Diana Nichols (MBA 2020) was selected as one of Poets&Quants' 2020 Best & Brightest MBAs. Nichols, who is originally from Chicago, received her B.S. in Economics from Florida A&M University (FAMU) and her M.S. in Economics from Georgia Tech. On her drive home from Tallahassee, Fla., to Chicago during her undergraduate years, she would plan an intentional weekend layover in Atlanta, which is how she came to love the city and realize that Georgia Tech was where she wanted to pursue her graduate studies.
Prior to her enrollment in business school, Nichols worked as the President and Co-Founder of Vroom Vroom Escape Room. Vroom Vroom Escape Room is Atlanta’s first mobile escape room that is a five-star rated experience and continues to transform office spaces into escape rooms and players into confident sleuths and team members.
“My wife and I met in graduate school and dated over late-night point-and-click computer escape games in the school library,” Nichols said. “We vowed to build our own real-life version but promptly tucked the dream away upon starting full-time jobs. After my first graduate degree, I worked for Munich Re as an Actuarial Analyst, but I still felt the pull to be an entrepreneur. It took an incredible leap of faith to step out and pursue our own business ventures.”
During the summer of 2019, Nichols interned at PepsiCo in the Revenue Management – Pricing Strategy department in Dallas. During her internship, Nichols won Best Marketer in their own Shark Tank style innovation contest. Following graduation, Nichols will continue to work at PepsiCo after receiving an offer for a Strategic Finance Associate Manager position.
“Every so often, you interview a candidate who leaves a lasting impression,” said Katie Lloyd, Assistant Dean, MBA programs. “Diana was one of those candidates. Reading Diana’s application, I was intrigued by her diverse experiences, impressive storytelling ability, courage, and candor. Meeting her in person, I had no doubt she would be a change agent at Scheller. That hunch materialized as Diana demonstrated exceptional engagement during her MBA studies. In addition to revitalizing Scheller Pride, our LGBTQIA organization for members and allies, Diana took on a leadership role in Blacks in Business, was a rock star case competition participant, and transformed our prospective interview days. Diana will be missed tremendously once she graduates, but her legacy will continue.”
The P&Q Best and Brightest MBAs list annually celebrates a small number of students from scores of entries who have made a lasting impact on their business schools. In the selection process, P&Q reviewed input from students and considered academic performance, extracurricular achievements, professional potential, and personal stories.
Read Diana Nichols full Poets&Quants 2020 Best & Brightest MBAs interview