New members of the MBA Class of 2028 at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business shed light on the application process, their admissions journeys and more in this Real Humans: MBA Students. Across the cohort, students point to Smith’s collaborative culture, experiential approach, location in the greater Washington, D.C., region and growing integration of AI into the curriculum as important elements of their MBA experience.
To start, Mae Howlin is already well acquainted with Smith, having earned her undergraduate degree there in International Business and Supply Chain Management. After three years in project management and planning across construction and technology, she returned to Maryland to deepen her business acumen and prepare for a management track. After 11 years as a U.S. Army officer, Tyler Sykes is using the MBA to prepare for a new chapter within the Army Acquisition Corps. His transition from Army Special Forces to acquisitions created a need to strengthen his knowledge of project management, finance, accounting and data analysis, making business school a natural next step.
We also meet Morgan Doak, who comes to Smith after building her marketing career in commercial printing and athletic technology. Having spent five years leading marketing initiatives, she wanted an MBA to help her move from managing campaigns to making the strategic decisions behind them. Next, with six years of quality assurance experience at McCormick, Jacob Ginn has spent much of his career connecting the realities of manufacturing operations with broader business priorities. He decided to pursue an MBA after recognizing that he wanted greater fluency in finance and procurement conversations and a stronger ability to influence business decisions.
Kevin Salvatore arrives at Smith with three years of experience as a facilities financial specialist at government contractor Maximus, where his work included budgeting, vendor negotiations and variance analysis for a federal facilities portfolio. He chose business school to build on the skills he developed professionally, while Smith’s position near major government contracting, financial services and public policy employers—as well as its emphasis on AI—made the program especially appealing. Rounding out this group is Neil Bharadwaj, who brings nearly seven years of experience spanning education technology and healthcare, along with an academic background in computer science and information technology. Bharadwaj came to business school looking to translate his technical expertise into a more strategic business career, finding a strong match in Smith’s experiential, data-oriented and AI-driven approach.
Together, these six students illustrate the range of professional and personal perspectives shaping Maryland Smith’s MBA Class of 2028. From military leadership and manufacturing operations to marketing, finance and technology, their paths differ, but their early experiences at Smith share common threads: a close-knit community, opportunities for hands-on learning and an interest in developing the skills needed to navigate an increasingly technology-driven business landscape. Read on for their stories.
