Matt Totlis

Arizona State University, W. P. Carey School of Business

“History buff, math nerd, and education advocate.”

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was taking your grandpa’s style before Macklemore made it cool.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Arizona, Mathematics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Prosper Marketplace, Business Data Analyst

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Being appointed to the board of directors for Literacy Volunteers of Maricopa County

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Not every business school encourages civic responsibility. In addition to being brilliant, all my classmates are dedicated to leaving the world better than they found it.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Top 30 ranking was persuasive, but W. P. Carey’s motto that “Business is personal” seemed to be a unique academic recognition that good business relies on good relationships, and good business education should emphasize developing those skills.

Arizona State is renowned for its innovation. How have you seen innovation in the philosophy, curriculum, or resources at W. P. Carey?  In addition to core content, W. P. Carey regularly introduces experimental courses that explore the cutting-edge problems businesses are working to solve. Classes that prove successful become part of the standard course offerings.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? “How do you make business personal in your everyday life?” I was prepared for all the expected questions, but this one caught me off guard. To me, being asked about relationship-building during the interview process made it clear the “Business is personal” was more than a motto but would be a guiding principle throughout my education.

How did you determine which business schools best fit you? School ranking, attendance costs, and program differentiation mattered most. W. P. Carey checked all of my boxes. Beyond that, I was impressed by its Executive Mentor Program that brought retired executives from all over the world to help students learn from the experiences of those who have already had powerful careers; the interdisciplinary learning labs that assign students to community partners to solve real-world problems; and the school’s willingness to test new classes every term as a way of staying relevant in a changing business world.