Alejandra Jaime Rodriguez

Northwestern University, Kellogg School of Management

“Self-proclaimed adventurer with a passion for sustainability, meeting new people, and food!”

Hometown:  Guadalajara, Jalisco (MX) – though most recently, Atlanta, Georgia!

Fun Fact About Yourself:  Despite being severely uncoordinated, I love sports! I am an avid swimmer, tennis player, equestrian, weightlifter, and (briefly) a half-marathon runner.

Undergraduate School and Major:

• Dual B.S. Industrial Management Engineering & Economics, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
• S. Quantitative Finance & Risk Analytics, Lally School of Management (Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute)

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Deloitte Consulting,  Senior Consultant in Finance & Performance

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA curriculum or programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? What attracted me most to Kellogg was its focus on personal development and growth. From very early on in the application process, Kellogg heavily emphasized their philosophy on leadership and becoming the best version of oneself beyond academic excellence. For me, it was critical to be part of a community that stressed the development of leaders with high emotional intelligence, compassion, and creativity – Kellogg checked all these boxes for me. Additionally, it’s tough to beat a classroom with a lakeside view!

What makes Chicago such a great place to earn an MBA? There are multiple reasons why Chicago – and, more specifically, Evanston – is, in my biased opinion, a great place to earn one’s MBA. However, for brevity’s sake, I will list my top three. Firstly, the food scene is pretty awesome! You can find food from all over the world, all a train ride away from campus. Secondly, as a comedy-lover, it’s tough to beat the Chicago comedy scene (Second City, anyone?); there are more comedy clubs that one can count on or have time to visit. Lastly, as a metropolitan hub, Chicago is home to some of the best museums in the country – whether you’re into the fine arts, history, or science, there is a museum that caters to a wide range of tastes and interests.

Kellogg is known for a team-driven culture. What quality do you bring as a teammate and why will it be so important to the success of MBA class?  I believe my ability for planning and organizing will be critical to my success at Kellogg. Something I learned early on in my MBA application journey is how easy it can be to become overwhelmed in school. MBA students must be able to juggle classes, recruiting, extracurriculars, and social activities. Therefore, I hope to help my classmates understand how to prioritize what is important to them while maintaining a balanced lifestyle at Kellogg.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Northwestern Kellogg?  As someone looking to transition into sustainability, I am excited to become a member – and hopefully a leader – of Kellogg’s Energy & Sustainability Club! The club focuses on supporting students to develop their expertise across the sustainability and energy space and provides multiple experiential learning opportunities throughout the academic year. The two events I am looking forward to the most are Climate Week (scheduled during Earth Day) and the Climate Conference. Through these marquee events, I hope to deepen my expertise in sustainability topics such as circular economy, sustainable operations, climate equity, etc., directly from industry-leading experts, Kellogg faculty, and fellow peers.

What has been your first impression of the Kellogg MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Kellogg story so far. Kellogg prides itself in its strong community and support network, and for good reason. While my tenure at the school has been short thus far, I can genuinely say that I have yet to meet anyone unwilling to lend a hand to help, an ear to listen, or a shoulder to cry on. Whether I am talking to a student, an alumnus, or a faculty member, everyone I have met has gone above-and- beyond to make my experience at Kellogg the best it can be.

One of my favorite anecdotes that truly highlights Kellogg’s strong community was after receiving my acceptance letter. Within a day of receiving my acceptance, multiple students reached out to me to personally congratulate me. Within a month, I had more correspondence from former students, current students, faculty, and admissions team members than I knew what to do with – I had never looked forward to receiving an email as much as I did during that period.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: In 2022, I had the opportunity to lead a team for a national council at Deloitte; specifically, my team was responsible for developing learning and development (L&D) content. Part of this content included DEI and Social Impact (SI); however, given that the focus of our team was L&D, DEI and SI ideas often fell through the cracks. So, we decided to do something about it.

My team set out to develop a business case for a new council thread whose sole purpose would be the development of DEI and SI programming. We built a comprehensive business case for our council’s executive leadership, highlighting the need for a standalone DEI and SI team that could support local offices in organizing and executing programming within this space. After getting leadership buy-in, the new thread kicked off the following year!

In its inaugural year, the new thread hosted multiple events at the local and national levels and encouraged junior practitioners to take ownership of their DEI & SI journeys.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? Personally, a successful MBA experience goes beyond academic excellence or prosperous recruiting cycles but rather one marked with cultural, professional, and geographical variety in my network. Therefore, in the next two years, I aim to build a professional network that accurately reflects Kellogg’s diverse and supportive community. Thus, if, in two years, I capture even a fraction of said community, then I would consider my time here successful!

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Fuqua (Duke), Sloan (MIT), Booth (University of Chicago), McCombs (UT Austin)

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Northwestern Kellogg’s MBA program? Kellogg values applicants willing to participate in self-reflection and introspection. Take the time to reflect on your experiences – both professional and personal – and understand how these experiences have helped shape you into who you are today. Every story is worth telling, so don’t be afraid to show what makes you, well, YOU!

DON’T MISS: MEET NORTHWESTERN KELLOGG’S MBA CLASS OF 2025