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Posts by Christina Griffith

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Christina Griffith is a writer and editor based in Philadelphia. She specializes in covering education, science, and criminal justice, and has extensive experience in research and interviews, magazine content, and web content writing.
Published: June 20, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Paula Amorim of IESE
Our Admissions Director Q&A series continues with a visit to Barcelona, Spain, with the Director of Admissions of the Full-Time MBA at IESE Business School, Paula Amorim, who is back this year with more behind-the-scenes insights into MBA admissions. Paula joined the admissions team after completing her MBA at IESE in 2016 and was previously responsible for the Latin American market, based in the Sao Paulo campus. She is an Industrial Engineer from the Federal University of Minas Gerais, in her hometown, Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Prior to the MBA, she dedicated her Read more
Published: June 19, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Matteo Pedriglieri of emlyon business school
For this installment of our Admissions Director Q&A series, meet Matteo Pedriglieri, Recruitment Manager and Business Developer at emlyon business school. Pedriglieri is an experienced professional with dual master’s degrees in International Relations and Human Resources Management, and boasts an international background. With a decade of experience, his career spans significant roles at globally renowned recruitment consulting firms Michael Page and Morgan Phillips. Pedriglieri now spearheads recruitment for the International MBA program at emlyon business school, leveraging his extensive experience and global perspective to foster the next generation of business leaders. Read on for Read more
Published: June 17, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Andrea McHale of Michigan Ross
We continue with our Admissions Director Q&A series with Andrea McHale, Director of Admissions for the Full-Time and Global MBA Programs at University of Michigan – Stephen M. Ross School of Business, for insights into the application process, curriculum and more at the leading business school.  Before transitioning to higher education, Andrea spent 10 years in marketing, sales, and supply chain management within the healthcare and automotive industries. In 2013, she moved into education administration and is currently the Director of Admissions for the Full-Time and Global MBA Programs at Read more
Published: June 13, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Rebecca Mallen-Churchill of ASU Carey
In our latest Admissions Director Q&A, we welcome back Rebecca Mallen-Churchill, Senior Director of Recruitment, Admission and Financial Services for graduate programs at Arizona State University (ASU) W.P. Carey School of Business. Mallen-Churchill graduated from ASU in 2005; while earning her degree in theatre and Italian, she also discovered her love for higher education while working for the Graduate Admissions office. After gaining work experience in the hospitality industry and traveling the world, Rebecca returned to Arizona and joined W. P. Carey in 2013. In her time working with the graduate program’s office, Rebecca has Read more
Published: June 12, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Kara Tripi of Michigan State Broad College of Business
Kara Tripi, Director of Admissions at the Michigan State Broad College Full-Time MBA, joins us for this installment of our Admissions Director Q&A series. Tripi brings over a decade of experience in higher education. With a strong passion for working with students, she has dedicated her career to helping individuals navigate the world of academia. In her current role, Tripi assists with program development by overseeing the recruitment and admissions process. As a strong advocate for women in business and the LGBTQIA+ community, she is committed to ensuring Read more
Published: June 10, 2024
Admissions Director Q&A: Hollie Hinton of The Ohio State Fisher College of Business
We are officially kicking off our Admissions Director Q&A series for the 2024-2o25 admissions season with Senior Director of Admissions Hollie Hinton for an insider’s view of MBA admissions at The Ohio State University Max M. Fisher College of Business. Hollie Hinton leads global admissions strategy for the MBA and other graduate programs. Hinton brings private and public sector experience to her role at Ohio State, having formerly led a multi-state marketing and business development team for engineering and architecture firm DLZ, bringing critical infrastructure to communities and expanding the company into new markets. Read more
Published: June 5, 2024
Real Humans of BCG: Shane Polzin, Chicago Booth MBA ’23, Consultant
Many veterans find that an MBA program is an effective way to transition from military service to a civilian career. For Naval Flight Officer Shane Polzin, Chicago Booth promised veteran support, a proven track record of job placement in the consulting industry, and the right location. In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Polzin tells us how the Chicago Booth MBA helped him reach outside his comfort zone, develop superior problem solving skills, and prepared him to join Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Shane Polzin, Chicago Booth MBA ’23, Consultant at BCG Read more
Published: June 3, 2024
Real Humans of Bank of America: Olivia Farley, Emory Goizueta MBA ’20, Vice President Investment Banking
At a pivotal point in her career, Olivia Farley decided to transition into investment banking and she turned to an MBA program to boost her skill set. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Farley shares how the combination of a powerful program with a supportive community in a big city drew her to Emory Goizueta. Read her story to see how the leadership skills she gained in the program contributed to her rise through the ranks at Bank of America. Olivia Farley, Emory Goizueta MBA ’20, Vice President Investment Banking at Bank of America Read more
Published: May 29, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Harshita Pal, UCI Merage MBA ’23, Senior Product Manager Tech
In this edition of our Real Humans: Alumni series, we meet Harshita Pal, whose fascination with the intersection of technology and business lured her from software engineering to product management. Read on to learn how the MBA program at UCI Merage and its focus on leadership for a digitally driven world guided her on the journey into a new career in the tech industry, and how an internship prepared her for an exciting opportunity at Amazon.   Harshita Pal, UCI Merage MBA ’23, Senior Product Manager Tech at Amazon Age: Read more
Published: May 28, 2024
Real Humans of the UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 2025
We dip back into our series, Real Humans: MBA Students, to take a trip to the UCLA Anderson School of Management to meet members of the MBA Class of 2025. 300 students joined the UCLA Anderson Class of 2025. Thirty-seven percent of the latest class are women. Forty-eight percent of students in the class are international. Twenty-eight percent identify as U.S. underrepresented minorities. With respect to students’ undergraduate degrees, a quarter of enrolled first-year Anderson students pursued the field of business. Nineteen percent of students arrived in LA with academic degrees in engineering. Fifteen percent Read more
Published: May 27, 2024
Real Humans of BCG: Carmen Del Valle, Northwestern Kellogg MBA ’23, Management Consultant
Carmen Del Valle was passionate about her work helping historically marginalized and underserved people find success. To enhance her decision-making and quantitative skills and broaden her perspective on problem-solving, she decided to pursue an MBA. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Del Valle tells us how Northwestern Kellogg met both her short-term goals of getting into consulting and her long-term goals of merging her professional and personal passions. Read on to learn how Kellogg’s leadership opportunities and entrepreneurship resources prepared her for success at Boston Consulting Group. Carmen Del Valle, Northwestern Kellogg MBA ’23, Management Read more
Published: May 22, 2024
Real Humans of Entrepreneurship: Timothy Go, IESE MBA ’12, Co-founder, BuildIt
If you want to spearhead a startup venture, you need rigor, grit and the skills to tackle complex business problems. In this installment of  Real Humans: Alumni, entrepreneur Timothy Go talks about how the MBA program at IESE gave him a well-rounded business education and instilled a values-driven style of leadership he needed to move from a technical role to a commercial role. Read on to learn how Go used what he learned in the IESE MBA to co-found a construction start-up. Timothy Go, IESE MBA ’12, Co-founder of BuildIt Age: 40 Hometown: Read more
Published: May 20, 2024
Real Humans of Pfizer: Jordan Daniel Lantz, Duke Fuqua MBA ’22, Senior Manager
In this edition of Real Humans: Alumni, Jordan Daniel Lantz shares how he wanted to pair his principles and values with effective business acumen to make positive change. To accomplish his goal, he pursued an MBA at Duke Fuqua. Lantz found Fuqua’s MBA program inclusive and welcoming for LGBTQIA+ students and essential for evaluating his current capabilities and challenging him to grow. Read his story to see how his Duke MBA experience prepared him for the impactful work he would find at Pfizer.  Jordan Daniel Lantz, Duke Fuqua MBA ’22, Read more
Published: May 16, 2024
UCLA Anderson MBA Class of 2023 Employment Report: Rising Salaries in California and Across the U.S.
The UCLA Anderson Class of 2023 MBA employment report is out, and the cohort made some significant gains in the job market.  Out of 365 graduates, 312 (or 85.5 percent) sought employment. Roughly 75 percent of those seeking employment received job offers by graduation, and nearly 87 percent received an offer by three months of graduation. Job acceptances reached 85.6 percent by three months after graduation. Out of the 11 percent reporting not seeking employment, 4.4 percent were starting their own businesses. Read more
Published: May 15, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Martina Crane, CBS MBA ’22, Senior Product Manager, Generative AI Guild
In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, we meet Martina Crane, a technologist with an insatiable curiosity and passionate creativity. Crane had mastered major entertainment events for international entertainment icons, but wanted to indulge in her interests in technology and purpose-driven work. The MBA program at Columbia Business School promised diverse courses and colleagues, top leaders and innovators as guest speakers, and the expertise of the career office and clubs to aid in her transition from entertainment to tech. Read below for more on how CBS prepared Crane for her new career Read more
Published: May 14, 2024
Duke Fuqua Students Win $22k Prize in US Department of Energy Competition
Duke Fuqua’s student team, OptiGen, took home a $22,000 award from the EnergyTech University Prize (EnergyTech UP) 2024’s National Pitch Event in April.  “The EnergyTech University Prize provides a unique opportunity for students to think creatively and deeply about how to translate cutting-edge energy technologies into successful businesses,” says Professor David Brown of Duke Fuqua. “We must have this kind of entrepreneurship in spades to solve the climate crisis: climate tech innovations can only make their needed impact if supported by sound business models.” Announced by Read more
Published: May 13, 2024
Real Humans of Xbox: Noha Sahnoune, Chicago Booth MBA ’23, Growth and Content Demand
When you can describe your pre-MBA career as a series of adventures, what could possibly top that? For Noha Sahnoune, it was the gaming industry. In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, Sahnoune shares her journey to her goal of a career at the intersection of the quantitative and creative, and how Chicago Booth‘s focus on data and analytics, community, and location in the great city of Chicago helped her develop relevant skills. Read her story here to find out how she landed a thrilling role at Xbox.  Read more
Published: May 8, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Seda Sürenkök, Cornell Johnson MBA ’21, Senior Product Manager
In this Real Humans: Alumni, we meet Seda Sürenkök, who pursued an MBA at Cornell Johnson to achieve her vision of working in tech. The career opportunities, cultural fit, and campus experience Sürenkök was looking for were all there, along with an immersion-based program that provided the technical skills and enhanced leadership and communication abilities she required. Read on to learn how Sürenkök found her way to the tech-focused career at Amazon she wanted through Cornell Johnson.  Seda Sürenkök, Cornell Johnson MBA ’21, Senior Product Manager at Amazon Age: 36 Read more
Published: May 6, 2024
Real Humans of PepsiCo: Maria Deloso, Berkeley Haas, MBA ’23, Associate Marketing Manager
When Maria Deloso wanted to build upon her career in food marketing, she knew she needed to learn more about general management, strategic thinking, and consensus-building. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Deloso describes how her experience in sustainable food led her to the MBA program at Berkeley Haas. Haas provided the skillset necessary for Deloso to find success in defining innovation strategies at PepsiCo and incorporating company initiatives into her projects.  Maria Deloso, Berkeley Haas, MBA ’23, Associate Marketing Manager at PepsiCo Age: 30 Hometown:  Read more
Published: May 2, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Anna Barskaya, IMD MBA ’19, Senior Customer Solutions Manager
When Anna Barskaya needed to sharpen her business acumen to take the next step in her career, the IMD MBA program had the right offerings to propel her to Amazon. In this Real Humans: Alumni, Barskaya digs into why IMD was the right next step for her as well as some lessons from her journey to and through business school. Read on to learn how IMD also prepared her for working in a global industry at the intersection of both tech and finance. Anna Barskaya, IMD MBA ’19, Senior Customer Solutions Manager at Amazon Read more
Published: May 2, 2024
Real Humans of Microsoft: Claudia Santa Cruz, Notre Dame Mendoza MBA ’21, Senior Sales Specialist
If you’re looking to advance to the next stage in your career, pivot to a new industry, embrace new experiences, engage with new people, and refine your leadership style, how do you make it happen? For Claudia Santa Cruz, it was through an MBA program. Santa Cruz was drawn to Notre Dame Mendoza by its close-knit community and the school’s priorities of ethical leadership and social impact, which resonated with her values. In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, we learn how Mendoza provided Santa Cruz the skillset she needed to transition to Read more
Published: May 1, 2024
Real Humans of MycoWorks: Nina Sabharwal, Stanford GSB MBA ’23, Strategic Advisor to the CEO
In this installment of our Real Humans: Alumni series, Nina Sabharwal tells us how her need for reflection on and realignment of her career path led her to an MBA at Stanford GSB. Sabharwal credits the GSB’s curriculum and programs for making her venture outside her comfort zone and giving her the freedom to focus on internal motivators. GSB’s impressive network afforded the opportunity to make more effective outreach to organizations and individuals and build relationships. Read on to learn more about her transformational journey through the Stanford MBA program and her post-MBA career Read more
Published: April 29, 2024
Real Humans of Google: Patricio Parodi, UCLA Anderson MBA ’22, Strategic Finance Analyst
The combination of cultural fit and career support drew Patricio Parodi to UCLA Anderson for his MBA, preparing him for success at Google. In this edition of our Real Humans: Alumni series, Parodi shares how Anderson offered the right tech, finance, and entrepreneurship curriculum as well as what made Google a great place to land post-MBA.  Patricio Parodi, UCLA Anderson MBA ’22, Strategic Finance Analyst, Technical Infrastructure – Machine Learning at Google Age: 32 Hometown: Santiago de Chile Undergraduate Institution and Major: Universidad Catolica Read more
Published: April 25, 2024
Real Humans of Amazon: Tyler Simpson Tyson, HBS MBA ’20, Senior Product Manager
From HBS to Facebook to Amazon, Tyler Simpson Tyson recounts her professional journey in this edition of Real Humans: Alumni. Simpson Tyson explains how she was drawn to Harvard Business School by its case study method, which requires more participation than traditional lectures and challenges students with real-world scenarios. Read her story below to find out how HBS prepared her to work at Facebook and then Amazon. Tyler Simpson Tyson, HBS MBA ’20, Senior Product Manager (Technical) at Amazon Live Age: 32 Hometown: Atlanta, GA Undergraduate Read more
Published: April 24, 2024
Real Humans of PepsiCo: Beeta Shahnazari, UCI Merage MBA ’22, Associate Finance Manager
In this installment of Real Humans: Alumni, PepsiCo Associate Finance Manager, Beeta Shahnazari, shares her journey to the leading CPG firm with the help of an MBA from the University of California, Irvine’s Paul Merage School of Business. The small class sizes and personal attention she found at UCI Merage allowed Shahnazari to step out of her comfort zone and learn more effective leadership and teamwork skills. Read on to see how her experience at UCI Merage prepared her for success at PepsiCo. Beeta Shahnazari, UCI Merage MBA ’22, Associate Finance Manager at PepsiCo Age: Read more

MBA Livewire

September 25, 2026 11:43am ET
Interview Invite to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email September 25, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GMAT: 735
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Application Location: US
Juno Member: Not yet
September 24, 2026 5:48pm ET
Interview Invite to Yale SOM
Round: Round 1
Received via email September 24, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.2
GMAT: 695
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Finance
Application Location: Europe
Juno Member: Not yet
September 24, 2026 4:04pm ET
Applied to INSEAD
Round: Round 1
Received via email
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.39
GMAT: 695
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Other Industries
Application Location: United Kingdom
Juno Member: Not yet
September 24, 2026 3:22pm ET
Interview Invite to Dartmouth / Tuck
Round: Round 1
Received via email on September 22, 2026
Standardized Test: GMAT
GPA: 3.65
GMAT: 645
Program Type: Traditional Two-Year
Post MBA Career: Real Estate, Other
Application Location: San Francisco
Juno Member: Not yet
September 24, 2026 12:50pm ET
Interview Invite to NYU Stern
Round: Round 1
Received via email
Standardized Test: I haven't taken any of the standardized tests yet.
GPA: 3.7/4
Program Type: One Year Program
Application Location: MEX
Juno Member: Not yet
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