In this edition of our Real Humans: MBA Students series, we head to Durham, North Carolina, to meet some new member of the Class of 2027 at the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.
Team Fuqua shows up loud and clear in this cohort: collaborative, mission-driven, and ready to turn purpose into performance. To start, Jhanus Francisco brings a decade in public education and a bridge-building, inclusion-first mindset to a pivot into consulting/people leadership. Then, from Bolivia, startup scaler Matias Aguilar Cardenas is chasing consulting now and Entrepreneurship-Through-Acquisition long-term, fueled by community-building energy and ETA Club ambitions. Mia Knight weaves big tech, sports media, and nonprofit leadership into a venture capital goal at the intersection of sports, technology, and social impact.
Next, Strategy& Consultant Michael Marsh aims for strategy & operations in mobility while leaning into Fuqua Pride, Tech Club, and student-run governance. Natalie Andrews adds an impact-driven lens from classrooms and philanthropy, drawn to CASE and Net Impact as she explores consulting and mission-focused roles. Rounding out the group, Rashmi Shinde, an engineer, social-impact operator, and Miss International India 2024, pairs empathy with execution to pursue consulting and scalable change.
Together, the students embody Fuqua’s hallmarks: ambitious, globally minded teammates who lift one another as they learn, lead, and build careers with real-world impact. Click through the following pages for their stories and admissions advice.
