If you asked my friends, they would all call me a big “tech nerd.” From the time I was a little kid, I would take computers apart (much to the displeasure of my parents as I rarely put them back together). This passion, however, eventually led me to the University of Michigan in pursuit of a degree in Computer Science. While at Michigan, I had the opportunity to lead the Michigan Solar Car Team as the Head Strategist, designing, building, and eventually racing a solar powered electric vehicle 1,800 miles across the Australian Outback. While I really enjoyed the engineering aspects of the project, I learned that my real passion was in leading teams, helping to extract the potential of those around me. Coincidentally, that was the point I knew I wanted to go to business school.
After Michigan, I began my journey into business by joining Discover Bank’s rotational general management program and eventually became a product manager (finally finding a sweet spot between technology and business). I figured that, when I went back to business school, I would pivot to a big technology firm as a product manager and continue down the path I started at Discover. A massive life event now has me tinkering with new ideas as I jump into my 1Y summer internship – my dad was diagnosed with, and eventually passed away from, a rare form of cancer. That experience opened up my perspective on how tech can apply to major initiatives in healthcare reform and patient care.
Booth has been an incredible place for me to learn about and navigate the healthcare industry. I’m identifying opportunities to enter the space with minimal background by also tying together my past experiences and learnings. Booth has allowed me to evaluate how I can apply my tested strengths and knowledge of deep-rooted business fundamentals to a new industry. I spent my first year joining tons (definitely too many) industry and function clubs to get an idea of where I wanted to step into the healthcare industry (Did I want to work for a provider? Payer? Biotech? Was I hoping to work in marketing? Finance? Business development?). These clubs also helped me prepare for interviews and successfully pivot into a new industry – I’m headed to Chartis Group this summer, a healthcare provider focused consulting firm, and I am very excited to take this passion from idea to reality.
While navigating my career pivot was a substantial time investment, I also spent a lot of my first year trying to get to know as many of my classmates as possible. While some of my best memories from first year come from class debriefs at “The Pub” under Ida Noyes with friends, I also joined several social clubs like Epicurean Club and Booth Coffee Club (although the professional clubs have some pretty awesome social events too). I recently stepped in to co-chair Coffee Club and am looking forward to chronicling some of my caffeinated experiences and all other things Booth during the upcoming year!
