Growing up, New York was the place to be. If you’re a dancer, you go to New York,” says Sabdiel Hardware, who grew up in Kingston, Jamaica. For Hardware, who has a performing arts background, New York was also the place to go for a business degree. Though a dancer/choreographer might not be a typical candidate for an MBA, the two worlds are not completely unrelated.
Hardware first became involved with the Little People, a performing arts group for kids in Kingston, at age 13. His motivation initially was to meet a girl who was already a member. “I decided to go to one of their meetings and wound up going to every one after that . . . and it wasn’t because of the girl.” He became especially interested in dance, studying and performing traditional Jamaican, African, and modern styles and eventually choreographing his own pieces for the club, later called the Team Players. Even then, though, Hardware was looking ahead. “I was always the one in the group saying, ‘I don’t think I can support a family on this paycheck! I think I’ll go back to school.’”
So, after 25 years in Kingston, which included undergraduate studies at the University of the West Indies, Hardware decided to move to New York. “New York experience is regarded as international experience; wherever I go after this, it can only help.” He applied to several graduate schools and eventually chose Baruch. “It’s been a very good experience for me, a totally new environment. It’s added loads and loads to my confidence.” Currently, he’s looking into internships focusing on “financial services, trading; firms that do asset management, brokerage firms.” He hasn’t, however, forgotten about his performing experience. “I’ve thought about producing; a couple of my friends sat down and worked it out. I have choreographic and professional capabilities; another friend studied lighting and set design. We’re thinking about consulting for people who want to put on shows or actually offering our services to people who put on shows but don’t want to do the work themselves.” For now, however, “That’s on the back burner.” As he tells folks back home who ask what he’s been up to, “I’ve been studying! Keeping up with school!”

—MZ