Lauren Whyte 

Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business

“Former data scientist turned pro volleyball player. Ice, rock, and mountain climber. Lover of burpees.”

Hometown: Cleveland, OH, U.S.

Fun Fact About Yourself: Once, while vacationing in Cuba, I was apprehended by Cuban border police and thought to be a spy. It was a misunderstanding and I was released. I promise I am not a spy. And yes, I realize that this is exactly what a spy would say.

Undergraduate School and Major: George Washington University, Mathematics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Professional Volleyball Player at TSV Hartberg, Austria

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: After my first season playing volleyball professionally, I undertook the risky decision to fire my agent when he was not working hard for me and to form my own agency to represent myself. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the new responsibilities of creating my own brand, designing a social media presence, and negotiating contracts. Through persistence I learned to stay afloat in the ambiguous world of entrepreneurship. With each of the successive three contracts I secured, I received an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment. More importantly, creating my own agency gave me the strength to weather the fear and uncertainty that comes with forging your own path. As I focus on my long-term goal of forming my own sports analytics consultancy, I will do so with more of the confidence of someone who has been there before.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? As cliché as it may sound, it is the “Team Fuqua” spirit of collaboration, respect for others, and energy for life that I find to be most embodied in each of my classmates. Simply put, positivity and compassion run rampant throughout the student body as people here genuinely care about each other. Moreover, I feel that people come to Duke not simply to experience these values, but to seek to contribute to them in their own unique way.

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? The culture of a program was a primary factor for me as I considered the spectrum of top business schools. I sought a supportive and collaborative culture where I would be OK—better yet, encouraged—to fail. When I arrived on Duke’s campus for Blue Devil Weekend in February, it immediately felt comfortable, like coming home. I was overcome by this interesting dynamic in which the people I met were so different from me in terms of background and experience, but so similar in their values and what they wanted in a program. Fuqua’s culture is so unique, and I would be willing to bet that it’s not easily replicated in most other MBA programs.

The MBA program is renowned for its “Team Fuqua” culture, which is predicated on six paired principles: Authentic Engagement, Supportive Ambition, Collective Diversity, Impactful Stewardship, Loyal Community, and Uncompromising Integrity. Which of these resonates most with you – and what does that principle demand of you as a Fuqua MBA?  The paired principle that most resonates with me is Supportive Ambition. A primary motivation for my decision to apply to business schools was to use my two years to become a better version of myself. To these ends, I sought to surround myself with others similarly committed to self-improvement—both in and out of the boardroom. Everyone at Fuqua—from my classmates to the faculty to Dean Bill Boulding himself—supports the risk-taking and periodic failure that comes with self-exploration and a personal commitment to being the best version of yourself.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school?  Given my passion for sports and background in analytics, my eventual career goals are to develop quantitative approaches to managing the challenges of sports marketing. Consequently, I am really looking forward to Fuqua’s wealth of decision science courses and other quantitative marketing offerings. By pairing this with the opportunities of the Media, Entertainment, and Sports Club (Go Duke!), I hope to develop myself as a specialist in the application of data analytics to sports management.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? The most challenging question that I was asked during the admissions process was, “What would you do if you don’t get into business school this year?” Given that I really see the MBA experience as essential to the career change, I seek to make, my answer would be to return to the workforce and reapply in another year. But the question caught me off-guard, and made me sweat!

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? After four years of playing volleyball professionally, my career was coming to an end. More relevantly, I was developing a thirst not just for playing sports, but for managing it. I have returned to business school to pursue a career in sports management, and in particular, leveraging data and analytics to enhance the fan experience. This kind of career change demanded the accelerated, integrative experience of an MBA program, and so I plan to be very busy over the next two years.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Stanford, Kellogg, Anderson, McCombs

How did you determine your fit at various schools? As I mentioned above, culture was my number one factor when considering various schools. I pursued programs that were team-oriented and where students were highly supportive of each other. My program also needed strong academics, an active alumni network, and an excellent career team. As I was extended various invitations for interviews, I made sure to visit the school in person to interact with current students and get a genuine feel for the environment. And, of course, I designed a proprietary weighted-factor model in Excel to analyze my choices and spit out which school I was best fit for (which was Fuqua). In spite of my model, it ultimately came down to the feelings I received as I walked through the halls at each school. Those feelings led me Fuqua. So, you see, it really was a decision of both heart and mind.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? As an avid mountaineer, I have climbed peaks on four continents. In 2018, as I was four hours into a complicated summit push of the Matterhorn in Switzerland, I was faced with the decision on whether to abandon the climb and descend or to attack the fear and uncertainty I felt by continuing upward. Though it seems trivial, my decision to push on to the summit marked an emotional shift in the way I would approach subsequent challenges. As Dean Boulding says, if there is no growth in the comfort zone, there is no comfort in the growth zone. Leaders in business and in the community face this each day and unrelentingly make the courageous decision to continue—a decision that I hope now comes to me a little easier than before.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? As mentioned above, after Fuqua I intend to join a professional sports organization in a marketing analytics capacity, leveraging data and quantitative modeling to derive consumer insights and inform marketing strategy. After 7 to 10 years, I hope to branch off and form a sports solutions consultancy that advocates using data-driven decisions to attack sports management challenges. From evaluating pricing decisions to analyzing marketing effectiveness, I hope to encourage this approach in a range of sports teams, from minor league baseball clubs to collegiate athletic departments to NBA championship teams.