Karen Meyer

Rice University, Jesse H Jones Graduate School of Business

“A Midwesterner full of wanderlust and a passion for food and helping people.”

Hometown: Saline, Michigan

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love ballet! I was a ballet dancer for 10 years in grade school. To this day I still go to at least one professional ballet performance per year.

Undergraduate School and Major: Michigan State University; Anthropology

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Population Services International; Associate Manager, New Business Development

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Bringing improved sanitation facilities to 44 families in rural Peru as a Peace Corps volunteer.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Humble and passionate

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? Houston! It a large and growing city with lots of opportunity to interact with large and growing businesses. I prefer to be in a big city and am excited to learn about this dynamic city.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school?: Consulting Club, Global Business Club, Net Impact, Strategy Club, and the Women’s Energy Network.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I love working (!) and put off grad school for a long time to gain experience. I have been fortunate to have some amazing positions, but knew I would need to get an advanced degree to launch my career to a higher level. I decided an MBA would give me the tools I need to become leader in a business or organization and elevate me to the executive level.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? Through lots of research! I looked at people in positions I aspire to be in and their career paths; many of them have an MBA. I then looked at career placement and ROI statistics for my top school choices to see what would be feasible.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Duke, UC Berkeley, Georgetown

How did you determine your fit at various schools? My list of school considerations was based on career placement, ROI, reputation, and conversations with MANY friends and alumni. The statistics at all the schools I was considering were pretty similar, so I knew it would come down to fit and a gut feeling. I visited several schools and really liked them all. Rice was not on my original list of schools, but I kept hearing and reading more about it. After my visit, I kept thinking about Rice more-and-more and how much I liked the students, staff, and alumni I spoke with and the vibe it had. When I got the call that I’d been accepted, I knew immediately that it was the right choice.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? The one-year mark (midway) through my Peace Corps service. It was a tough first year and I was full of self-doubt about what I was doing and why I was there. Luckily, it aligned perfectly with a huge project I was about to undertake. The completion and success of that project showed me that I liked project management, made me realize how driven I am, and gave me confidence as a leader. I think back to that moment frequently and am so thankful that I had the strong will and strong support to stick with it.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? Pursue a career in consulting

Where do you see yourself in five years? Leading teams to solve problems for large companies.