2016 MBAs To Watch: Coralia Nunez, Ohio State (Fisher)

Coralia Nunez-Ohio State-PoetsAndQuants_MBAsToWatch2016

Coralia Nunez

 

Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University

Age: 28

Hometown: San Pedro Sula, Honduras

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of Central Arkansas, Bachelor of Business Administration, Major in Marketing, Minor in Interdisciplinary Studies

Where did you work before enrolling in business school? Convergys, Learning & Development Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2015? Dell, Austin TX

Where will you be working after graduation? Dell, Global Commodity Manager Senior Adviser

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: President of the Fisher Graduate Latino Association and Forte Fellow. I’ve also continued to serve as board member for PROANI Honduras (nonprofit animal protection association) during my time in school

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? Leading the Fisher Graduate Latino Association as president during my second year. It has been an honor to help connect students, faculty, and alumni with the Latino/Hispanic culture. Through the organization, we are able to attend the National Society of Hispanic MBAs (NSHMBA) diversity conference and provide mentoring to the first-year members. As a recipient of the Scholarship for the Americas, it has also been very gratifying to connect with Hispanic prospective/admitted students and help answer questions they might have through the application process.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Building the Learning and Services department for Convergys, Honduras. I was new to the industry and to the role, and had the wonderful opportunity to build a new team and help ramp up the site from four to 400 employees in a year. Being a manager of an amazing team has been one of the most rewarding experiences in my career.

Who is your favorite professor? Professor Tony Rucci. He is one of those people who automatically inspire you when you meet them. He is a genuine leader with a gift for developing others.

Favorite MBA Courses? Leadership Legacy, Strategic Implementation, and Global Applied Projects.

Why did you choose this business school? Fisher represented everything I was looking for: a strong academic program, flexibility to choose my own major, and international experience through the global applied projects. As the business school of the largest public university in the United States, it also provided access to many resources and elective classes even outside of the business school. Since I was in Honduras when I was applying, I was not able to visit the campus. However, in my first interview and email communications with the admissions office, career management, and alums, I immediately felt the personalized attention and small-community feel. Fisher was the intersection of great academic and professional development opportunities in a nurturing environment that would enable me to maximize my own potential.

What did you enjoy most about business school? I really enjoyed meeting incredible people from all over the world and creating life-long friendships. It is because of these friendships that I can now call Fisher my home. I truly experienced the value of uniqueness and the strength derived from diverse viewpoints, both in the classroom and during extracurricular activities. One of the greatest experiences was doing a three-week consulting project in Amsterdam with team members from India, Russia, and the United States. We were able to experience living and working in a foreign country on a very interesting and challenging project, while learning from each other and creating lasting memories.

What is the biggest lesson you gained from business school? Every day is an opportunity to grow. I learned that our main competition is always with ourselves, and we don’t even realize our own strengths until we decide to push harder. Success is a mindset. My greatest life lesson gained was developing my own leadership legacy statement. This statement will serve as a compass to guide my career path and future decisions.

What was the most surprising thing about business school? It is how much I would enjoy going out of my comfort zone and how much I grew personally, not just professionally.

What was the hardest part of business school? Being away from my family.

What’s your best advice to an applicant to your school? Think of what the best version of yourself looks like. This can be an opportunity to find that person in your two years at Fisher if you come ready with that goal in mind.

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when… I returned from India after four months helping out in a start-up. I knew then that business would be my channel to helping positively impact people’s lives.”

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would be… helping PROANI Honduras continue to grow as a nonprofit organization and getting involved in the start-up environment in Honduras.”  

Which executive or entrepreneur do you most admire? Blake Mycoskie, founder of TOMS shoes. His book and business model have inspired me to want to eventually start a social enterprise myself and re-affirmed my belief that businesses are about people.

What are your long-term professional goals? Start a social enterprise in Honduras dedicated to providing access to education and/or sustainable housing.

Who would you most want to thank for your success? My parents have been my unconditional supporters all my life. They encourage me to always set goals for myself and work hard to achieve them. They raised my sister and me in a loving and supporting family, teaching us to appreciate the many blessings that God provides us, the value of hard work, gratitude, positivity, and to always use our talents to help others.

Fun fact about yourself: I’ll salsa dance to pretty much any kind of music

Favorite book: Banker to the Poor: Mirco-Lending and the Battle Against World Poverty by Muhammad Yunus

Favorite movie: Inception

Favorite musical performer: Alejandro Sanz

Favorite television show: “Grey’s Anatomy”

Favorite vacation spot: Roatan, Honduras

Hobbies? Traveling, dancing

What made Coralia such an invaluable addition to the class of 2016?

“Coralia is someone you would describe as an AND candidate — she has great technical skills and great people skills; she is tremendously intelligent and tremendously hard-working; she is super-efficient and super likeable; she is extremely analytical and extremely persuasive; and she has a terrific mind and a terrific heart. It’s easy to see why she is the best among equals in any setting. A Latina from Honduras, who is equally at ease leading her team at a for-profit and making a meaningful impact for a nonprofit, Coralia is a striking example of the new face of leadership. She understands and firmly believes that any enterprise is about people, first and foremost. I have little doubt that she will lead as a chief executive in the not-too-distant future of the global corporate world. We, at Fisher, are proud that Coralia embodies the best ideals of Fisher — to make a meaningful and lasting impact in the world.”

Shashi Matta

Clinical Associate Professor of Marketing

Director of MBA Programs

Fisher College of Business, Ohio State University

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