Meet UCLA Anderson’s MBA Class of 2019

Esther  Njuguna 

UCLA,  Anderson  School of Management 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: A passionate, genuinely curious, optimist.

Hometown: Nairobi, Kenya

Fun Fact About Yourself: I learned how to fly a plane before I could drive a car

Undergraduate School and Major: Averett University – Mathematics & Aviation Business; MIT – Master of Science in Transportation

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Senior Consultant, Booz Allen Hamilton

Specialist, U.S. Army

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest professional accomplishment has been working with highly intelligent aviation professionals in advising key government bodies on policies regarding aviation in the US. The skills and knowledge I have gained from my experiences have been extremely valuable.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?  Once you identify business school as a sure track you want to pursue, start preparing early. The best essays call for a lot of introspection and this takes time; give yourself ample time to prepare for the GMAT and for your recommenders to write your references. For the GMAT, it’s crucial that you take (several) practice tests; I found that this enabled me to prepare for the time constraint associated with the exam and increased my efficiency at problem solving.

What was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you?  I was initially drawn to Anderson by the Parker Career Management Center’s strong reputation – I felt that it was very important for me to be able to leverage and articulate my skills in order to transition into my dream career, and Parker’s dedicated advisors would be instrumental in this.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I hope to transition into a career in management consulting; I enjoy problem-solving and collaborating with others to identify creative solutions to various challenges, and hope that at the end of my first year, I’ll be looking forward to a summer internship at a consulting firm.