Morgan Bedan

Indiana University, Kelley School of Business

“I approach life and work with an even keel, practical outlook, and enthusiasm for service.”

Hometown: Grosse Pointe Park, MI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I played softball in college and hit a home run in my first collegiate at-bat.

Undergraduate School and Major: Saint Mary’s College (Notre Dame, IN); major – Political Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: The White House Office of Intergovernmental Affairs, Associate Director

In the second half of the year, you will be completing an Academy devoted to areas like Marketing, Finance, Operations, Digital Enterprises and more. Which Academy interests you the most and why? The Consulting Academy – I love problem-solving, long-term planning, and working to mitigate risks. I hope to parlay my experience at the state and federal levels of government into a career that continues to focus on service and solving problems.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the school’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The emphasis on personal development and experiential learning at Kelley. I was also drawn to the smaller class sizes– I did not want to be just another number. From the moment I was admitted to Kelley, students, staff and alumni reached out to congratulate me. I felt so welcome and invested in from the start.

What quality best describes your MBA classmates and why? Eager – everyone is very eager to get to know each other, to learn, and to be together in Bloomington. It is exciting to be a part of this group!

What club or activity excites you most at this school? I hope to join the Kelley Women Association of MBAs. I am eager to work with and learn from empowering women from a variety of backgrounds.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Excelling and making order in environments that are ever-evolving and chaotic. I worked through two of the greatest public health crises of my lifetime – the Flint water crisis and the Coronavirus – and was able to learn so much about being adaptable and working under pressure. I have found great value in being able to remain calm and objective under pressure.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I want to add concrete business acumen, leadership skills, and core concepts to accelerate my abilities to another level.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? The University of Michigan and Michigan State University.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? Why did you apply so late?

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I did a lot of research on school culture and spoke to alumni from each school. The academics of the schools I applied to were all within the same range so it came down to the culture.

What was your defining moment and how did it prepare you for business school? While not just one moment, my last six months at the White House working with state and local governments to triage the challenges and uncertainty of the impacts of the Coronavirus was pivotal. My whole career has involved some level of crisis management, but this was exponentially more difficult as each city and state was experiencing varying challenges related to COVID-19 at the same time. What that experience did prepare me for is a collaboration with leaders of diverse backgrounds, to be adaptable and to be resilient.

What is your favorite company and what could business students learn from them? General Motors. I’m from Metro Detroit, I had to! GM has certainly encountered hurdles in recent years, but I admire the company’s resilience, adaptability, commitment to innovation, and technologies of the future. CEO Mary Barra has long been a role model of mine – she has been very forward-thinking with respect to racial and gender equity and has also invested a great deal in Metro Detroit.

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