Tag: BSBA Profiles

Part of a series of Q&As with Olin alumni. Today we hear from Shannon Turner, MBA ’18.

What are you doing for work now, and how did your Olin education impact your career?

After graduating from Olin, I created the Maria Lida Foundation, a nonprofit organization that promotes economic development in Alausi, Ecuador, through tourism, education and training programs. Alausi is near and dear to my heart because it is where my father and his family lived before immigrating to the United States.

My time at Olin gave me tools and resources to pursue my dream of using my education to give back to my roots. I started my business school education with a passion for social entrepreneurship and Olin had many class opportunities in this space.

Olin also provided me with incredible experiential opportunities such as building my idea in classes, serving on the board of a local nonprofit organization, working on a consulting project for clients in Ecuador, and helping a local social enterprise grow. These opportunities helped be build the confidence and skill set to launch my own enterprise after graduating.

What Olin course, ‘defining moment’ or faculty influenced your life most, and why?

Olin’s introduction to entrepreneurship course with Cliff Holekamp influenced my career path the most. It was wonderful to connect with classmates over our passion for entrepreneurship and learn from entrepreneurs in the St. Louis community.

In this class, I was able to pitch my social venture idea, receive feedback, and work on a feasibility study to explore my idea with classmates. The advice and support I received from Cliff Holekamp were tremendous in helping me craft my social venture.

How do you stay engaged with Olin or your Olin classmates and friends?

The Olin community has been enormously supportive of my career path post-graduation. Last fall, I became a client for Olin’s Center for Experiential Learning International Impact Initiative. The CEL’s International Impact Initiative provides business school students with opportunities to work on consulting projects for global social enterprises.

Through this partnership, Olin MBA students helped the Maria Lida Foundation create business strategies for growth and were able to visit Alausi, Ecuador, to see the work Maria Lida Foundation is doing on the ground. This project would not have occurred without support from Daniel Bentle and Amy VanEssendelft, who are leaders in the CEL program (editor’s note: Daniel Bentle left Olin for another opportunity in mid-April).

As a result of this project, the Maria Lida Foundation received excellent recommendations on how to grow its operations. In addition, the CEL team’s faculty adviser (and my former professor), Hillary Anger Elfenbein, is now a member of Maria Lida Foundation’s Board of Directors.

Why is a business education important?

A business education is important because it gives you the skill set needed to successfully enter the business world. Before my time at Olin, I worked in the legal field for many years so it was incredibly helpful to learn the foundations of business through business school classes. It is also important because it provides you with many opportunities to expand your network, gain mentors, mentor others and learn from new experiences.

Looking back, what advice would you give current Olin students?

I would recommend that current Olin students focus their time and energy on things they are passionate about during their time in business school. Olin provides many opportunities for students to participate in various activities and events (something that makes Olin special).

However, you have limited time in business school, so I think it is helpful to spend your time on things that you enjoy. I’m very passionate about using business skills for social impact and entrepreneurship, so I spent time taking entrepreneurship courses, attending networking events for entrepreneurs, participating in social impact and entrepreneurship clubs, serving on a local nonprofit board, and applying to be on student consulting teams for social ventures.

These activities helped me to enjoy my time in business school, meet many people with similar interests, gain mentors, obtain skills, and prepare me for my post-MBA career.

Pictured at top: Olin CEL team working on the ground in Alausi, Ecuador for the Maria Lida Foundation. Shannon is in the red coat.

Part of a series of Q&As with Olin BSBA alumni. Today we hear from Mitch McMahon, BSBA ’16.

What are you doing for work now, and how did your Olin education impact your career?

I’m working at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis as the senior manager of fleet and facilities for North American Distribution Operations. I would say I continually look back at two things when I connect my Olin experience to my current job.

The first is the strong analytical foundation that Olin helped me build. At AB, we are always focused on data-based decision-making and I felt that was a focus in my time at Olin. The other was the collaborative experience I had during my courses at Olin.

One of the 10 principles at ABI references judging performance on the quality of our teams. The continued focus on group work and team deliverables at Olin is a skill set I now use daily.

What Olin course, ‘defining moment’ or faculty influenced your life most, and why?

Hmm. This is a tough one. It might be Operations and Supply Chain Management 230—the first course where I realized I was in love with data-driven decision-making and creating models to drive efficiency in everyday business decisions. This course has had a significant influence on my career path today.

Or Professor Judi McLean Parks. I never actually was enrolled in her course, but I spent four years as a teaching assistant for her MBA negotiations course. As a part of the job, we would occasionally participate in the simulated negotiations.

The lessoned I learned in her course about growing the size of the pie, incentive alignment and not treating negotiation as a zero-sum game have helped me work through contracts with our vendors and in some cases add value to both parties. Working with contracts is now one of my favorite activities at work!

How do you stay engaged with Olin or your Olin classmates and friends?

Two things make it very easy for me.

1. I’m dating one of my Olin classmates—Brooke Hofer.
2. I’ve been roommates with two of them since graduation. It’s great to continue our professional lives together.

I also try to make it back for football games and basketball games when I can.

Why is business education important?

Business education is important because it puts the relational aspect of an industry on the same pedestal as technical capability. The psychological, as well as analytical aspects of a business education are what drew me in and are the reasons I believe it continues to be such as staple as an area of study.

Looking back, what advice would you give current Olin students?

Enjoy your time in school and make as many friends as possible. You will be shocked at how many industries you could end up having connections with in the new future, purely based on what jobs your friends end up taking.

Part of a series of Q&As with Olin BSBA alumni. Today we hear from Julie Cole, BSBA ’17.

What are you doing for work now, and how did your Olin education impact your career?

I am part of the presidential associate program (rotational program) at the Estée Lauder Companies, in the responsible sourcing (sustainable procurement) rotation. The program has various tracks, and being an operations and supply chain management/marketing major at Olin, I chose the supply chain track. Without a degree in supply chain, I would not have been able to choose this track.

What Olin course, ‘defining moment’ or faculty influenced your life most, and why?

Dr. Durai Sundaramoorthi definitely had the biggest influence on my life. I was able to be a teaching assistant for quantitative business analysis for several years, which provided me with leadership opportunities and people management skills, along with the chance to report to Dr. Durai, similar to how I report to a manager at work. I use these skills every day as I am spearheading a new initiative under the responsible sourcing team. I project manage, collaborate and share progress with the team and report to senior leadership on my work.

How do you stay engaged with Olin or your Olin classmates and friends?

I live in New York City and am fortunate to see many of my Olin classmates who live here or come to visit. Some of my closest friends I met on Day 1 when I found out they were on my Management 100 team.

Why is business education important?

Being in a rotational program, I switch from team to team every six months. Doing so, I touch so many parts of the business, many of which I learned about during business school. Though I majored in operations and supply chain management and marketing, I have to talk with other teams, like finance, very frequently. Because I took finance classes during my four years, I can participate in the conversation, share ideas and ask questions.

Looking back, what advice would you give current Olin students?

Enjoy what you do! I chose OSCM as my second major because I enjoyed the coursework and I chose to be on the responsible sourcing team at work because I am passionate about what we do. Work is so much better when you are personally invested in it.

Also—network, network, network! Network at your internship, network at school, network on an airplane. You never know who you will meet. As an intern, I was contacted by a senior vice president, a fellow Olin graduate, who mentored me throughout my internship and pushed for me to be on the supply chain track of my program (something that had only ever been allowed for those with graduate degrees).

Part of a series of Q&As with Olin BSBA alumni. Today we hear from Miranda Lan, BSBA ’17.

What are you doing for work now, and how did your Olin education impact your career?

I work for Capital One as an HR Consultant (HRC) in our Plano, Texas, office. Olin empowered me to drive my own career and explore many different business areas through its many courses, extracurriculars, corporate partnerships/events, case competitions, etc. I had the opportunity to pilot the Small Business Initiative consulting program, run research studies for the consumer behavior lab, write a group thesis for an honors in management distinction, intern for a startup through the Skandalaris Center and so much more!

Ultimately, as a teaching assistant for management communication and a leader in Phi Gamma Nu (professional fraternity), I concluded that I wanted to pursue a career focused on empowering others to reach their full potential.

What Olin course, ‘defining moment’ or faculty influenced your life most, and why?

Hands down Staci Thomas and her management communication class influenced my life the most. The course itself taught me innumerable practical skills for the workplace, and I loved it so much that I turned around and became a TA the following semester (and did so for every semester after that until I graduated!).

Stacy encouraged and mentored me, always seeking out feedback on how to improve the course. Just knowing that there are great teachers and advisors at Olin who are willing to go above and beyond to help their students is one of the reasons I try and do the same as a young alumni.

How do you stay engaged with Olin or your Olin classmates and friends?

The bonds I built with my Olin classmates and friends mean the world to me! My apartment is cluttered with photos of great memories with my PGN buddies, my study abroad cohort, and more. I keep in touch with many through social media, but beyond that, I make it a point to see people face-to-face whenever possible.

Whether I’m visiting San Francisco, Chicago or New York City, or others are coming to the Dallas area, I reach out and let them know I’m around. It’s a warm and gratifying feeling to know that I have friends around the US and world who cheer me on and whom I can cheer on too.

Why is business education important? 

A business education, and especially an Olin education, has immense value in its combination of breadth and depth of topics. “Business” does not happen in a vacuum; the breadth of courses covered in the Olin curriculum equips students with the knowledge to see big-picture concepts and make connections across industries, functions, etc.

Depth is equally important because business advancements cannot be made without subject-matter expertise. The courses I took in consumer behavior, labor economics, and negotiations gave me the skills I need to excel in my role today. And, Olin goes the extra step to provide countless opportunities to apply those skills through hands-on, experiential learning.

Looking back, what advice would you give current Olin students?

Explore and experiment. Olin and WashU create the perfect setting to try something outside of your comfort zone—and who knows? You may end up finding a new hobby and making new friends along the way.

I worked with the WashU racing team (yes, they build real, competitive race cars) on marketing and sponsorships and co-owned the SWAP nonprofit free store.

I cherished these experiences and the amazing people I met through them! These types of opportunities, and groups like the CEL and Skandalaris Center provide endless chances to learn something new every day, every semester. No excuses, just go try it.

Pictured above: Miranda Lan is in the back row, far left.