Hometown:
Atlanta, Georgia.
Where did you go to high school?
I went to Druid Hills High School.
Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college?
My dad influenced my decision to pursue business because he reminded me that I didn't need to have everything perfectly figured out when I was a second-year student considering switching my major. A lot of my peers at the time were studying computer science or engineering and seemed to know exactly what they wanted to do, and I was stressed that I didn't feel the same way.
My dad encouraged me to look into studying business because of my diverse interests and the ability to apply a business degree to a variety of different areas. Even though I still don't have it all figured out, studying business at Scheller opened many doors for me to be able to try a lot of different things through various opportunities and experiences related to my degree program.
Why did you choose Scheller College of Business?
I didn't come to Tech as a business student. I started off as a Computational Media major in the College of Computing, but after my first year I realized that coding was not for me, so I decided to make the switch. I have interests in many areas, so I wanted to choose a major that would give me the foundation and flexibility to be able to explore those areas without feeling too restricted to one field or another, and Business Administration seemed like a great fit. I like the idea of owning my own business one day as well, so I thought a business degree would be useful.
What concentration did you pursue and why?
I chose Operations and Supply Chain Management as my concentration largely because of my interest in sustainable business and wanting to learn more about how global supply chains work.
I attended a "Lunch and Learn" sustainability talk during my first co-op rotation at Delta Air Lines, and Ashish Gadnis, the co-founder and CEO of Banqu Inc. was one of the speakers. He talked about how his company uses blockchain technology to help lift people out of extreme poverty by connecting them to the global supply chains that they participate in and make supply chains more transparent and equitable. His company's story instantly inspired me to want to pursue a more in-depth understanding of how global operations and supply chains work so that I can be a more informed business leader in my career.
What is your best piece of advice to an applicant hoping to get into Scheller College?
Be a self-starter! If there's something you're passionate about, take the initiative and try to make something out of it. Reach out to people on LinkedIn who inspire you and ask to learn more about what they do. You'd be surprised by how receptive people are.
Who was your favorite professor and why?
My favorite professor was Jacqueline Garner because you can tell how passionate she is about finance and how much she genuinely cares that her students understand the material. She always has the best attitude and even though it was my last class of the day, I would look forward to her class because she made lectures fun and engaging. I found finance to be pretty intimidating at first with lots of words I wasn't familiar with, but her teaching style made the subject a lot more approachable. Also, she always has the best outfits with fun patterns and colors, which inspires me to express myself in how I dress even in professional settings.
What activities were you involved with on or off campus, and did your business education impact those activities in any way?
I was involved in The Technique newspaper as opinions editor, which involved having to coordinate with members of the editorial board as well as my own staff to get the paper published every week.
All four years at Tech, I was a tree tour lead with Georgia Tech Trailblazers, which means I would give organized group tours around campus to educate the Tech community about the different trees in our campus arboretum.
I was also a part of Electrify GT as vice president of education and the project lead for the EV chargers team, and my business education helped me with my presentation, team organization and coordination skills in both of those roles.
Where will you be working after graduation?
I will be an aviation consultant at Ricondo & Associates, Inc. in their Atlanta office.
What is a fun fact about yourself?
I spent five weeks this past summer traveling solo for the first time. I went to England, Wales, Scotland, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, and Budapest and met so many amazing people!
What are some of your hobbies?
I love Latin social dancing (salsa and bachata) and language learning. If someone had told me my senior year of high school that I would come out of college knowing how to dance and speak Spanish, I think I would have looked at them crazy, but here we are. College is cool like that.
What are the top two items on your bucket list?
My top two items on my bucket list are to become a polyglot and travel to every continent.
