Veronica Peltz

University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business

 

Hometown: Voorheesville, NY

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love my name! I was named after my grandfather Ronald (the original Ronnie) when I was born on his 60th birthday.

Undergraduate School and Major: Cornell University, Chemical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Merck: Senior Specialist, Engineering, Biologics Drug Substance Technology

Berkeley Haas is founded on four Defining Leadership Principles: Question the Status Quo, Confidence Without Attitude, Students Always, and Beyond Yourself. Which principle resonates most with you and why? Students Always resonates most with me. I feel very grateful to be back in an academic environment with the opportunity to learn from passionate and intelligent professors and classmates. Student Always means being a lifelong learner outside of the classroom, too. I’ve always been curious and enthusiastic about new ideas and ways of thinking. This curiosity fuels my desire to travel, my enjoyment from connecting with new people, and my love of books. Opening myself up to learning experiences allows me to grow and to continue to better myself and the world around me.

When you think of UC Berkeley, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? Exciting! UC Berkeley offers a wide range of electives from world-class professors, fosters an environment that enables new friendships, encourages world travel experiences, supports students as they pursue their dream career, and is located in the Bay Area. Attending Haas is a really exciting time in my life.

Aside from classmates and the Defining Leadership Principles, what was the key part of Berkeley Haas’ MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The Haas curriculum allows you freedom to explore and be creative. For my career path, this translates to healthcare-focused electives and programming. For others, Haas offers classes centered on sustainability or social justice. Haas helps you grow into a leader no matter what your dream career is, even if it is non-traditional. For this same reason, Haas attracts people from all types of backgrounds; this diversity enriches the business school experience.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Berkeley Haas?  I’m excited for Haasemite, an annual camping trip to Yosemite. I’m looking forward to getting to know my classmates as we trek through forests and cook dinner on a camp stove. One of my personal goals is to visit all of the US National Parks, and I can’t think of a better way to see Yosemite.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I’ve spent my entire seven-year career as an engineer at Merck, a global biopharmaceutical company, and I am extremely proud of all of the products I’ve worked on. One of my biggest accomplishments at Merck was supporting a project to manufacture the starting material for Gardasil and Gardasil 9 vaccines that protect against Human Papillomavirus and certain types of cancers. As the change control owner, I led various cross-functional teams and activities that were critical to enabling a continuous supply of these vaccines.

At this point, what do you hope to do after graduation? I hope to continue my career in biotech, with the ultimate goal of enabling life changing therapies to reach patients. I also plan to explore broader aspects of the healthcare space, such as access equality and disability advocacy while at Haas in the hope of leveraging these learnings in my career. I have psoriatic arthritis and biologic medicine transformed my own life. This fuels my passion to continue working in such a meaningful space.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Stanford and MIT

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Berkeley Haas’ MBA program? Tap into the Haas network now. There were many students and alumni who were willing to talk to me candidly about their experience and career journey, and share advice. They helped me understand the values, academics, and culture at Haas and reinforced that I could truly be my authentic self in my application. The more I learned about and got excited for Haas, the easier it was to write my essays and prepare for my interview.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE BERKELEY HAAS MBA CLASS OF 2025