Jasmin Hines

University of North Carolina, Kenan-Flagler Business School

“A tenacious woman who is motivated by a challenge, yet relationship-oriented and easy-going.”

Hometown: Chesapeake, Virginia

Fun fact about yourself: I traveled to three African countries within a two-week period. Experience of a lifetime.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Howard University, Bachelor of Arts, Communication

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? KIPP DC, Second Grade Lead Teacher (Teach for America Alumna – Greater New Orleans 2014 Corps)

Where did you intern during the summer of 2019? Bank of America, Charlotte, North Carolina, HR Development Program Associate

Where will you be working after graduation? Accenture – Strategy Consultant

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Consortium for Graduate Students in Management – Vice President
• Non-Profit Board of Consultants – Consultant for Global Scholars Academy
• Carolina Women in Business – Conference Planning Team
• Alliance of Minority Business Students – VP of Admissions

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I’m most proud of the work I’ve been able to do through the Nonprofit Board Consultants Program. I served as a consultant for Global Scholars Academy (GSA), a public charter school in Durham, North Carolina. Two classmates and I analyzed their fundraising strategy and provided recommendations to make fundraising more sustainable.

We also did several ad-hoc projects for them, including setting up a volunteer program, bringing in MBAs to work with students at GSA. The project that I’m most proud of was the Holiday Toy Drive that I organized for over 75 students at GSA. Many students come from low-income households, so it was rewarding to be able to gift these students with something special for the holidays. The smiles on their faces were so worth all the work we put in to make it happen. As a former educator, working with GSA was a great experience that gave me the chance to see education from a different angle.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? As a teacher, your job is to make sure that your students are constantly growing. When working in schools that serve students from disadvantaged backgrounds, the task can be even more difficult. While teaching as a Teach for America corps member in New Orleans, I led my students to exceed the goals set for them. I utilized math assessment data to differentiate instruction, resulting in every student in my math group surpassing growth goals on standardized testing.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor was Professor Andrei Goncalves. Mod I Finance was definitely not my favorite subject. However, I wanted to go into Mod 2 with a more positive outlook for the second round of finance. Professor Goncalves made that super easy. He really broke down finance for me and his teaching style fit so well with what I needed. His course improved my confidence in finance overall.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Kenan-Flagler because of the collaborative nature of the program. Many schools often highlight this aspect of their program, but Kenan-Flagler was a place where I saw this to be true. Whether you need support academically or you’re dealing with a personal issue, your classmates are always willing to lend a hand.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Be yourself! Kenan-Flagler has such a tight community, you want to make sure that this is a community fit for you. Show your personality during the admissions process, let them know YOU, and don’t be afraid to share your story.

What is the biggest myth about your school? Kenan-Flagler has been known for being one of the “nice” MBA programs. Yes, the “Carolina Way” definitely thrives within the business school. However, we are also fierce debaters and competitors, too.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? One thing I would do differently is I would have gotten out of the business school more. It’s easy for us to get into a bubble while in business school. We forget that there is a huge campus and strong UNC culture to explore. I would spend more time networking with students from different programs and going to more UNC basketball games (Go Heels!).

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The classmate who I most admire is Jonathan Espitia Taveras. He literally opened up a restaurant and welcomed a newborn during business school. I still don’t know how he does it. The drive and tenacity that it takes to balance so many plates can motivate anyone to want to do more.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? One of my close friends from undergrad influenced me to apply to business school. She was in the process of applying and I was still trying to figure out what my next move would be. She showed me how flexible the MBA was and how it could make it easier for me to embark on a career switch. It was so helpful to be able to go through this process with her and super exciting for us both get accepted into our respective programs.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? Work abroad for a project, I would love to do a project in Ghana or Nigeria. I visited Ghana for the Year of Return, and there is so much opportunity there. Also, I’ve been wanting to learn graphic design for a while. I would love to take some courses in that area and add graphic design to my tool kit.

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? I would want my peers to remember me as someone who was determined to succeed and never let anything deter her.

Hobbies? Travel! I have traveled to nine countries while at Kenan-Flagler, and will travel to my tenth (Israel) next month. From South America to Africa, I’m always blown away when I get to see them with my own eyes. Of all the places I’ve gone, Argentina takes the trophy for the best food.

What made Jasmin such an invaluable member of the Class of 2020?

“Jasmin was a student in my second-year Communication for Developing Leaders course during fall 2019. This course is grounded in best practices for active listening, meeting management, feedback strategies, influence, consensus, and SOCIAL STYLE® (a behavioral communication profile). During the term, students leverage these principles as they engage in small workgroups, teleconference, and large boardroom meetings to learn about and refine their leadership communication style as they lead sideways and up.

While Jasmin started the course with a strong set of communication skills, I was impressed with her self-described attitude of being a “constant learner,” and I saw clear evidence of that attitude in the way that she pushed herself to try out new skills, learn from her classmates’ feedback, and lean into her strengths.

Jasmin exhibits a calm, assured, polished, confident communication style. In all meetings, she keenly observed what was happening around the boardroom table to better inform herself about the information richness of the meetings and the participants with the goal of moving meetings to better outcomes. Invariably, Jasmin inserted her voice at optimal times to share her insightful, well-informed perspectives. In particular, I was impressed during one consensus meeting with Jasmin’s diplomatic, yet firm, approach with a large group of individuals advocating for one solution to the issue at hand; she effectively drew on sound consensus principles to urge that group to offer due consideration to a solution that hadn’t yet been fully vetted. Hers wasn’t the loudest voice in the room, nor did she take up considerable air time –however, when Jasmin spoke, everyone at the table listened.”

Judy Tisdale
Clinical Professor of Management and Corporate Communication
Area Chair of Management and Corporate Communication

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