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Countdown to Commencement: Megan Houlihan

Megan is from Kennesaw, Georgia, and finishing her Evening MBA degree with concentrations in Business Analytics and Strategy & Innovation Finance. She describes herself as a “problem solver with a love of learning and exploration.”
Megan Houlihan is completing her Evening MBA at Scheller College.

Megan Houlihan is completing her Evening MBA at Scheller College.

As part of our Countdown to Commencement series, we interviewed a few soon-to-be graduates from our undergraduate and MBA programs to learn about their backgrounds, why they chose Scheller College, and what they plan to do after Fall 2018 Commencement.

Meet Megan Houlihan:

Megan is from Kennesaw, Georgia, and finishing her Evening MBA degree with concentrations in Business Analytics and Strategy & Innovation Finance. While at Scheller, Megan has worked with children’s clothing giant, Carters. She describes herself as a “problem solver with a love of learning and exploration,” and hopes that her MBA peers remember her as a valuable team member who was motivated, resourceful, and encouraging. 

Megan participated in the Consulting Club, Business Analytics Group, a number of weekend courses -- such as Training the Street -- consulting/case workshops, and several career prep and training sessions hosted by Scheller’s top-ranked Jones MBA Career Center team, all of which she describes as “invaluable” learning experiences.

One of the myths about Scheller is that you won’t have a life outside of school and work as an MBA student. While it can certainly be a lot to balance at times, there is always flexibility to the way you can structure your workload.

Fun fact about yourself:

I’ve been working on learning Italian the past year during my commute. "Sto allenando il mio italiano, ma ho ancora molto da imparare!"

Where did you intern/co-op and when? What projects did you work on during your internship?

As an Evening student, I’ve worked with Carter’s throughout the duration of my MBA and have had the opportunity to move around internally over the past few years. I currently work as a merchandising analyst and have focused my work on adding automation to our current systems as well as creating tools to improve efficiency and accuracy of day-to-day work.

Where will you be working after graduation?

After graduation, I plan to work in a more project-oriented role, so either working for a consulting firm or working internally on various projects related to business and process improvements.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be…”

If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be continuing to develop my career and understanding of the world via different work and independent learning opportunities. My path would have been a lot more winding, but I still would’ve worked to find interesting projects to work on and problems to solve.

Why did you choose Scheller College of Business?

Beyond the great reputation of Georgia Tech and the location within Atlanta, another major selling-point of Scheller for me were the experiential learning opportunities. Being able to work during the day and -- also work with clients in practicums to solve their business problems -- was a huge selling point. Getting to apply lessons in a tangible and immediate way makes them so much more impactful.

Who was your favorite professor and why?

There are so many great professors at Georgia Tech that it’s impossible to choose. I loved learning from Necati Tereyagoglu in his Pricing Analytics class. He did a great job of bridging analytical skills with their business applications, and brought in industry speakers who were also able to elaborate and share examples of this.

What was your favorite course and what was the biggest insight you gained about business from it?

One of my favorite courses was Current Thinking in Strategy. It has a tough reputation because of the amount of reading involved, but the discussions and learnings were so valuable. It was a good reminder that although we try to distill everything in business down to frameworks and methods, it’s still a social science with people at the core. Learning tools to work with and evaluate that complexity is something that will continue to benefit me throughout my career.

What is the biggest myth about Scheller College?

One of the myths about Scheller is that you won’t have a life outside of school and work as an MBA student. While it can certainly be a lot to balance at times, there is always flexibility to the way you can structure your workload, and the support you get from your classmates can even make late project nights an enjoyable time!

What is your best piece advice to an applicant hoping to get into Scheller College?

My advice to applicants would be to bring everything you can to the table and to not be intimidated if you don’t come from a “traditional” background. One of the beautiful things about Scheller is the wealth of experience coming from your peers. I’ve learned so much from people who came from different majors and work experiences because it encourages everyone to be creative and gain insights they may not have drawn on their own. 

What are the top two items on your bucket list?

Professionally, I’d like to sharpen my abilities and time spent mentoring and encouraging others. I’ve been so thankful to have so many people pour into me professionally and connect me with others who are so willing to help. As a just-for-fun item on my bucket list, I’d love to have the chance to see SNL (Saturday Night Live) in NYC!

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