Hometown: Jacksonville, Forida
Describe yourself in 15 words or less:
Community-oriented strategic thinker with a passion for innovation that serves people and regenerates our planet.
Where was the last place you worked before enrolling at Scheller?
My most recent role prior to the MBA was teaching first grade at The Epstein School in Sandy Springs, Georgia.
Where did you intern during the summer of 2025?
I interned at Delta Air Lines as a customer experience, commercial strategy MBA intern, developing the enterprise-first launch strategy for an AI-powered personalization tool within the In-Flight Entertainment and Connectivity team.
Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:
- Net Impact President (2025-2026 academic year) and First Year Representative of Net Impact (2024-2025 academic year): Our Net Impact Chapter’s goal is to empower Scheller MBAs to center sustainability as a key tenet of business strategy in any organization or role they find themselves in. To achieve this, our club helps graduate business students build connections with the broader sustainability community, especially in Atlanta, by hosting panels with sustainability-oriented industry leaders and alumni, networking events, community service, and sponsoring travel to national MBA events such as the Climate Cap Summit and LEEDS Case Competition. Scheller has a robust presence at these events and that’s in large part due to the support we receive from the Ray C. Anderson Center and the Cecil B. Day Program for Business Ethics, as well as the board’s extensive planning. Shout-out to our VPs of Finance and Professional Development, Tilka Persaud and Evan Dodes, for all their effort to make these experiences happen this year!
- Graduate Research Assistant (GRA) for MBA Recruiting: One of my favorite MBA experiences has been serving on Scheller’s Full-Time MBA Recruiting team. When I first met Rebecca Whitley, director of Full-Time MBA Recruiting, in 2022, her warmth and genuine interest in me as an applicant offered my first glimpse of Scheller’s community-driven culture. Her GRAs at the time, Satchel Ziffer (’24) and Dallas Charles (’25), were equally kind and stayed in touch throughout my application process, which made a real difference as someone with a nontraditional background. I’m grateful and honored to now be part of this team — supporting prospective students from those early “Is an MBA for me?” conversations through campus visits, events like Fall Preview Day and Welcome Weekend, and into the start of their MBA journey.
- Student Interviewer: I can’t believe my classmates and I have already made it to the point where we are on the other side of the table, helping interview the Class of 2028. It is such an honor to take part in these interviews. I’m very excited to continue supporting future Scheller MBAs as an alumnus and can’t wait to watch our program continue to evolve and thrive.
- Ray C. Anderson Sustainability Fellow: I had the opportunity to evaluate the use of an AI Waste Auditing service for a local client and recommend behavioral strategies for effective implementation and nationwide scaling. It was a great experience. I really enjoyed interacting with the founders of the auditing software! Their energy and passion for their company were contagious.
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of?
I’m most proud of the opportunities I’ve had to introduce prospective students to Scheller through my graduate research assistant role. There’s nothing more fulfilling to me than seeing people find their fit in community and thrive, whether at Scheller or another MBA program. I love seeing someone bet on themselves, and I’m grateful to play a small part in someone’s journey.
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career?
I’m most proud of how I showed up during a challenging period at Nagoya International School in Japan, where I taught elementary school from 2020 to 2022. I arrived as an intern, but within months stepped into a lead teacher role when my mentor took long-term medical leave, taking responsibility for a class of 20 students from six continents.
While navigating the pandemic, I worked quickly to grow as an educator and ensure my students felt emotionally safe — all while adjusting to a new country, language and distance from family during strict quarantine restrictions. It was an intense and transformative experience, and one that strengthened my resilience. I’m proud of how I supported my students and grateful for the leaders and colleagues at NIS who believed in me.
Why did you choose the Scheller College of Business?
I chose Scheller for many reasons — the community, strong alumni network and classroom experience were all at the top of my list. Another factor that truly stood out was the opportunity to get involved with Georgia Tech’s Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainable Business. I was inspired by the center’s regional leadership through initiatives like the Drawdown Georgia Compact and Sustain-X and knew I wanted to engage as a student. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to do exactly that.
Who was your favorite MBA professor?
It’s hard to pick only one, but Michael Oxman is a fantastic professor. As Managing Director of the Ray C. Anderson Center for Sustainability, he is incredibly knowledgeable about the field. He’s always upbeat and kind, and his classes are engaging even in the later hours of our evening sessions.
What was your favorite course as an MBA?
My favorite class is Collaborative Product Development. I enjoy learning about the design concepts that go into creating value for users, such as user journey mapping and need prioritization.
For our project, my team agreed to pursue my idea of developing a functional probiotic drink, ideally accessible as an alternative to drinks with caffeine, alcohol, and high sugar content at grocery stores, coffee shops, and bars. It’s been such a fun experience, and I’m looking forward to hopefully taste testing in class!
What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at Scheller?
My favorite MBA event is Schellerween. During my time here, our social committee has gone all out to make Halloween at Scheller such a fun and unique experience. My fiancé and I, both students, dressed up as Profit and Loss because our initials are P&L — we won “Most Creative”, but I still don’t think we deserved it. There were so many standout costumes!
Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why?
I would have embraced casing more readily during the first-year of my MBA. As a first year, this interviewing method intimidated me a little bit, but now I truly find it fun. It’s one of the best ways to sharpen your strategic thinking skillset.
What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it?
My favorite case was “EMMA Safety Footwear (A): Designing a Circular Shoe,” written by one of my professors, Andre Calmon. The case explored what it would take to design the world’s first circular safety shoe and, essentially, whether the company’s existing business model could support it. The case examined the operational, supply chain, and channel implications of embedding circularity into a traditionally conservative industry.
This case was my favorite because it forced us to confront the economics. EMMA’s circular shoe only made sense if the business model evolved alongside the product. The discussion around leasing and product-as-a-service was especially compelling to me, because I’m fascinated by how products can be servicized and how that can affect relationships with end users. The case taught me that impact requires organizational alignment. You can’t simply layer sustainability onto a legacy business model and expect it to work.
What did you love most about Scheller’s location in Midtown Atlanta?
I love that there are so many green spaces and interesting areas of Atlanta to explore. There are endless parks, trails, coffee shops, and brunch spots, each with their own charm and neighborhood-influence. There are hidden gems everywhere, and the city is continuously evolving. We have a lot of ATL pride.
What business leader do you admire most?
I most admire Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia, who gave the company away to ensure that all its profits — some $100 million a year — are used to fight climate change and protect the planet’s ecosystems. I admire him because his actions reflect that businesses should be in service of the world and improve life on earth, not endanger it.
What is one way that Scheller has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI?
My marketing professor, Tim Halloran, incorporated AI into our classes by encouraging us to use it as a thought-partner. We were encouraged to leverage it to identify areas of opportunity and be more robust in our considerations, but also to evaluate its accuracy and usefulness critically. I learned that it is incredibly useful when it comes to diving more deeply into a subject and building out an idea, but that it can’t replace human taste and creativity.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire?
I most admire Evan Dodes. Evan is incredibly generous with his time and is always willing to help his classmates. Not only has he contributed to Scheller’s community through his leadership on the Peer Leadership Committee, Net Impact, and Scheller Pride Club, he is also a great teammate to have on a class project.
He goes above and beyond to make sure any initiative that he is involved in is executed well and that everyone feels included. He also goes out of his way to make prospective students feel welcome and attend events as an ambassador. He has given so much to the program and I’m grateful to learn from him.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
The top item on my professional bucket list is to start a business in education or sustainable nutrition. I’m deeply motivated by the idea of building a product or service that genuinely helps people thrive in mind, body, and spirit end-to-end.
My second goal is to lead strategy at the intersection of profit and purpose. I’m energized by roles where financial performance and long-term impact reinforce one another, and I’d love to help organizations integrate sustainability and human wellbeing into core business strategy.
Fun fact about yourself:
I’ve lived in five countries and four states!
