Real Humans of Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA Class of 2028

The Northwestern University Kellogg School of Management MBA Class of 2028 brings together students with diverse professional experiences, global perspectives, and ambitions to make an impact across industries. In this edition of Real Humans: MBA Students, we meet three members of the Class of 2028 and learn more about their journeys to business school, career aspirations, and early experiences at Kellogg.

To start, Jenny Fu is a New York native who brings eight years of experience spanning financial services consulting and renewable energy finance. After four years as a senior consultant at EY, Fu spent another four years as a senior strategy manager at Sunstone Credit, a startup focused on solar financing for small and medium-sized businesses. Kellogg’s MMM dual-degree program, which combines an MBA with an MS in Design Innovation from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, was a deciding factor in her choice. Fu hopes to pursue a career in digital innovation and consulting, ultimately helping multinational organizations develop new business ideas.

Next, Lane Palmer joins Kellogg after five years as a global product manager for Fenty Beauty, part of LVMH’s Kendo Brands. Originally from Washington, D.C., Palmer built her career developing products designed to serve diverse consumers, an experience that sparked her interest in how inclusive product development can extend beyond the beauty industry. With artificial intelligence transforming the ways consumers discover and purchase products, she is pursuing an MBA to transition into technology, particularly product management and strategy at the intersection of commerce and tech.

Rounding out the group is Johnny Valentine, a Memphis native and graduate of the United States Air Force Academy who spent eight years as a Space Force officer. His military career included experience in satellite production, venture capital, and special programs, providing him with a distinctive perspective on the rapidly evolving commercial space industry. As his military service commitment came to an end, Valentine saw business school as an opportunity to transition into the private sector while developing the financial and analytical expertise needed for his next chapter. He chose Kellogg for its student-driven culture, supportive community, and international learning opportunities, and is pursuing the JD/MBA pathway through Kellogg and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

Read on to discover more about their motivations for choosing Kellogg, their first impressions of the school, and the advice they have for future applicants.

Jenny Fu, Northwestern Kellogg’s MMM Class of 2028

Age: 32
Hometown: New York, NY 
Undergraduate Institution and Major:  Binghamton University – B.S. in Management, B.A. in Chinese Studies
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Senior Consultant @ EY (Financial Services Office), 4 years; Senior Strategy Manager @ Sunstone Credit (Solar Financing for SMB), 4 years

Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
Business school had been on my radar since undergrad, but the timing never felt quite right until now. When I mapped out my career next steps last year, I realized I needed a more robust toolkit and network to build a solid foundation for my long-term aspirations. After experiencing consulting at EY and navigating an early-stage startup at Sunstone Credit, pursuing an MBA now allows me to dive into the MBA experience with true intentionality and focus. Most of all, I wanted a dedicated two-year timespan to fully immerse myself in a supportive, incubative environment where I could learn, build meaningful connections, and experiment with new ideas.

Why did you choose Kellogg? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
After visiting several programs, I was drawn to Kellogg’s defining collaborative and enthusiastic culture. The deciding factor was the dual degree MMM program, where I could pursue an MBA from Kellogg and a MS in Design Innovation from Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering. The MMM teaches distinct problem-solving methods that are rooted in user-centricity, design, and experiential learning opportunities to solve business problems.

MMM’s blend of design-thinking and business acumen directly supports my ultimate post-MBA career goals: I plan to leverage my corporate and entrepreneurial background to join an incubation team, building new ideas for multinational organizations operating in complex, cross-border environments. 

Beyond academics, the community has been incredible. Starting early in the summer with our tight-knit, 57-student cohort (FaMMM!) allowed us to navigate the initial academic hurdles together and forge a truly unique bond.

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2028?
Across my academic and professional careers, I have consistently served in roles that build culture and bridge people together, and I aspire to carry this commitment forward at Kellogg where student-led programming is highly promoted. Over the summer, I organized yoga classes, karaoke nights, and a sushi Small Group Dinner (SGD) with other students and Joint Ventures (Kellogg’s term for significant others). I look forward to continuing to foster a sense of community and belonging through collaboration, creativity, and shared purpose. 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
My friends and I built a cocktail speakeasy and karaoke lounge called Rewind NYC last year. We wanted to create an immersive third space in our neighborhood (Long Island City) where we could reimagine familiar Asian flavors through cocktails, food, and music.

Post-MBA career interests:
Digital/Innovation Team @ Consulting Firms

Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I highly recommend visiting all your target schools before applying, whether for a Women’s Day or a prospective student event, so you can tour the facilities and sit in on a class. Each school’s culture is different, and visiting in person really helped me narrow down my list. Additionally, I attended the admitted student weekends for every offer I received, including Day At Kellogg (DAK). This connected me with current students and prospective classmates, giving me a much better sense of where I truly belonged for the next two years. If you’re unable to attend in-person programming, connecting virtually with admissions and current students is also very helpful to learn about Kellogg’s culture.  

–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
I would have taken my GMAT earlier and explored taking the GRE as an alternative sooner. I studied for the GMAT for a few months before pivoting to the GRE. In hindsight, I should have taken practice exams for both right away to see which format suited me better.

–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
Coordinating the letters of recommendation was definitely the most daunting part. I wanted to find the perfect advocates but hated the idea of adding a massive task to their workload. What helped to sail smoothly through it was providing my recommenders with a clear outline, highlighting specific projects and collaborative accomplishments from our work together. Giving my recommenders this pre-packaged context made the process significantly easier for everyone.

What is your initial impression of the Kellogg students/culture/community?
Kellogg’s low ego, high impact culture truly leans into authenticity and vulnerability. I’ve never met such an enthusiastic, accomplished group of individuals who are so supportive and consistently willing to go above and beyond for their classmates. Additionally, the social scene offers a great balance of large events and intimate small-group dinners, making it easy for everyone to mingle and build meaningful connections regardless of their social style.

What student organizations have you joined/are you hoping to join and why?
For my professional development, I’m planning to join the Kellogg Consulting Club and the Innovation & Design Association (IDEA), which combines my career interests. To maintain my mental sanity, I’m planning to join The Good Life, where we explore ways to build a fulfilling, meaningful life while also being a high performer in the business world. I’m super busy so I want to carve out space for myself to introspect and internalize all the moving pieces. I would also love to create spaces for my fellow classmates to decompress by facilitating sound healing and meditation sessions. 

What is one thing you have learned about Kellogg that has surprised you?
Kellogg has a pre-orientation tradition called Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trips (KWEST), where incoming students embark on group trips before classes begin. I didn’t realize how important it was to start off Kellogg with a KWEST (my trip to Kenya was incredible!), but almost our entire social calendar during the first quarter is based on inter-KWEST mixers. If you have the means and time, please do it! I met some of my best friends through this short but deeply meaningful trip. The trips offer different levels of nightlife, adventure, and culture, so you naturally connect with people who share your lifestyle and interests.

Additionally, starting the school year with KWEST and a two-week leadership class alongside my section (Hammerheads!) pushed me out of my usual social routines. Past academic experiences usually kicked off with student clubs, which can sometimes limit connecting solely over shared backgrounds or existing interests. Starting the year this way has helped me form meaningful bonds with classmates I might never have crossed paths with otherwise.

What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I am incredibly excited about the global learning opportunities at Kellogg. From informal student-led treks to formal experiences like Global Initiatives in Management (GIM) and exchange programs, I can’t wait to explore the world with my classmates. There’s an Antarctica trek I’m already looking forward to joining in my second year!

Lane Palmer, Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA Class of 2028

Age: 27
Hometown: Washington, D.C.
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Northeastern University, Combined Business and Psychology Major (Marketing Concentration)
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Global Product Manager for Fenty Beauty, Cosmetics, LVMH’s Kendo Brands, 5 years

Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
I’ve spent five years in the luxury beauty space, where I owned product launches built to make diverse consumers feel seen. That work made me want to look at how product inclusion scales beyond one category, and how AI is starting to reshape the way people discover and shop. Business school is my next step to pivot into tech by building a consumer-first skillset and sharpening how I lead, all while growing a global network of peers from diverse backgrounds. 

Why did you choose Kellogg? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
What drew me to Kellogg was its mix of collaboration, experiential learning opportunities, and genuinely warm people. Every call I had with students and alumni prior to attending confirmed it was the right personality fit. Kellogg has some of the most social, kind, willing-to-help people I’ve ever met, with a real pay-it-forward culture. I was also drawn to Kellogg’s focus on developing empathetic leaders, since I value making sure every voice in a room gets heard. 

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2028? 
I’m a community builder at heart, so I believe my most valuable contribution to the Class of 2028 will be my ability to bring different people together, whether through mentorship or social events. Having lived in five different cities across the US, I’ve always been good at cultivating community wherever I go. I was a social lead for my company’s Black Employee Resource Group, where I organized volunteer events, and I’ve spent the last three years mentoring and tutoring underrepresented students, helping them connect with like-minded peers. I plan to bring the same connectivity to Kellogg through small group dinners, treks, and social outings, while also connecting with the broader Chicago community to give back.  

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application: 
I really like to sew, and it used to be a great stress reliever for me. It’s something I haven’t done in a long time, but I’ve always loved being able to make clothes that are perfectly tailored to me, especially as a tall woman. I plan to get back into sewing at Kellogg with some of my free time and might even start a sewing club!

Post-MBA career interests:
PM / Strategy at the intersection of Commerce x Tech

Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I found so much value in talking to current students and alumni about the culture and their experiences. Hearing the same reasons for loving Kellogg come up again and again confirmed that the culture was real, not just a mission statement on a website. Learning how students spent their time, from the clubs they joined to the experiential learning opportunities they took advantage, cemented that this was the right place for me. 

–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
I would start test prep as soon as possible and get it out the way. Studying for the GRE or GMAT alongside a full-time job, especially years removed from college, gets harder the longer you wait. If I could do it again, I would have taken the GRE right around graduation instead of four years later.

–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
One part I’d have skipped is the self-doubt – worrying about not knowing where this process would lead or where I’d be a year later. The uncertainty was harder to deal with than any one application task. What helped was staying grounded in why I was doing this in the first place and leaning on my community to get through it. I blocked out a couple hours a day to study or write essays but made sure to keep a few fun things on the calendar too. I also did group work sessions with my MLT family and other applicants. Knowing other people were going through the same thing, and having people to vent to, made a real difference. 

What is your initial impression of the Kellogg students/culture/community?
The students and culture are incredibly warm and welcoming. I’ve never met so many people who are equally kind, ambitious, and excited to make new friends. Kellogg students have a lift-as-you-climb mentality, genuinely invested in each other’s success. With such diverse backgrounds in the room, it’s been great to see that we are all here to learn from each other, push each other, and have some fun along the way. The culture has far exceeded my expectations already. 

What student organizations have you joined/are you hoping to join and why?
There are a ton of organizations I’m hoping to join, but I’m especially excited to get involved in the Black Management Association, Innovation and Design Association (IDEA), Kellogg Eatz, and Kellogg Cares. I plan to join a mix of professional, affinity, and social clubs for a breadth of experiences at Kellogg. Through Kellogg Cares, I’d love to use service to integrate more with the broader Chicago community. Through IDEA, I hope to develop my human-centered design thinking, and as a foodie, I’d love to use Eatz as a way to experience new cultures through food. 

What is one thing you have learned about Kellogg that has surprised you?
I was surprised by how social the school truly is. I knew there’d be tons of events, but I didn’t realize the scale: two or three different events on any given night, each with a totally new group of people to meet. It’s definitely been a crash course in prioritization over the past few weeks, but it’s been so fun to do events I’ve never done before, like chicken chase – a scavenger hunt across Chicago trying to track down a classmate in a chicken suit. 

What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I’m super excited to meet different people from diverse backgrounds and explore the world together. I just went to Budapest for a Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trip (KWEST) with 19 other first-years and already have plans to visit Tanzania and China this year. I’m thrilled to continue connecting with students from all around the world and going on unforgettable adventures together, Chicago or otherwise!

Johnny Valentine, Northwestern Kellogg’s JD/MBA Class of 2028

Age: 30
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Undergraduate Institution and Major: United States Air Force Academy, majoring in Operations Research
Pre-MBA Work Experience: Space Force officer for 8 years with experience in satellite production, venture capital, and special programs.

Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
With my service commitment ending, business school stood out as an opportunity for me to bridge my military experience into the private sector. Over the next few years, I will engage with students who have backgrounds in healthcare, energy, tech, and more, gaining a sense of how their career paths have shaped their outlook on their respective industries while each of us takes a step back from our careers. Further, I hope to develop many of the financial and analytical skills favored in today’s business climate.

Why did you choose Kellogg? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
What stood out about Kellogg was the student-driven environment. While I was researching business school options, it was current students who facilitated my introduction to Kellogg through webinars, Zoom calls, and coffee chats. Now that I’m on campus, my experience has mirrored that application process. So far, the second- and third-year JD-MBA students have taken the lead getting the first-year JD-MBAs adjusted to law school and preparing us for law recruiting.

Another of Kellogg’s offerings that captured my interest are the many global immersion opportunities. With much of the student body having international ties and Kellogg facilitating travel opportunities, I expect to travel internationally multiple times to engage with diverse business communities during my time at Kellogg.

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2028?
Although the space industry has grown rapidly in recent years, relatively few members of the field have matriculated through either business school or law school channels. With my background in the space industry, I hope to share what I’ve learned in the field with my classmates – specifically, what the space industry is changing to increase commercial investment interest and how space may support other industries in the future. 

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
Growing up in Tennessee, my family grew our own Christmas trees!

Post-MBA career interests:
Corporate Law or Finance

Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I asked others to review and provide feedback on my essays. Creative writing is not my strength, and the most I had written for a few years were shorter, professional products. Having others proofread my work helped me quickly realize which portions of my essay were solid and which needed to be refined.

–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
Going back, I would have reached out to recent alumni earlier. LinkedIn was very helpful for finding and connecting with them, and speaking with alumni was extremely beneficial. These connections gave me a baseline understanding of what I should expect as a student at Northwestern Pritzker and Kellogg, how recruiting has been playing out for both business and law careers recently, and what the quality of life is like outside of school. Getting this information firsthand helped me articulate in my applications how I saw myself as a fit at the schools I applied to and in my intended career.

–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
If I could, I would have skipped the period between application submission and waiting to hear back about interviews and admission. It is unavoidable, but all of a sudden, I — like other applicants — went from spending 2-3 hours per day on applications to multiple months of waiting to hear back.

Since I couldn’t skip this period, what helped me get through that time was probably staying off the internet. The internet was very helpful for getting information while putting my applications together, but I found that it also could send me down some unproductive rabbit holes when I had too much time on my hands.

What is your initial impression of the Kellogg students/culture/community?
I touched on this earlier, but the proactive nature of the student body has really caught my attention. Most everyone I have encountered has a tendency to take action, organizing recruiting training and interview prep, and leading experiential programs like Kellogg Worldwide Exploration Student Trips (KWEST)!

What student organizations have you joined/are you hoping to join and why?
I am currently planning to participate in the Private Equity and Investment Banking & Capital Markets clubs as they will help me prepare for recruiting next fall through interview and technical prep in addition to networking. Also, I plan to be active within the Kellogg Veterans Association (KVA). The KVA was incredibly insightful for me during my application process, and I feel like I should do my part to assist other veterans looking to make the same transition.

What is one thing you have learned about Kellogg that has surprised you?
Even as a first-year JD-MBA, my social life hasn’t had to stop. I’ve certainly had to exercise a lot of balance as the school year has gotten going, but there has still been plenty of opportunities to go out and explore the Chicagoland area.

What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I’m looking forward to participating in KWEST, one of Kellogg’s travel programs! I’m not sure where I’ll be going for it, but I’m excited to spend a week in a new place with a group of other first years.