Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business students come to learn, explore, and build community. As they move forward in their careers, they take everything they've learned and use it to power innovation in industries and businesses across the globe. In celebration of Spring 2024 Commencement, we sat down with a few students to learn about their experiences and the wisdom they've gained in the process.
Meet Ross Doelling, who is graduating from the Full-time MBA program.
Hometown:
Atlanta, GA
Undergraduate School and Degree:
University of Georgia, Finance
Describe yourself in 15 words or less:
Atlanta native passionate about data driven decisions and fostering genuine connections.
Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?
PWM Portfolio Management Associate Director, Morgan Stanley
What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career?
Gaining the trust and respect of key clients while at Morgan Stanley. I worked in the Private Wealth Management division where our mandate was to advise families with $20 million or more of investable assets. I was fortunate to have worked on one of the largest teams in the Southeast and organically became the primary point of contact for several of our clients who were former founders or chief executives of multi-billion-dollar corporations. These clients had built and/or operated businesses successfully at very high levels and having them trust and rely on me for advice was very meaningful.
Why did you choose Scheller?
I chose Georgia Tech for its Business Analytics curriculum, location, and culture. I wanted a career working closely with data and knew that I wanted to stay in Atlanta, so naturally Georgia Tech was at the top of my list considering it has the third best ranked Business Analytics Program in the country.
But more so, it was the culture. I would guess most people associate MBA programs with competition, but the culture at Georgia Tech is one of collaboration. I must credit admissions and faculty because maintaining a culture of collaboration, respect, and kindness with students turning over every two years is not easy.
Community work and leadership roles in business school:
Strategy & Innovation Club, Vice President
Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during your time at Scheller?
It’s a combination of the two. My wife and I welcomed our first child in the summer between my first and second year of business school, and amidst this I’ve been able to maintain a 4.0 GPA while immersing myself in business analytics. I had no prior experience coding, so I had a lot of catching up to do.
Who was your favorite MBA professor?
Dr. Lizhen Xu. I had the opportunity to take Machine Learning for Business with Dr. Xu and have been amazed at his ability to distill technical and complex topics in an intuitively consumable manner. He is extremely knowledgeable and engaging, so even when we are discussing the mathematical equations underlying things such as clustering algorithms (not exactly the richest topic for discussion), he is able to keep engagement high and draws a clear line from the theoretical to its real-world application.
What was your favorite course as an MBA?
Applications of Data Analytics in Accounting. This was the hardest class I took, but also the most rewarding. I had no prior coding experience and this class focused on building Python skills for applications in finance and accounting, such as building NPV simulations and natural language processing techniques to mine financial data.
There’s a real need for people who can bridge the gap between data science and business, and for me this class lifted the veil behind what many advanced analytical and machine learning models were performing and gave me the knowledge and confidence to bridge the gap between data science and business.
What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at Scheller?
Ringing the bell. This is a ceremony at Scheller where everyone announces where they have signed to work full-time, and we formally ring the bell to announce our success. Although it’s a relatively simple ceremony, the whole class comes out to support and that’s something unique about Scheller. Not every school has that type of tight-knit community that Scheller brings.
What is the biggest myth about Scheller?
The biggest myth is that it’s technology focused. That’s exactly what I experienced, and quite frankly that was exactly what I was looking for. I was fascinated by what businesses can do with data, and concentrating in business analytics has put me at the forefront of technology and business.
What did you love most about Scheller’s location in the heart of midtown Atlanta?
Aside from being my hometown, what makes Atlanta so special is the sheer amount of variety the city has to offer. You can find just about anything in Atlanta. Whether you are into food, nature, sports, history, music, etc. – there is something for you.
Personally, I love exploring new restaurants in Atlanta and Atlanta’s Buford Highway is a cultural and culinary gem. Atlanta also has a wealth of companies, both large and small, that call Atlanta home. This city has seen its tech sector grow exponentially and having a technology focused program at the heart of it all makes Georgia Tech a unique offering.
Where did you intern during the summer of 2023?
Delta Air Lines in Atlanta
Where will you be working after graduation?
I will be working at Delta Air Lines as an MBA Associate in Commercial Strategy & Customer Experience.
Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why?
I would have gotten to know more of my professors. There isn’t enough time to build a relationship with all of them, but I wish I had built more. I focused very much on academics and recruiting in the first year, so I didn’t really spend time doing this until my second year.
I found that when you get to know a professor, and specifically their research areas, you realize how much more you can learn from them. While the classes have been great, I have loved seeing the passion that my professors have for their research areas and being able to discuss these with the few professors I did get to know was really rewarding and fruitful.
What surprised you the most about business school?
The amount that I learned. Having majored in finance as an undergraduate, I was worried I would see a lot of familiar classes that wouldn’t add a lot of value. I knew the Business Analytics program was top ranked, but you never know how that will translate to the classroom until you experience it. With that said, I can fully endorse the curriculum and say that I have both been pushed and pushed myself far outside of my comfort zone and prior experience in academics, which I believe will be invaluable over the course of my career.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire?
Narin Smith. Narin has her Ph.D. in Economics, has already had a full career, and runs a consulting business, but she was driven to continue her education. We overlapped for many business analytics classes, and the way she approaches her academics is very inspiring. She is very analytical and deeply cares about understanding the material and connecting it to the real world, an attitude I agree with and respect. In addition to being a great student, she’s also a great person. She’s always kind, polite, and eager to help. I have drawn a lot of inspiration from her over these last two years.
Fun fact about yourself:
I had my first child between my first and second year of my MBA.
What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?
I have always wanted to work in an expat role for a few years, and at some point, I want to start my own company.