Meet Queen’s University’s Smith MBA Class Of 2021

Virginie Bellec

Smith School of Business, Queen’s University

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: A polymath forever learning, a perfectionist who loves a good riddle, a fun-loving dreamer, and a passionate list-maker.

Hometown: Rennes, Brittany, France

Fun Fact About Yourself: If I could have a super-power, I’d want to have absolute knowledge. Surely, the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything cannot really be 42. And even if it was, I would want to know why.

Undergraduate School and Major: Finance, International Business and Business Administration at Rider University

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Exchanges and Market Data Analyst at Bloomberg LP

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest career accomplishment so far would be the confidence and resilience I’ve built throughout the last few years. This will give me the strength to accomplish whatever I set my mind to, even when everything seems to go in the opposite direction. Such a feat wouldn’t have been possible without the people I’ve met along the way who entrusted me with managing the EMEA side of an international technical multi-million dollar project.

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 was the program’s emphasis on the individual as much as on the team. For me, this makes the Smith MBA really complete. The first semester is team-based. While you learn to work better in a team of people as different from each other as possible, you also learn plenty about yourself as you put yourself out there. This balances out well with a second semester that is more focused on the student’s career expectations and preparations. It’s a balanced process. And the fact that the program also offers coaches to help both the teams and each student individually clearly shows that the students’ personal growth really matters; it’s not just about the amount of new technical knowledge accumulated.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Definitely the Women in Leadership Club (WIL). And the Consulting Club. And the Finance Club. If it were up to me, I’d be everywhere. But WIL stays my priority.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? The most challenging question was the video question on what was the biggest challenge I had faced in life and how it changed me. I don’t think I ever had any incredible hardships to overcome in my life, thankfully. However, this made it tough to find an answer in less than a minute. So instead, I tried to think about it the other way around: what was the most uncomfortable event in my life that had a significant impact on me and forced a shift in my personality. And there I had it.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? A need for new challenges, a desire to transition towards a career more suited to my capabilities and ambitions, and a thirst for more in-depth theoretical and technical knowledge.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? To be honest, none. I usually know what I want and why I want this rather than that. I obviously had Plans B and C in mind, but I wanted to see how far I could go with Plan A first. Time not being a constraint for me, I find this strategy more effective in terms of risks vs. rewards.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? The factors I prioritized while doing my research were the size of the class, the programs offered, the place of women in the programs and the school, and the “cost vs. expected salary after graduation” comparison. However, what really weighed in my decision to apply to the Smith Full-time MBA was the relatively small size of the class compared to the other MBAs and the emphasis this puts on each student’s personal growth, as much as an individual and as a member of a team. The second was the possibility to do an MBA/Master’s in Management in AI (MMAI) double degree consecutively, coupled with the opportunity to specialize in both consulting and digital transformation.

I’m a list person, so my system here was quite simple: I listed all my constraints, sorted them out in terms of priority and importance in an Excel spreadsheet, and started looking at all the universities out there that would fit my requirements. I filled in a table with all the information of each university to have a global view of the situation, and then picked the one with the highest “score.” I love to be very methodical; that way I make sure I’m not leaving any important information out. Concerning the culture, I think speaking with alumni and admin staff really did the trick. For this, I just went with the feeling. With my career goals, being quite demanding in both managerial and technical knowledge, I needed a school that could offer me the AI education I need to complement an MBA. That’s where Smith really stood out from the crowd.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? My defining moment was living abroad while studying at Rider University. Actually, it was defining encounters rather than defining moments; the people I met there who shaped me, through the influence they had on me, on my way of comprehending life and myself. They believed in me and encouraged me at a time when I wouldn’t do it for myself. I wouldn’t be where I am today, as confident and determined as I can be if I hadn’t met them then. It is very true when we say that the people you surround yourself with define who you are.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? In 10 years, I see myself as a Chief Strategy Officer who uses the potential of AI analytics and AI technology to advise and help small firms with positive-impact ideas to develop and achieve their goals quickly and efficiently. And if I cannot find such a firm in 10 years, I will build it myself. I’m also aiming to have several revenue streams, broad personal investments, and want to be able to say that I do my job because I love it, not because I need it to survive financially. In other terms, I’m aiming to achieve financial independence within the next 10 years in order to be able to enjoy my family in the next 20 without having to sacrifice career and revenue.

Questions about this article? Email us or leave a comment below.