Meet Georgia Tech Scheller’s MBA Class Of 2023

P&Q: In recent years, there have been several areas that have gained increased prominence in business school programming, including STEM, analytics, artificial intelligence, and digital disruption. How does your full-time MBA program integrate these concepts across its curriculum?

KL: “Scheller has established a Business Analytics concentration. Students acquire the skills to manage data analytics programs, interface with data scientists, frame the right questions, obtain meaningful insights, and translate those insights into business actions. The Business Analytics concentration includes a practicum project where interdisciplinary teams work with real data for corporate sponsors.

Scheller also recently launched a Machine Learning for Business course. This course introduces a series of popular machine learning techniques and their applications in solving business problems. It covers core concepts, algorithm designs, and programming implementation with real-world data and business examples.

MBA students can also take a combination of courses on leading digital transformation. This track also includes a capstone course where students work with leading companies on digital transformation projects.”

P&Q: Atlanta’s Tech Square is literally across the street from Scheller. How does the MBA program connect students with Tech Square expertise and opportunities, as well as those found in the larger Atlanta area?

KL: “Atlanta has long been a leader in corporate presence with iconic companies like The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Air Lines, The Home Depot, Kimberly-Clark, and UPS calling it home. Tech Square, Scheller’s home in Atlanta, is a hub for innovation and start-up activity. It has driven well-known tech giants, including Microsoft, Google, and Cisco, to create significant presence through nearby large corporate campuses. The Jones MBA Career Center has formed deep partnerships and connections with Georgia Tech’s science and business incubator – the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC) – which facilitates introductions and experiential learning opportunities for Scheller MBA students.”

P&Q: The Jones MBA Career Center is regarded as one of the top centers worldwide according to student and alumni surveys conducted by The Financial Times and The Economist. What does your center do to earn such high marks when it comes developing student skills or building relationships with employers?

KL: “These results are driven by a proven process that includes one-on-one coaching starting the summer before the students arrive, dedicated employers who return each year to seek the talents of Scheller MBAs, and consistently held workshops that begin during orientation and continue throughout the year.

The other part of the equation is the career coaches. Jones MBA Career Center career coaches skillfully provide a balance between offering tough feedback and persistent encouragement. They care tremendously about our students and the feeling is mutual. We often hear glowing, positive sentiments from students about their coaches. Coaches celebrate the offers with their advisees with a festive bell-ringing ceremony that all community members are invited to attend.

Our career team stays in close contact with employers throughout the year. In the fall of each year, employers are invited to attend a session in which the Center shares highlights about the program and asks for feedback on how we can strengthen our students’ preparation. Feedback from employers directly informs the sessions and experiences we offer in the leadership development program the following year.”

P&Q: What have your employers told you are the two biggest strengths of your graduates and how does your programming bolster these differentiators?

KL: “The comments we consistently hear from employers include how much they value our students’ intellectual curiosity and ability to apply practical experience. However, we recently received a note from a Bain recruiter that highlights another important strength our graduates exemplify.

“I was really taken by how much they lifted each other up – most other schools don’t do that.”

What caused this Bain partner to ‘be taken’ is exactly what makes a Scheller MBA grad special in the marketplace. It comes directly from the quality of students and collaborative environment we intentionally foster at Scheller. During information sessions, admitted student events, orientation, and academic activities, we speak openly about this sense of community and candidates are strongly encouraged to embrace the Scheller esprit de corps.”

P&Q: What are your two most popular courses among MBAs? What makes them so unique and so attractive to MBAs?

KL:

“Negotiations

Negotiations is the most popular elective class at Scheller. Professor Christina Shalley is certainly part of the draw, but the other aspect is the applicability of the content Shalley delivers. Students practice negotiation and conflict management techniques in one-on-one and group settings through weekly roleplays. Students immediately benefit professionally and personally from the simulations.

Non-Profit Consulting

The Non-Profit Consulting Practicum is a Scheller MBA favorite as well. Students work with non-profit organizations in Atlanta on different projects ranging from creating financial models to crafting marketing strategies. Students solve real-world problems and make a significant impact with the consulting work they do. Projects change every semester, so some students end up taking the same practicum again to work with different organizations.

A recent project included developing a succession plan for the organization’s leadership team. Another recent group worked with Goodwill of North Georgia to find ways to funnel donated items into an e-commerce bidding platform rather than selling in store. Solving this issue would enable the store to increase prices and increase their impact. It was a great learning experience for the students to work on a relevant e-commerce project while thinking through the nuances of the non-profit world, like inconsistent product supply chains.”

5 REASONS TO CONSIDER GEORGIA TECH FOR YOUR MBA

1) Atlanta: “While I’ve traveled to a lot of the neighborhoods and cities in the greater Atlanta area, I love Midtown. As a student, I enjoy being conveniently located to Scheller, grocery stores, great restaurants, Piedmont Park, and those classmates who also chose to live in Midtown. I highly recommend the fried goat cheese balls at Ecco, one of my favorite appetizers in the city. The variety of businesses, from start-ups to Fortune 500s, located in the Midtown area have been steadily increasing year over year which translates into richer experiences withing the program (practicums, fellowships, TI:GER) and even greater post-MBA employment and entrepreneurial opportunities.”
Felicia A. Lamothe (’23)

“What I love most about Atlanta is its diversity and southern hospitality. The world is an exceptionally diverse place. To be an emotionally intelligent leader in an increasingly global environment, I think it’s important to put yourself in contexts where not everyone thinks, behaves, or looks like you. Until I lived elsewhere, I didn’t realize how much I appreciated being able to strike up a conversation with pretty much anyone in any situation. Particularly coming out of being hunkered down during the pandemic with limited social interaction, Atlanta’s southern hospitality is a welcome reprieve and makes me feel like a part of the community. Atlanta’s diversity and size also lend itself well to folks’ being able to explore their interests, whatever they may be. Just in the first few months of the MBA program, my classmates and I have gone hiking in and around the city, spent time relaxing and reading in Piedmont Park, laughed to tears at comedy shows, and explored a number of bars and restaurants.”
Maggie Joyce (’23)

2) Jones MBA Career Center: “As someone looking to make a huge career pivot, Scheller’s Jones MBA Career Center was a big plus for me. Our weekly career development workshops have been pivotal in preparing me to confidently take on recruiting season, and have taught me how to make my unique background my biggest asset.”
Courtney Felinski (’23)

3) TI:GER: “The Technology Innovation: Generating Economic Results (TI:GER) program played a key role in my decision to come to Scheller. While I returned to school to further my education, it was important to me to join a program that weaves curriculum with practical application. Georgia Tech, as a whole, is well-known for its practicums, and TI:GER takes applied learning a step further in both breadth and depth. Three semesters long, MBA students in the TI:GER program work with PhD students from Georgia Tech’s engineering, computing, and science colleges and startups from Creative Destruction Lab (CDL) Atlanta to translate ideas into successful technology innovations. As a member of the TI:GER program, I’ll be learning from faculty, a vast network of industry mentors – including more than 700 TI:GER alumni – and other experts while working on technology-innovation projects. The essential skillsets, tacit knowledge, and network I’ll gain through TI:GER will directly help me pivot into the product management, marketing, and entrepreneurship positions I’m interested in post-MBA.”
Maggie Joyce (’23)

4) Traditions: “We really lean into the “nerdy” stereotype and do a 3.14-mile weekly run called the “Pi Mile.” It’s such a fun way to stay active and catch up with friends, and we always end by getting Waffle House for breakfast!”
Abby Brenller (’21)

“No doubt, it is the Crawfish Boil. It is an annual event held in the Scheller Courtyard where admitted students, current students, and alumni alike come together for a night of music, great food, and plenty of fun. I remember attending as a new admit, conversing with my future classmates and 20 -year alumni. It truly confirmed that I had made the right decision.”
Marcus Harmon

“The career services team at Scheller has a tradition of Ringing the Bell. After you have accepted an internship/job offer, you ring a bell that is housed in the career services’ office. It is one of those events where the entire career services team, your classmates, members of the faculty, and the program office come together to celebrate your success. As a result of COVID-19, I could not ring the bell in person when I secured in person. However, when we got back from the summer break, the career services team made arrangements to ensure that we could ring the bell virtually. Since I had missed the opportunity to ring the bell when I had secured my internship, the opportunity to ring the bell for my full-time role felt extra special. As the event was conducted online, my friends, and family from around the world could attend the event and celebrate along with me.”
Sachin Suresh Pai (’21)

“Scheller Madness” is by far my favorite MBA event! Every year our Athletics Committee puts on a 3-vs-3 outdoor basketball tournament that aligns with the NCAA March Madness events. Students who are not participating come and cheer on the different teams and it is an extremely enjoyable and encouraging environment to be in. That being said, as a former collegiate basketball player, I am biased to prefer the basketball event!”
Francesca Sally (’22)

5) Community: “Scheller piqued my interest with their outstanding reputation and instate tuition. What won me over, however, was the people. Scheller is known for being a community that uplifts each other and that is the absolute truth. With small class sizes and weekly socials, you know everyone in your program immediately and intimately. Having a non-traditional background, I wanted a collaborative environment where I could learn from my peers and contribute with my experiences.”
Amanda Grupp (’21)

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Paroma Chakravarty	Atlanta, GA	Cornell University	Paladino and Company
Courtney Felinski	Magnolia, TX	Georgia Tech	International Volleyball Federation
Stacy Feeling	Shaker Heights, OH	University of Virginia	Bosch Rexroth
Leo Haigh	Harrogate, United Kingdom	University of Nottingham	Sage
Maggie Joyce	Atlanta, GA	Macalester College	Booz Allen Hamilton
Felicia A. Lamothe	Germany	Florida State University	Marriott International
Thomas Landzert	Charlotte, NC	University of South Carolina	Bank of America/Merrill Lynch
Kashis Mends-Cole	Gary, IN	Purdue University	U.S. Army National Guard
Yuval Safra	Timrat, Israel	Georgia Tech	Israel Swimming Association
Samantha Sutton	Montclair, NJ	Fashion Institute of Technology	Tradesy
Savannah Thomas	Chattanooga, TN	Savannah College of Art and Design	Creative Arts Guild
Brianna Thornton	Birmingham, AL	Tuskegee University	EcoCAR Mobility Challenge