Meet Cambridge’s MBA Class Of 2018

Clare Bridget Dussman  

Cambridge Judge Business School  

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Nerd who likes success – defining it and delivering it with outstanding teams.

Hometown: Arlington Heights, IL (suburban Chicagoland) 

Fun Fact About Yourself: The best thing I have ever eaten was Pear Ravioli at Rosa Angelis in Chicago, which unfortunately closed.

Undergraduate School and Major: Missouri School of Journalism, University of Missouri

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation: The Marketing Arm (an Omnicom owned advertising agency.) I started in Dallas as a Junior Account Manager and after 4+ years I ended as a Senior Manager in their NYC office. 

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  I worked on a mind-blowingly good team that won a 2M social media pitch that included one of the biggest brands on Twitter. We were an under-resourced, uninvited underdog, and we won.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants?  Look beyond the business school when making your decision. It’s easy to get caught up in GMATs and rankings, but it’s more important to think about the communities you’re joining. Attending CJBS gave me the chance to move to the UK, join the community of Oxbridge students, participate in the oldest debating society in the world (the Cambridge Union), and dine with fellows of Sidney Sussex College. It’s all a cumulative experience, the MBA is just your degree but the communities will exponentially outweigh the value you graduate with.

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 started by looking at rankings and cost, but I think that was short-sighted. Rankings and cost were important to me from a return mindset, but in truth I also felt nervous owning the decision factors myself. In my case it worked out, but I wouldn’t recommend that approach to students applying now.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school?  I want to work in business strategy for digital companies or non-digital companies trying to become more digitally savvy. This might look like digital consulting or in-house at a tech company, I’m mostly open to the right opportunity, where I can make a true difference.

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