Isabel Milton

Yale School of Management

“A South-Louisiana-born West Coast transplant dedicated to optimizing clean electric power for people and the planet.”

Hometown: Lafayette, LA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am an avid supporter of community-based mentorship, and my most recent mentee from Big Brothers Big Sisters in Houston will be starting this fall at Yale for her undergraduate degree.

Undergraduate School and Major: Rice University (Houston, TX): BA in Chemical Engineering with a Certificate in Civic Leadership

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Real-Time Power Trader at Avangrid Renewables (Portland, OR)

The Yale School of Management is regarded as a purpose-driven program. What is your mission? How will your MBA at Yale SOM help you fulfill that mission? My personal mission is to facilitate the energy transition in a way that is both regenerative for the planet and equitable for disenfranchised communities. The MBA experience at Yale SOM will help me leverage my technical skillset and market knowledge to have a meaningful impact on the future of energy. Through my coursework, I will supplement my background in chemical engineering and market fundamentals with key business subjects.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Yale SOM’s MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The vast network that the Yale SOM MBA program exposes students to is unmatched. As a Yale SOM student, I now have access to a wide array of subject matter experts over many fields in the faculty and alumni across the university. I intend to connect with this network through cross-curricular initiatives, centers, and by enrolling in courses across the university.

What course, club, or activity excites you the most at Yale SOM? Yale SOM’s commitment to preparing leaders for both business and society was integral to my decision to attend the MBA program. This aspect of the programs manifests in many ways, but it is especially apparent in all the YSOM collaborations with other departments and organizations on campus. I will prioritize getting involved with the Yale Center for Business and the Environment.

What do you hope to do after graduation? After graduation, I aspire to enter a strategy or operations role at a large utility.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Stanford GSB, Wharton, Chicago Booth, and Haas

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Yale SOM’s MBA program? I would advise applicants to not self-select out of the process. Just because you haven’t seen anyone who looks like you or shares your background in business school does not mean it’s not a path for you. At the start of my admission process, I wasn’t sure if the MBA route was best for me. However, the more I was exposed to the Yale SOM program and community, the more I realized that this was an institution where non-conventional paths are celebrated and diverse perspectives are championed. Don’t let the fear of the unknown keep you from pursuing your dreams!

DON’T MISS: MEET YALE SOM’S MBA CLASS OF 2025