Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class of 2017

Simone Brathwaite 

Emory University, Goizueta Business School 

Hometown: Orlando, FL

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Florida, Marketing

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

• Operations Analyst, Lehman Brothers
• Operations Analyst, Barclay’s Capital
• Executive Assistant to CEO and President, Edelman
• Account Executive, Edelman
• Senior Account Executive, Edelman
• Account Supervisor, Edelman

Recalling your own experience, what advice do you have for applicants who are preparing for either the GMAT or the GRE? I advise applicants preparing for the GMAT or GRE to sign up for a prep course. I studied for the GMAT while working rather unpredictable hours in PR. However, deciding to sign up for an online course with Manhattan GMAT enabled me to gain a more systematic approach to studying, in which I’d take the online course one evening for three hours every week and use the other nights and weekends to complete assignments.

I’d also suggest doing as many practice exams as possible. I found that half of the challenge of the GMAT is becoming intimately familiar with how the test works and its time constraints. Gaining this familiarity will allow mental space on test day to truly dig into the problems instead of getting hung up on the process itself.

Based on your own selection process, what advice do you have for applicants who are trying to draw up a list of target schools to which to apply? First and foremost, decide what 2-3 attributes are most important to you in your search for schools and prioritize research around the schools that have those specific merits (For instance, a school’s ranking, class size and/or recruiting companies).

Then, visit your top targets. Early on in my own application process, a mentor told me that it’s imperative that I find a school that is a cultural fit. However, culture is not something you can simply quantify by perusing the school’s website. You can only truly get a sense of culture through visiting the campus and by talking to as many current students, alumni and staff as possible.

What advice do you have for applicants in actually applying to a school, writing essays, doing admission interviews, and getting recommenders to write letters on your behalf? I’m big on spreadsheets to organize my life – and I used a number of them to help me stay organized throughout the business school application process! Be sure to list the schools you’re applying to, their deadlines, and what you need for their applications. Then as you go through the process of applying, keep a list of what you completed and what still needs to be done.

It’s also imperative that you spend significant time crafting your story. Essays will prompt you to think about this – but you’ll find that it’s a necessary evil for every step of the process. Why business school? Why now? Why that particular school? Why you? Your ability to communicate the answers to these questions will lead potential recommenders to feel more comfortable with supporting you, help you craft stronger essays, and ultimately, effectively communicate to the admissions team why you’d be a great fit for their program.

Furthermore, I’d suggest turning to people in your network to proofread your essays. I love writing but I have a natural tendency to sound creatively colloquial in my work. While this helped sprinkle personality into my essays, feedback helped me set the tone of a professional conversation. Additionally, if you’re anything like me, your eyes start crossing after re-reading your work. Having others review your essays will help you catch basic errors and also help ensure you’ve adequately addressed the prompt.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? I was led to Emory’s Goizueta Business School because it was the only program that combined a top-notch business education, with an intimate learning environment, against the backdrop of a dynamic city (hello, HOTlanta!).

I always knew the education I’d receive at Goizueta would be world-class. The program is designed to prepare students for their internships through an approach of “Day One Readiness,” in which we complete all core classes by the end of our first semester and begin taking electives in spring of year one. The internship and job placement rates spoke to the benefits of this approach.

However, I was ever more enticed by Goizueta when I visited the campus last November for Inside Goizueta. During my time there, I became acutely aware of how faculty and staff regarded the students and vice a versa. It wasn’t rare for me to overhear professors addressing students by name and for students to greet their career coaches with a hug. There were authentic relationships between both groups – an obvious result of the smaller class sizes. Coming from a large undergraduate institution, this sort of academic setting was very attractive to me.

And finally, the opportunity to still enjoy the benefits of living in a global city like Atlanta while pursuing my MBA sealed the deal. Atlanta ranks third in Fortune 500 headquartered in the city; this will afford various networking opportunities for me while in school. Additionally, I knew that by living in Atlanta I wouldn’t have to give up the myriad of cultural activities that I had grown accustomed to having at my fingertips after living in NYC for seven years.

What would you ultimately like to achieve before you graduate? I would like to hone my professional confidence, which will be evidenced both in the classroom and through leadership positions on campus. I’d also like to gain significant marketing and entrepreneurial acumen to realize my post MBA career aspirations.

Lastly, I’d like to help promote Goizueta to MBA candidates. I’ve been on campus merely two weeks and I’ve already been blown away by the program, the staff and my fellow cohorts. There is already a sense of real community among us and I’m confident that this will lead to an unparalleled level of support during and after our time here. But why keep this sort of magic a secret? Serving as an ambassador will help attract the best candidates to our stellar program.