I was born in New York but raised in Beirut, Lebanon, with a brief stint living in Thailand as a child. After graduating from Barnard College with a degree in sociology, I worked for four years in the digital marketing space at a PR agency called Weber Shandwick in NYC. I came to Booth to transition into a brand management position at a food-related CPG company. This summer, I will be interning at Nestle in Washington, DC.
I chose Booth for my MBA because it is a school that offered me freedom: freedom to be myself, freedom to choose my path, freedom to explore. The flexible curriculum and nature of the class has made it such that I have been able to choose the classes I want, when I want them, get involved with campus groups I am most passionate about, and form relationships with Boothies on a personal and authentic level.
In terms of my path, even within marketing, I have really appreciated the breadth of opportunities and the number of available disciplines (e.g., analytics, tech, CPG). There hasn’t been a single prescribed approach, rather the entire experience has been fully customized to my individual interests and aspirations.
The freedom to explore has been most exciting for me, particularly post-recruiting. I am able to explore friendships beyond my immediate cluster, campus clubs I hadn’t previously considered, opportunities and social activities at other UChicago schools and even across the city of Chicago.
I live in the Loop but my favorite Chicago neighborhood is Lincoln Park. It has great restaurants, beautiful Oz Park, awesome jazz/blues bars, and amazing lakefront beach. I love venturing into all of Chicago’s neighborhoods—Wicker Park, Logan Square, and Andersonville most recently… there are many many more to see!
I’ve been involved with a lot of different students groups at Booth, from Middle East and North Africa Group (MENA) to the Food, Environment, and Agribusiness and Development Group (FEAD). I’ll be a Marketing Group co-chair this year and I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of The Booth Experience blogger team! I have had some great Booth experiences that I would love to share—I went on Random Walk in Guatemala last year, participated in the REEL leadership challenge, guided newly admitted students around the Loop on First Day, attended the Women’s March with CWIB, and much more.
Also, as someone who grew up abroad, I can share insights on attending University in the US from an international perspective. But certainly my most memorable Booth experiences so far are the small group experiences I’ve had with friends—nights out at Kingston Mines and Old Grounds Social doing Live Band karaoke come to mind. I also thought Booth Insights was a really interesting and rewarding experience.
Looking forward to sharing more with you in the coming year!
