Rachael O’Neill

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

“A driven young female striving to create a positive impact on the Canadian healthcare system.”

Hometown:  Halifax, Nova Scotia

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have an interest in historical artifacts. I own a coin collection that I started as a child and have coins dating back to the 1800’s.

Undergraduate School and Major: Dalhousie University, Bachelor of Health Science in Respiratory Therapy

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Nova Scotia Health Authority – Registered Respiratory Therapist

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: The biggest accomplishment in my career so far is my acceptance into Smith School of Business and being chosen for the Sobey Scholarship. Being accepted into the Smith MBA program with a scholarship from the Sobey family is an incredible honor and reinforces the hard work I have done to get to this point in my career. This being said, I could not have gotten to this point without the motivation from previous accomplishments such as passing my licensing exam to become a Registered Respiratory Therapist, being part of a clinical research trial, and accepting my first full-time job in the healthcare field.

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 key factor that led me to choose the Smith MBA program was the immense amount of support systems and resources available from day one. From the moment I inquired about applying, I was assigned an application advisor who was extremely helpful and helped me make valuable connections before I was even officially accepted into Smith. It was obvious to me that the people working for Smith take pride in what they do and are proud to represent their school. This is important to me because while I value the formal education aspect of a program, building a sense of community as Smith does is what makes a school unique and enhances the student experience.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am hoping to join the MBA Student Council in business school. I have an interest in planning and quality improvement and I think joining the council would be a great way to immerse myself in this setting and create a positive experience for my classmates. I am also interested in the Women in Leadership Club, as it would be a great way to connect with other women in business who have similar goals.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? The most challenging question I was asked during the admission process was: “What has been your greatest life challenge so far and what did you learn from it?”. I felt this was challenging because I have learned a lot from some of life’s challenges, so it was hard to choose the one I felt impacted me the greatest.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? Working on the front lines of healthcare for the last two-and-a half years has allowed me to grow as a leader and fuel my passion for creating positive change in our healthcare system. After various experiences in research, teaching, and departmental decision-making, I am determined to continue to create this positive change but on a larger scale. I am pursuing an MBA so I can combine my hands-on clinical experience with a formal business education.  Doing an MBA early in my career will provide me with the teamwork skills, personal growth, and formal knowledge needed to help me reach this next step of my career.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Other programs I looked into were the McMaster University and Dalhousie University MBA programs.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I determined my fit at various schools by prioritizing what was most important to me, which was program delivery and the resources available to help me maximize my potential. I also factored in my communications with school representatives and which schools I felt like I fit best with. For the Smith School of Business, I chatted with alumni to get a sense of the school culture and community. All of the alumni I connected with spoke highly of Smith and the abundance of resources available to students.  I knew from connecting with alumni and school representatives that Smith could help me get to where I wanted to be and achieve my future career goals.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment happened during my first clinical rotation as a respiratory therapy student. I recall the feeling of helping one of my first patients breathe easier. It not only pushed me to want to continue helping others and create positive change but drove my curiosity to learn more about the field I was in. This moment shaped who I am by giving me the drive to push myself to seek out all the opportunities that I can to better myself and become the best version of myself I can be.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? In terms of my career, in ten years I see myself working for a healthcare organization in a leadership or managerial role. I am undecided on whether I want to pursue public or private healthcare, but I can see myself working for a private firm doing consulting or a government organization working on quality improvement initiatives. I also want to continue to pursue my interest in research and be part of a scientific research publication. In terms of myself, I hope I to experience a lot of personal growth and be in the midst raising a family while maintaining a successful career.