Sara Chamberlain

Georgia Institute of Technology’s Scheller College of Business

“Energetic and inquisitive individual passionate about understanding people and data.”

Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia

Fun Facts About Yourself: In my free time I enjoy taking modern dance classes.

• Coffee is mandatory at the start of my day.
• I don’t like to sit idle. If I’m not working, I’m attending a class, indoor cycling, or doing something else to challenge myself.
•  I have a theatrical side, so I’m always eager to talk about musicals.

Undergraduate School and Major: The University of Georgia, double major in Marketing and Theatre

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: North Highland, Senior Associate (Sparks Grove Division)

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I’ve been very proud of being able to adapt to extremely different types of projects in my professional career, whether that was research, social media, project management, or working with development teams. I know this adaptability will be crucial as I move through the MBA program and into my post-MBA career.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? People-oriented – everyone is extremely collaborative, supportive, friendly, and warm.

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 program places a lot of emphasis on being a collaborative and supportive program to help your entire class be successful rather than prioritizing personal interests over the group.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? Women in Business

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? During the application process, we were asked to supply 10 facts about ourselves to help others get to know us. It was quite difficult to narrow down to 10 bullet points that would help define me for my classmates.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I had gained enough work experience in a wide range of industries to begin to appreciate the types of projects that I found most intriguing, and I knew taking the time out of work to pursue my MBA full-time would be much easier at this point in my career.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? None – I knew Scheller was right for me.

What made you select Scheller? I knew that Georgia Tech would be able to offer me a very different learning experience from my undergraduate studies in marketing and theatre. I also appreciated the physical location of the college in the heart of Atlanta in Tech Square near so much corporate innovation activity.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I wanted something that would present a very different educational experience than what I had already had, and I wanted something that would allow me to experience new areas that I may not have experienced yet professionally. The emphasis on collaboration and supporting each other at Georgia Tech was very much in line with how I would like to experience business school.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I was involved in theatre from childhood into my early career. I came away with different perspectives as a performer, choreographer, technical crew member, and part of the team running the business. These experiences taught me a lot about understanding and working with people. Through theatre, I learned a lot about how to present myself and my stories to be as clear as possible. The realities of facing firm performance deadlines certainly helped me see just how much a well-coordinated team can accomplish in short periods of time. I’ve learned a lot about moving forward when things don’t go smoothly, such as supporting my fellow actors onstage when lines are forgotten or when props break during a show. As a choreographer, I learned a lot about gaining people’s trust as a leader, tailoring my plans to fit the strengths of a team, and gauging where I can help my team build new strengths.

Where do you see yourself in ten years? I see myself in a leadership position helping drive important business decisions while elevating my team to be the best they can be.