Tell us what your immediate career goals are and how you will benefit personally and professionally from earning an MBA at Kenan-Flagler Business School. Should your goals that you provided above not transpire, what other opportunities would you explore?

It’s a bone-chilling, windy February morning in Philadelphia, and I’m trying to walk fast enough alongside two dozen of my company’s leaders to prevent my teeth from chattering. We are on our way to a meeting about the operational impact an expected increase in business will have, and I’m presenting a new software tool. This niche software on warehouse slotting optimizes product placement in a warehouse and irks even the most technologically savvy operations managers with its complexity. During the presentation, my objective is to convince the group to utilize this tool, which identifies poorly slotted products by linking forecast data to inventory in the warehouse. By the end of the presentation, the managers agree to add implementing this tool to their growing list of to-do’s as a way to accommodate the increase. Customizing this warehouse slotting software confirmed my desire to pursue operations management at a technology company, such as AAA, MMM or CCC, where I will coordinate resources to design software aimed at improving organizational efficiency and effectiveness.

Switching to the technology space requires that I first receive an MBA from Kenan-Flagler. The Operations Management track will build my business knowledge and skills through courses like Digital Operations and Project Management, and participating in STAR offers an opportunity to apply these newly-acquired skills in solving real-world problems. Additionally, I anticipate the Operations Management Club will broaden my network with like-minded students and professors while offering access to and advice from professionals through its career treks and Transportation and Logistics panel. Personally, I look forward to building new friendships over shared interests like hiking the Blue Ridge Mountains with the MBAdventures Club and training for my next triathlon with the Running/Bike/Swim Club.

Like a company prepared to shift course as markets evolve, I would consider related career paths in either healthcare operations or supply chain management. As healthcare costs continue to trend upward, the industry will need to cut costs and optimize operations. Helping a professor improve workflow processes at a hospital during my senior year in college gave me firsthand exposure to inefficiencies in our healthcare system. Should the market evolve, I would consider pursuing a dual concentration in healthcare and operations management, acquiring the tools to identify process inefficiencies and lead cross-functional teams to improve them. I am particularly interested in Dr. AAA research with the Business of Health Care Initiative and how MBA's can solve challenges in the healthcare space. Similarly, my experience collaborating with the procurement and inventory teams to design the warehouse slotting tool directly relates to supply chain management, as I utilized forecasting data to reduce costs and improve productivity. For this alternative path, I foresee leading a team of analysts working to reduce lead time and working capital for a company such as Amazon or Walmart.

Kenan-Flagler’s experiential learning focus resonates with my learning style, and its academic concentrations will aid my transition to operations management. When combined with its collegial atmosphere, I have no doubt Kenan-Flagler is the perfect program for me.