications don’t just check boxes. They mean something. And that’s why 98.9% of our clients get accepted to at least one of their target schools.
Just ask Beca, who went from burnout to a dream job leading the Brazilian market at a Silicon Valley startup.
If you’re ready to build an application that gets read and remembered, learn more about working with us here. We’ll help you find the story only you can tell, and show the world why it matters.
