Ashley John

Rice University, Jesse H Jones Graduate School of Business

“Social justice advocate, avid connector, proud Houstonian, lover of dance, queso’s biggest fan.”

Hometown: Missouri City, Texas

Fun Fact About Yourself: I performed with my high school’s dance team on a torn ACL for a year because I couldn’t bear to give it up!

Undergraduate School and Major: Stanford University, Urban Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School of Houston, Alumni Coordinator

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest accomplishment thus far has been building an alumni support program for first-generation students from the ground up and guiding Cristo Rey Jesuit’s first two classes to college graduation.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? I would describe the classmates I’ve met so far as humble. In such a brief time, they have all accomplished amazing things both in their personal lives and in their careers, but they don’t make a big deal about it. I have classmates who already have advanced degrees, have started families of their own, and founded nonprofits, but they would never brag.

Aside from your classmates, 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? Rice Business’s small class size and intimate nature was what sold it for me. Rice University has an outstanding reputation, especially in Houston, and I knew the network would be invaluable. What I hadn’t expected was the high-touch that our MBA program is able to provide due to its smaller size. The strength of the Rice network paired with the individual attention and support I will receive as I prepare to transition careers gives me the best of both worlds — a small town experience in the nation’s fourth largest city.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I look forward to joining the Black Business Student Association (BBSA) and becoming a BBSA Admissions Rep. I believe  representation matters, and it’s essential for students of color to see faces that look like them in positions they aspire to. When I was applying, it was important for me to see black MBA students in leadership positions not only within black business associations, but in the greater school community. I would love to be an initial connection for prospective and incoming students.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career?  In undergrad, when I chose to major in urban studies and work in the nonprofit sector, I knew I would go to business school to develop technical skills to match the soft skills I learned through my major. When I began to research the application process, I learned that typically students get their MBAs after five years of work experience. As I progressed through my career in education, I began to understand why. Working in education and nonprofits, I honed my communication and relationship building skills, and I learned how to anticipate student needs and solve complex problems. However, after about four years, I got to the point where I was ready to analyze quantitative data and strategize on a larger scale, but I did not yet have the skills to master these projects. That’s when I knew it was time to apply to business school.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Financially, it was an easy decision for me, as any post-MBA role I accept will pay far more than I’d have made if I stayed on my previous career path. Moreover, as an educator, my role has been to invest in my students, and as I approach the big 3-0, I feel that it is now time to invest in myself — in my career and in my future — while I have the freedom to do so.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Stanford Graduate School of Business, The Wharton School, Duke’s Fuqua School of Business, NYU Stern School of Business, Georgetown University McDonough School of Business, and Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. 

How did you determine your fit at various schools? Location and culture were my top priorities in determining my fit in MBA programs. Being from Houston and attending undergrad in the Bay Area, ethnic diversity is important to me, and I wanted to attend an MBA program in a diverse urban area. I’m not a huge spreadsheet person (yet!), but as a Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) MBA Prep Fellow, I was able to utilize a school research spreadsheet which I used to document my school research and rank schools according to my criteria. To research culture, I visited six of the seven schools on my list prior to submitting my applications. Before, during, and after my visits, I spoke with current students and alumni about their experiences in their programs, which helped me learn what drives their cultures.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My mom died from sickle cell anemia a little over one month before my sixteenth birthday. Looking back on that time, I was really at a crossroads. My dad worked 15-hour days, and my sister had moved back to Austin to finish college. It was more or less up to me how I spent my time outside of school, and I had the opportunity to make some pretty bad choices and get myself into trouble. I am extremely grateful for good friends and their families who helped me to keep my faith in God and not give up. I pursued leadership positions in clubs at school, worked to get my driver’s license, and continued to immerse myself in my studies. Two years later, I was accepted to Stanford with a full need-based scholarship. To this day, making my mom proud motivates me to continue striving for excellence.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? After business school, I intend to transition into marketing in the tech industry. I initially went into education in the nonprofit sector because I enjoy helping students reach their goals. I love that the tech industry has a similar goal — to improve the way people live and work — and I am excited to utilize my skills in anticipating and meeting customer needs in a new, ever-changing environment.

Where do you see yourself in five years? In five years I see myself working as a marketing manager at a tech company in Texas or New York.