Caitlyn Mason

University of Chicago, Booth School of Business

“Global public health enthusiast.”

Hometown: East Greenwich, RI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I used to be on the National US youth judo team.

Undergraduate School and Major: MIT, Economics major and Brain and Cognitive Science minor

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Engagement Manager at McKinsey

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Chicago Booth’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? For me, the flexibility was a huge factor—I love the ability to choose my own adventure and dive deep into what excites me rather than be bound by a strict set of requirements. The history of Chicago’s contributions to Econ and business also excited me as a former Econ major.

The Booth MBA is also known for being highly data-driven Why does the program’s focus on quantitative analysis and decision-making appeal to you? How have been able to leverage this approach in your career so far? I consider analytics to be one of my strengths, so I was excited to be somewhere where I can double down in that. Data-driven decision-making has been a constant throughout my career, from trying to understand what countries were doing to improve childhood vaccination rates to understanding what maternal health programs to prioritize.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Chicago Booth?  Very excited to join the Social Impact and Ski clubs—I have been an avid skier my whole life and I’m looking forward to sharing this excitement with new friends.

What has been your first impression of the Booth MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Booth story so far: My first impression (and also one of my first Booth stories) was how thoughtful and willing Boothies are to go the extra mile to help students. I connected with someone for a coffee chat, and she went out of her way to find other students and friends of hers who had experience in the classes and jobs that excited me.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Chicago Booth’s MBA program? Be true to you! I loved that one of the admissions questions explicitly asked you to reflect on life outside of school and work. I think it’s awesome that you can showcase yourself in a way that feels less contained by what you do vs who you are.

DON’T MISS: MEET CHICAGO BOOTH’S MBA CLASS OF 2025