Like Mother, Like Daughter

Early in 2023, Wharton MBA admission results were out, and Lauryn McSpadden WG25 told herself she would only check in three-hour increments. As she sat in her car next to her mom, Leisa Byars WG95, outside a Nashville coffee shop, it was time for another look. She glanced down at her phone and saw the email: McSpadden was in, and the two screamed in joy. But since McSpadden also had full-ride offers to other schools, Byars didn’t push her daughter to attend her alma mater.

“I wanted the best fit for her, so I really wasn’t nudging too hard,” Byars says today, glancing over at McSpadden. It’s a couple of weeks before commencement now, and the two are sitting together again, this time in the sunlight of the Academic Research Building’s atrium, reflecting on the symmetry of their MBA journeys. It isn’t hard to guess that McSpadden and Byars are related — they share the same poise and posture, the same mega-watt smiles. They’re so in sync that at one point, they reach across and high-five each other. “I’m such a proud mom,” Byars says.

The high five was a celebration of McSpadden’s selection as a Lipman Family Prize Fellow after two attempts. Her final presentation, on an early literacy nonprofit, is an example of how she’s following in her mother’s footsteps, both in choosing to espouse educational entrepreneurship — Byars owns seven Goddard Schools in the Nashville area — and by paving her own path at Wharton. “I realized there could be a space for me at the intersection of business and impact,” says McSpadden. “So I was stoked when Wharton introduced the ESG major.”

Her mom was also part of a pioneering idea when she was a student: Byars belonged to one of the first classes under the cohort system, a new way of fostering connections among students in large classes that has now become the norm at business schools. “I just remember being in a big room with 700 other new faces,” says Byars. After a series of trust falls and other exercises, the leader announced, “This is your learning team for the next year.” Through the cohort system, Byars learned management skills she still utilizes today: “You were forced to figure out how to motivate people, identifying at what level they’re going to contribute and compensating if necessary.”

Building relationships within her cohort, including with alumni from Brazil and Japan, has kept Byars coming back for MBA Reunion, including her 30th in a few weeks. Reunion has been a chance for Byars to keep up with the progress the School has made; the last time she attended, Dean Erika James had recently taken the helm, and Byars was excited to meet her. This year, Byars juggled Reunion plans with inviting relatives to Philadelphia for McSpadden’s commencement ceremony.

No stranger to multitasking, Byars kept a busy schedule as a business student. She was a married mom (McSpadden hadn’t been born yet, though her big brother had) and worked on campus as a resident director. Juggling these responsibilities made her realize the importance of staying positive through unexpected challenges. When McSpadden realized she wasn’t getting an A in accounting, Byars imparted this wisdom: “Don’t worry about the grade. It’s not that the grade doesn’t matter; it’s that the experience is so much more important.”

The two have a long history of lifting each other up. Whether Byars was chairing the largest homeless shelter in Tennessee or buying a new Goddard School building, McSpadden was there, painting walls and reviewing job descriptions. “It didn’t matter in what capacity, what organization — you were always supporting and helping,” Byars tells her daughter.

When Byars took a role as VP of marketing and artist development with Capitol Records, McSpadden was in awe of her “cool” mom, who sometimes even brought her daughter backstage at concerts. “Growing up, I was like, ‘I want to be just like her,’” says McSpadden. “It just felt like I can do whatever I want. She really instilled that in me and my brother: Whatever it is, we don’t have to worry about failing, because we can achieve whatever we worked toward. I saw that in her.”

Through her daughter’s Wharton experience, Byars has seen how the School has evolved since she herself was a student. The African American MBA Association, in which both women held positions, has grown to one of the largest groups of its kind, and the cohort system is down to a science, for starters. But the School is still, as it was in 1995, shaping the next generation of leaders. McSpadden’s role as VP of ally engagement with Out 4 Business and her internship working on a Super Bowl ad with Coca-Cola have positioned her well to continue to pursue her career in CPG marketing. She has her eye on consumer-facing roles in San Francisco, Atlanta, or Chicago. Wherever she ends up after graduation, her mom will be there.

“I’ve pivoted in my career multiple times,” says Byars. “I went from investment banking to automotive to the music industry to owning my own business in childhood education. I truly feel I could do whatever I want to do. So that’s what I wanted for her — I wanted the opportunity for her to be able to open doors and make her own options.” Byars turns to her daughter and flashes that family smile again: “That’s what you will have with your Wharton degree.”