MBA and advanced-degree profiles

To be honest, the parts about business school that I found most helpful were networking, recruiting and group work (I know). This is a people business, so being able to empathize and communicate with clients is critical. You are also thrust into a new team every few months, so you must learn to adapt to different working styles. From a class perspective, I think strategy and management classes have been the most transferrable as they help teach you how to think.

Every project is unique, but I suppose the consistent aspect is traveling to client sites either Sunday night (I prefer this) or first thing Monday morning and traveling back home Thursday night. Days typically start by 8:30 a.m. (earlier if you have international clients) and end by 7:00 p.m. (at least for me thus far). Fortunately, I have rarely had to work weekends as well — (*knocks on wood*).

I recently moved to the suburbs of Long Island from NYC, so I just got a lawn mower. Mowing my lawn has become my new weekend activity. My wife and I also enjoy traveling.

Management Cases, Critical and Strategic Thinking, Cases in Business Strategy, and Sustainable Global Enterprise Immersion Practicum

I generally fly to the client site on Monday morning (currently Atlanta) while the rest of Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday is focused on client service and team alignment with team dinners, and working out, in the evenings. Thursday involves wrapping up the week with the client and traveling back home during the evening. Fridays are generally used for learning, internal initiatives, general admin and preparing for the next week at the client.

I enjoy spending time with my wife and our three kids (all under three years of age). I have also been a CrossFit coach for the past seven years. This past year, I built a CrossFit gym in my garage so I can do more high-intensity workouts while at home.

Business school classes that have helped the most include: M&A, Principled Leadership, Consulting Frameworks and Analytical Problem-Solving.

Monday through Wednesday is full-throttle client service and team alignment, whereas Thursday includes evening travel and tying up in-person client requests. Evenings include team dinners/events, working sessions and personal time for fitness. Fridays tend to be the best times for internal initiatives, networking and learning.

I am an avid hiker, squash player, adventurer of spicy foods and teacher of the Chinese language. Above all, I'd rather spend time with my dogs!

The most impactful classes I took at Marshall were those that forced me to think critically, got me out of my comfort zone or had a client-relationship component. This collection of coursework really helped prepare me for the types of situations I'm faced with every day.

I travel from Chicago every Monday to my client's site in Miami, and return every Thursday. I'm on the digital content workstream for a very large mobile app development project. I work alongside the client team to meet deadlines and work through deliverables to other stakeholders. A typical day may consist of one or two meetings, solutioning outstanding problems, keeping my leadership team informed and working through our outlined project plan.

I absolutely love to travel. Before I started with EY last September, I visited six continents in 2016 alone. My favorite place is Bali and I'm planning a vacation there this summer. I also like concerts, live music and prime-time television. And probably most importantly, I'm an aunt to 13 (and counting!) kids. I adore my munchkins and try to spend as much time with them as possible.

At Emory, one of the core requirements is a class called IMPACT, which simulates a consulting experience in which our study teams have actual clients. We utilize various methodologies to problem-solve with the course, culminating in a formal client presentation. Outside of that specific class, any class that challenges you personally and pushes you outside of your comfort zone would be a great class to prepare you for consulting. Becoming comfortable in situations you may not know everything about, and surrounding yourself with the right tools and network, will give you a great start for your career in consulting.

Monday morning, I head to the airport to travel to my client site. Following work on Monday I typically check into my hotel, and then head out for a hard workout and a healthy dinner — I love to start my Mondays on a positive note so I carry that tune all week. Tuesday and Wednesday are typical work days, including client deliverable work and client meetings, topped off by one or two team dinners. Thursday is wrapping up onsite work for the week and back to the airport in the evening to head home.

Outside of work you can catch me on the golf course, checking out a new foodie spot or in a workout class (to work off all my eating out!). I also love to travel to new places with a good book in hand.

A couple of beneficial MBA courses were Leadership in Organizations (LiO) and Financial Accounting & Reporting (FA&R). LiO taught me that leadership at a firm like EY would be measured by a piece of PIE (performance, image and exposure). Since joining EY, I have aspired to achieve high performance, maintain a positive image and gain a breadth of exposure. As for FA&R, I learned the basic F&A principles that are critical to any transaction type, although I still cannot balance a balance sheet!

As consultants, we live the “3-4-5” model: 3 nights/4 days at the client site, 5 days working. While on site, days are spent maximizing internal and client-facing time in reviewing workplans and striving toward target operating models. We work hard by day, play hard by night on the road! Fridays are opportunities for me to network or participate in internal initiatives (for example, engaging the Supply Chain Vertical Community of Practice that I am the PMO lead of) before unwinding for the weekend.

I am an avid sports fan, primarily of basketball and football. As dysfunctional as they are, I reside in Manhattan and root for the Knicks. There is nothing like a live game at the “World’s Most Famous Arena.” As a University of Maryland undergraduate, I remain a Terrapin basketball and football season ticket holder. Go Terps! Also, as do many others, I love to travel. My most recent vacation was to Munich, Germany, for Oktoberfest, where I had the week of my life, all while rocking my lederhosen.

The two kinds of classes that helped the most were my Strategy and my Data Analytics classes. While we don’t use Crystal Ball or Monte Carlo simulations daily at EY, both of these classes helped me be able to take large amounts of data, synthesize it and export it to the client or team in a way that is easily digestible. Case competitions were incredibly helpful because they taught me how to tell a story in every presentation and how to make a point and convince people that it is right.

Consulting is so dynamic, and our projects are pretty innovative, so each week is often brand new. Mondays, I travel to the client and have meetings and team check-ins. Only a little of my work is individual, heads-down delivery. I do a couple of gym classes with friends and a team dinner at least once a week and then fly home Thursday afternoon. The Customer team has a reserved room in the Chicago office on Fridays, so I work from there and catch up with my colleagues at happy hour or dinner.

I have a dog who is my world, so we do a lot of outdoor adventures like going to Lake Michigan and hiking on the coasts. I also grew up playing water sports, so I do a lot of swimming and recently began swimming in Lake Michigan. Before USC, I worked in the music industry, so any live event I’m happy to go to, especially to see my favorite team, the Dodgers.

Strategy classes to encourage outside-the-box thinking and attacking a problem from numerous angles. Excel Modeling classes to help compile client data to build meaningful business cases.

Of course there is no typical week but, if I’m on an out-of-town engagement, I catch the first flight out of Chicago on Monday mornings to head to the client site where we conduct interviews, brainstorm solutions and create deliverables. We work a fair amount, but normally are able to leave the office around 7:00 p.m. or so. I fly home Thursday afternoons and either head into the office on Fridays to network with other coworkers or take the opportunity to work from home in my sweats.

Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my husband, my dog, friends, and being in nature as much as possible. I love riding my bike to the beach, taking trips to go hiking and walking my dog to explore various nooks and crannies in my neighborhood. My husband and I have a well-stocked bar and enjoy experimenting with new cocktail recipes. I’m also an avid Cleveland sports fan and am looking forward to watching the Browns this fall.