Molly Jo Scott

UC Davis Graduate School of Management

“I’m a go-getter who doesn’t shy away from big challenges. I am shamelessly authentic.”

Hometown: Davis, CA, USA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve traveled internationally to 13 countries thanks to my career in music. I’d love to work internationally.

Undergraduate School and Major: Drake University, Bachelor of Music; Carnegie Mellon University, Master of Music.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: North Carolina State University. Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Department of English.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA curriculum or activities that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Industry Immersion classes were a huge draw for me. Having the opportunity to do deep dives into industries like food and agriculture, biotech, and sustainable energy allows for a career switcher like myself to get started in a target industry.

UC Davis has a strong emphasis on critical thinking and ethical business practices throughout the curriculum—right from the start in orientation.

What quality best describes your MBA classmates and why? The students in this program are a diverse crew of earnest allies. The program fosters team effort. We are invested in one another’s growth and success.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: It was an honor to perform for three summers under the conductor Lorin Maazel at his opera festival in Castleton, Virginia. I rotated through a variety of roles within the oboe section those three years, but playing principal oboist for a production of Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West was my biggest accomplishment. The music was incredibly challenging. To execute nightly concerts under immense pressure was a great exercise in collaborative leadership within the oboe section and across the orchestra, with beautiful results.

What has been the biggest surprise in your first three months of business school? What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I think I understand why so many classical musicians in MBA programs go into finance. It resonates with music theory, counterpoint, it’s spatial math! A musician’s eye for detail while holding contextual understanding helps it all balance. It’s not my path, but I surprised myself.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? UNC Kenan-Flagler; Duke University; UVA Darden.

What do you see yourself doing ten years from now? In 2030 I will be building long-term strategies for global marketing campaigns at a major CPG company. I want to merge my previous experience in arts and education with the business skills from my MBA as a board member at a social justice non-profit. It is important to me to build lasting and sustainable strategies to benefit the community where I reside. Either that, or I will have started my own business.

DON’T MISS: Meet The UC Davis Graduate School of Management MBA Class of 2022