Meet Cambridge Judge’s MBA Class of 2017

Kristina Chiappetta

Cambridge Judge Business School, University of Cambridge

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  Digital marketing specialist by day, cinephile and creative writer by night

Hometown: Livingston, New Jersey

Fun Fact About Yourself: I can edit 16mm film on a Steenbeck

Undergraduate School and Major: Wesleyan University, Film Studies

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Ads Solutions Consultant at Google

Digital Content & Commerce Associate at Google

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I project managed a global services rebrand for my team, working with offices around the world to seamlessly transition 700+ media and creative agency clients to a new service model based on rich media creative requirements. The project lasted around four months and involved constant global coordination, headcount forecasting, and drafting weekly rounds of communications to our internal and external stakeholders.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Talk to as many people as possible about business school and study well ahead for the GMAT. I sought out everyone I could find in my social and professional circles who had ever even thought about going to business school. I found the folks who had taken the GMAT right out of college but never applied; those who were in the process of applying; those who had already completed business school; and those currently getting their MBAs. I wanted to better understand the individual journeys and what made this feel like the right path for others as I considered my own next career step. On the GMAT front, invest in resources and time to prepare yourself. I spent an entire summer visiting my office on weekends to take practice tests and study (while taking a GMAT prep class during the week), and the effort paid off on test day.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I decided early on that I wanted to do a program in Europe, having studied abroad in London during undergrad. I was also interested in one-year programs, as I didn’t want to be out of the work force for too long. Cambridge checked those boxes, and on top of that I was completely blown away by the college vibe, colourful business school, and down-to-earth students when I visited for my interview day. The traditional Cambridge experience as a whole – being part of a College, the formal dinners, and activities like rowing – coupled with the top-ranked business school was too unique a life opportunity to pass up.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? I come from a background in tech customer service and digital marketing client services, where I’ve worked to better understand and educate the users of my company’s products. My dream role would involve using my attention to detail, storytelling skills, design interest, and customer-facing experience to develop and market innovative products and brands – whether consumer packaged goods, health & fitness products, or entertainment services – that enhance peoples’ lives.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? I hope that my peers will consider me generous, as I want to help some of my fellow MBAs figure out their career paths by lending insights about my own background in tech. Overall, I’d like for them to think of me as a reliable friend and teammate – someone who was always willing to lend a hand, who stepped up to the challenges of the program, who experimented, and who got out of her comfort zone.