Meet UNC’s MBA Class Of 2019

Mariana Thomas 

University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less:  Driven by my desire to see what I am capable of

Hometown: Abuja, Nigeria

Fun Fact About Yourself: I know way too much about what is happening in Elmo’s life on Sesame Street thanks to my 2-year old daughter!

Undergraduate School and Major:  George Mason University, Government and International Politics.

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: 

KFSN-TV (Disney Owned and Operated), TV News Reporter

KOLO-TV (ABC Affiliated), TV News Reporter

KPIX-TV (CBS Owned and Operated), News Writer

News 14 Carolina (Time Warner Owned), Video Journalist/Producer

WRAL-TV, Documentary Researcher

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am an Emmy Award winner. I won the award for my on-air reporting of a breaking news event that impacted people in Central California.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Ask tough questions. Reach out to current students and alumni to find out as much as possible about various schools. Their input can give you a more realistic perspective about whether a certain program is the right fit for you.

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? Any top school will give you a world-class and rigorous education. However, I wanted to be a part of a program with a smaller class size where there’s a huge emphasis on leadership skills and easier access to professors. Tar Heels also excel at being collaborative and supporting one another, so it’s a great environment to learn and to push yourself out of your comfort zone.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  I would love to master what we learn in the classroom in a way that I can easily apply those concepts to my summer internship and career moving forward.

Related Stories In Our Meet The Class of 2019 Series: 

The Pioneering MBAs In The Class of 2019

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business

Vanderbilt University’s Owen School of Management

London Business School

University of Southern California’s Marshall School of Business

Notre Dame University Mendoza College of Business

UC-Berkeley’s Haas School of Business

New York University Stern School of Business

University of Texas-Austin McCombs School of Business

University of Michigan Ross School of Business

Rice University’s Jones Graduate School of Business

MIT Sloan School of Management

University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business

University of Chicago Booth School of Business

Columbia Business School

INSEAD

Yale School of Management

University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business

Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management

UCLA Anderson School of Management

HEC Paris     

Emory University’s Goizueta Business School

Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business

Harvard Business School

Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business

University of Washington’s Foster School of Business

University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management

University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flager Business School

     

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