Hannah Mathieu

University of Rochester, Simon Business School

“DEI champion, people-driven, technology and innovation enthusiast with a love for games.”

Hometown: Hebron, Maine

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love trying different sports of all types! I recently got into slacklining and free skating, but some of my other favorites include boxing, Bollywood dancing, and surfing.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of New Hampshire – BS Information Technology and BA Women’s Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Raytheon Technologies – Digital Leadership Development Program Associate

Rochester Simon is known for being “unabashedly analytical.” Why does the program’s focus on quantitative analysis and decision-making appeal to you? How do you intend to leverage this approach as a student and professional? I’m really excited about this actually! I have a fairly technical background and in my rotational leadership program; my most recent role was as a data engineer. It was a great growth opportunity to get my hands on some raw data and code relationships, but I really wanted to be further down the data pipeline when it comes to the analysis and reporting side so I can utilize these tools as a method for storytelling. On the professional and career side, I’m targeting product management and product marketing management roles in the tech industry, so having a heavy quantitative and analytics background is going to give me an extra edge in the job market. Simon also has built up this reputation really well, so some recruiters I’ve talked to already are aware of how quantitative Simon’s curriculum is.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Rochester Simon’s MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Simon is dedicated to the students and the students’ success from when you first agree to come here and way past your graduation. For example, I was fortunate enough to be part of The Consortium and Forté, which meant I attended some conferences and started recruiting even before I started school. Since April, Simon has been preparing me on how to recruit, interview, and network for these conferences. The efforts have not gone unnoticed by recruiters and even students from other schools. We had career advisors travel with us to these conferences and be on hand to practice mock interviews and company research. Meanwhile, many other students went in without preparation. This goes to show that the level of Simon’s investment in their students is truly unmatched.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Rochester Simon? I’m excited to join a lot of different clubs, both professional and social, and Simon offers a lot of variety. One of the more niche areas I’m especially eager to get started with is the Simon Gaming Club. I’m a gamer at heart, so having a fun social outlet with other students to take a break from the classwork will be a lot of fun. Another great thing about Simon is how welcoming this community is. I had reached out to the president of the Gaming Club over the summer and already he’s advocated for me to become the VP of Marketing. And this is before I even started school!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My biggest career accomplishment thus far was at Raytheon Technologies, where I was a product manager that helped launch a prognostic health management (PHM) tool to go live. Prognostic health management tools are fairly new on the market, and the one I worked on in particular was going to mitigate unscheduled maintenance by 20% and delays by 30%, saving airlines tons of money. I’m really proud to have contributed to part of this new branch of technology and innovation. It also just happened to be one of my first jobs out of undergrad. I didn’t really know what I was doing, but somehow, I was able to work with four different cross-functional teams. Looking back, I definitely would have done a lot of things differently, but I grew so quickly in such a short amount of time and I’m so proud of my professional development since then.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? Why? It’s going to sound really corny, but it is the news in general! Honestly, pre-MBA, I was someone that didn’t really watch the news and pay attention to current events. Now that I’m in b-school, I’ve made it a point to listen to a morning report each day. I set up my Alexa in the morning to give me a news and weather snapshot after it wakes me up and I keep an ear out for items, in particular, that might affect my target companies or target industries. Having these bits of knowledge come in handy when you interview—it just makes you more a more globally aware person in general. Even though you’re not in b-school yet, it helps to start now to get into the mindset for what you’ll need in the future

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? Staying humble, open-minded, and flexible. I’m trying to constantly grow, but I’m confident these next two years will accelerate my growth to degrees I’m not even aware of. I want to stay mindful, grounded, and adaptable to the people around me, the coursework, the professors, and throughout the recruiting process. I’m basically going to impersonate a sponge these next two years and try to soak up all the information that I can!

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Simon’s MBA program? Simon is extremely community-oriented and they care deeply about diversity, equity, and inclusion. Make sure to not only highlight what experiences you will bring to the Simon community, but also how you will learn from your peers. Beyond all this, however, make sure that Simon is truly the community for you and will be a contributor to your career goals. Do your research to make sure this is the community you want to be part of for the next two years. If you do, and you’re confident that it’s somewhere you’d like to be, then let that confidence shine through in your application.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE MBA CLASS OF 2024: INFLUENCERS & INNOVATORS