Karla Berberich

The Ohio State University, Fisher College of Business

“East coast transplant and crab cake enthusiast starting a new life in OH-IO.”

Hometown: Silver Spring, MD

Fun fact about yourself: I started my career as a real-life Kenneth the Page (from the TV series 30 Rock)

Undergraduate School and Degree: Ithaca College, B.S. Television-Radio

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Lifetime Television, A+E Networks

Where did you intern during the summer of 2019? The Wendy’s Company in Dublin, Ohio

Where will you be working after graduation? Wendy’s, as an Associate Brand Manager

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• VP Events & Community Engagement, Fisher Graduate Women in Business
• VP Events, Fisher Wine & Spirits Club
• Fisher Board Fellow, A Kid Again
• Graduate Assistant, Office of Career Management

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? During my MBA, I identified a new industry/career path in food and beverage that leverages my favorite parts of working in television and entertainment — most notably the emotional engagement with the consumer.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? I successfully launched The Bar at A+E Network, an extracurricular assignment beyond the scope of my Programming & Acquisitions role that brought employees from across the company together to foster creativity and cross-department collaboration.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? John Schaffner, who found a way to merge strategic frameworks with leadership, team and personal development in a way that felt both highly applicable, introspective and transformative.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? The revival of the Fisher Wine & Spirits Club, which successfully leverages the close connections and friendships of the Fisher MBA with the vibrant Columbus small business community.

Why did you choose this business school? The opportunity to form strong, close relationships within the smaller Fisher community while accessing all that the great ecosystem of OSU and Columbus had to offer.

What is your best advice to an applicant hoping to get into your school’s MBA program? Think about the value you bring to your classmates as an individual. Many people in business school come from “untraditional” backgrounds. This shouldn’t be a caveat or something to overcome — this is actually your biggest strength.

What is the biggest myth about your school? As a student from outside Ohio, I was worried I wouldn’t fit in, but I found there was a reason so many of my classmates wanted to “come home” for business school. Columbus is a fantastic place to build a career and network, and the people are truly what make the community.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have spent less time worrying the summer before school about all of the things I “lacked” because of my career in TV. Fisher wanted me to succeed and there were plenty of resources to aid in that. Most important were my peers and classmates who consistently impressed me with their genuine desire to help others grow and flourish.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Ting Fan Chang. Ting Fan was on my core team and is easily the hardest-working and most positive person I have ever met. As a non-native English speaker, Ting Fan showed what it really means to work outside your comfort zone. She will put in the extra work to learn and understand — regardless of the grade or assignment. Beyond that, she is a caring and supportive teammate whom I consider a friend and am grateful to have crossed paths with her in this experience.

Who most influenced your decision to pursue business in college? My 5-year boss and mentor at Lifetime, Meghan Hooper White. From conversations with Meghan I came to understand my strengths and career passions beyond the limitations of my current role and industry. From our first conversation about an MBA, Meghan told me I would love learning in this way — and she was right. Together we worked to find the best version of an MBA for me, even if that meant leaving our team and starting something completely new. From Meghan, I also saw how to put development and employee success (and happiness) first as a boss and this has formed my own leadership style and philosophy.

What are the two items on your professional bucket list?

1. To work on a brand with undeniable pride and enthusiasm
2. To foster the growth of talented members on my own team (to ideally work for one of them someday) 

In one sentence, how would you like your peers to remember you? I hope to be remembered as someone with ambition and a strong work ethic who they respected and considered a friend.

Hobbies? Avid reader, who also enjoys keeping up with the ever-evolving world of entertainment (from the most premium films to the best guilty pleasures of reality TV)

What made Karla such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2020? “Karla is a fantastic student and a pleasure to have in class. Her academic record rivals the best of Fisher’s alumni, which is especially notable given that Karla’s background is not in business. With that said, her success goes far beyond just the classroom. She has a relentless work ethic, a drive to challenge herself, a strong leadership acumen, and consistently offers thoughtful solutions. In her work with the Fisher Office of Career Management, Karla has taken on multiple projects and has contributed substantive ideas to important initiatives and programs.  She has been an asset to the 2020 class.”

Roger Bailey
FTMBA Co-director

DON’T MISS: THE ENTIRE 2020 MBAS TO WATCH or THE BEST & BRIGHTEST MBAS OF 2020