Hannah Untereiner

UCLA, Anderson School of Management

“A friendly, fearless networker who creates connection and community through music.”

Hometown: Takoma Park, MD

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was the singer-songwriter, guitarist, and manager of my folk band for five years.

Undergraduate School and Major: Yale University, American Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Redbrick LMD, Senior Associate

UCLA Anderson is founded on the Three Pillars: Share Success, Think Fearlessly, and Drive Change. Which pillar resonates most with you and why?  Share Success resonates most with me. My most successful teams have been ones in which everyone has each other’s backs and the team elevates each person when there are victories. I could not have run a successful band, led a women’s nonprofit chapter, or achieved many of my successes in life without the support of others. I’m grateful that Anderson creates an environment in which students and faculty share success and champion each other.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of UCLA Anderson’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?  The Entertainment Management Specialization and deep entertainment alumni pool was a key part of why I chose Anderson. I love how Anderson provides a solid business foundation through its core curriculum while also letting students specialize and take a wide range of elective classes—and classes in other graduate schools. Given my interest in pivoting into the music industry, this specialization will help me deepen my understanding of current challenges and trends in the industry and provide access to guest speakers from the industry.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at UCLA Anderson? I’m most excited about the Global Immersion Courses because I love to travel and learn about different cultures. My MBA class at Anderson is almost half full of international students. I am fascinated to learn about their home countries and look forward to deepening that learning through these exciting travel opportunities.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far:  I spearheaded the creation of my previous employer’s summer internship program. I recruited and mentored eight high school interns from the economically disadvantaged neighborhood where my company was working and taught them about real estate development while learning much from them in return. I valued playing a small role in creating a diverse pipeline into the real estate industry and I look forward to championing equity and diversity in the classroom and the music industry.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point and what do you hope to do after graduation?  I am pursuing an MBA to develop connections in the city of entertainment (Los Angeles) and learn more about areas of business that I have not had direct exposure to—such as finance, accounting, and data analysis—to make me a more effective leader. I plan to use my MBA to pivot into the music industry.

What is one thing you have recently read, watched, or listened to that you enjoyed and would highly recommend to prospective MBAs? I highly recommend Angela Guido’s book Interview Hero: How to Ace Your Interviews, Find Your Voice, and Direct the Narrative of Your Life. I learned about this book through the Forte MBALaunch program and it helped me reframe the interview process and develop a set of compelling stories that I felt comfortable referencing in interviews and networking conversations.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I applied to Stanford GSB, Wharton, Harvard, NYU, MIT, and USC. I targeted top schools that were in locations that excited me and either had strengths in entrepreneurship and/or entertainment.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into UCLA Anderson’s MBA program? I would advise potential applicants to research all that Anderson has to offer such as the classes, student organizations, and Parker Career Center. Then, I advise applicants to reach out to students who are part of the clubs they’re interested in. I learned so much about Anderson’s culture through talking to current students and I was able to confirm that I would enjoy my time here through those conversations. Plus, my conversations with current students made it much easier to write compelling essays and tell my story well when I was offered an interview.