Meet the MBA Class of 2025: Emily Meyer, Indiana University (Kelley)

Emily Meyer

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

“An ESL teacher in South Korea turned business professional not afraid to ask, “Why not?”

Hometown: Elmwood, Illinois

Fun Fact About Yourself: Despite no prior experience, I spent the summer before starting my MBA as a line cook in a Korean restaurant.

Undergraduate School and Major: Washington University in St. Louis; East Asian Studies and Korean Language

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Start-up commercial real estate family business, associate director of development (previously English teacher in Seoul, South Korea)

In the second half of the year, you will be completing an Academy devoted to areas like Marketing, Finance, Operations, Digital Enterprises and more. Which Academy interests you the most and why? The academy I am most interested in is Strategic Finance Academy. Prior to Kelley, I assumed a career in finance was for people interested in investing and crunching numbers. However, after the academy presentation and talking with many alums of the Strategic Finance Academy, I realized that a career in finance is more about the ability to think strategically, build strong relationships with business partners, and creatively translate numbers into a story. I believe the Strategic Finance Academy will not only help me build the strong quantitative foundation to get an internship but also the critical thinking skills to be part of the decision making in whichever company I join post-MBA.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Indiana Kelley’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? When looking for MBA programs, I was specifically looking for programs that would have global opportunities to feed my curiosity and desire for an international career. Through the GLOBASE program, I will have the opportunity to consult small business owners with personal connections with program leadership both years in the program. This gives me the chance to have unique global experiences that are not only educational but also have meaningful impact.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Indiana Kelley? I am most excited to join the Food Club! I love to eat and cook, so the Food Club seems like the perfect activity to connect with my peers, learn about cuisines from around the world, and eat some good food. There is also a Top Chef competition later in the year, and I have my eye on the chef hat prize.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Going from teaching English in South Korea to leading business development at my family’s commercial real estate start-up was an unexpected career pivot in my mid-20s. My greatest accomplishment was giving my first presentation for a new construction $20 million hotel development to a zoning approval board made up of eight elected officials with the general community present after two years at the company. In those two years, I went from knowing nothing about business to creating and presenting a business plan for public approval. The feeling when the plan passed unanimously was incredible.

What do you hope to do after graduation (at this point)? At this point, I hope to pivot into the global agriculture or durable goods industries in a business strategy role to support decision-making for global product lines.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Indiana Kelley’s MBA program? As you work on your application, remember that people want to hear your voice at Kelley. Your thoughts, opinions, and goals make you unique and that in itself has incredible value. If at any point you don’t believe that, reach out to a current Kelley and learn first-hand what makes this program so special.

DON’T MISS: MEET INDIANA KELLEY’S MBA CLASS OF 2025