Meet Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class Of 2025

A DIFFERENT KIND OF ORIENTATON

As a whole, the Kelley MBA Class of 2025 ranges in age from 23-47 and averages 6.4 years of professional work experience. Women make up 38% of the class and minorities accounted for another 21%. As undergraduates, the class boasted a 3.4 average GPA, with 46% of the class achieving 3.5 or above and another 12% falling at 2.99 or below. The average GMAT came to 685, a 33-point improvement over the past four years. 45% of the class reached 700 or above, with just 3% hitting 599 or less. Among students taking the GRE, the Quant and Verbal averages were 164 and 158 respectively.  Looking at undergraduate degrees, the class is segmented rather evenly. 35% majored in Business-related fields, followed by Science and Engineering (33%) and Social Science and Humanities (24%). Another 7% of the class fell outside these categories.

The marquee attraction of the Kelley MBA is its distinctive curriculum. That starts with its integrated core, which blends various disciplines over two semesters. That way, students can understand how areas like marketing, finance, and operations intersect and build off each other across various levels of an organization. Before the core, first-years kick off the program with Me, Inc. A mix of exercises, coaching and reflection, Me, Inc. requires students to ponder the big questions: What do I want in life; What led me to this point; and what are my strengths and weaknesses. In other words, they must confront the why before they tackle the how. In the process, they develop their personal story and sharpen their job-hunting skills – all while gaining the self-awareness needed to get the most out of business school.

“Me, Inc. really caught my attention from the very beginning,” says Lívia Bragança Claudio. “[I] can already confirm — that it is an amazing opportunity to increase one’s self-knowledge even before classes begin. I had already gone through a career coaching experience before and realized how important it is to clearly identify one’s personal strengths and values so we can move towards and achieve our major life goals. I feel like this chance to deep dive into my personal story right at the beginning of the MBA program is a Kelley differential.

GLOBASE

Another popular program at Kelley is GLOBASE, which stands for Global Business and Social Enterprise (GLOBASE) program. Think of it as another opportunity for career changers to gain all-important, hands-on experience in various industries. In particular, GLOBASE takes MBAs overseas to countries like Guatemala, Greece, and Vietnam to partner with companies on projects like expanding locations or re-branding organizations. It lasts 8 weeks, which includes a week-long excursion into students’ assigned country. In the end, GLOBASE provides a platform for students to practice leadership, analysis, and teamwork while being exposed to international business practices.

“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,” explains Emily Meyer. “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.”

THE ACADEMY SYSTEM

The Academies, however, may be Kelley’s best-known differentiator. Think of it as a pre-summer internship where students can gain expertise, experience, and connections in their industry of choice. Anchored by a team-based consulting project, the Academies also include industry-specific coursework, site visits, and speakers. As a whole, students can choose between 10 Academies during their first year:

• Business Marketing
• Capital Markets
• Consulting
• Consumer Marketing
• Strategic Finance
• Supply Chain and Digital Enterprise
• High Tech
• Life Sciences
• Entrepreneurial Innovation
• Leadership

Take the Consulting Academy, for example. Ishna Sachar is excited about this academy due to the credentials of its director, J. Scott Laughner, a former managing director at Accenture who possesses nearly four decades in the field. For Sarah Kiley, a ’23 alum, the Consulting Academy lived up to its reputation.

“My favorite course as an MBA was the Consulting Practicum that I took during the spring semester of my first year because it prepared me more than any other for my summer internship. Throughout the course, my team and I worked with a Fortune 50 health payer to develop a talent diversity strategy for a 2,000-person department across multiple states. Associated with the Consulting Academy, this experience provided me the opportunity to work on a client engagement in advance of my internship and gain experience presenting to C-level executives.”

The Strategic Finance Academy caught Emily Meyer’s eye since it goes far beyond the quant fundamentals of the field. “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.”

For Jack Dieber, the Capital Markets Academy promises to be the ticket to filling his experience gaps and taking the next step in his career. “I have an accounting background and am looking to make a career switch to finance and investment banking. I understood that I need to learn a great deal about financial modeling and valuation, while also putting in the work networking and preparing for interviews. The Capital Markets Academy offers all the tools and resources necessary to make my career switch possible. After speaking with the head of the academy, Eric Crigler, as well as second-year students and alumni who leveraged the academy to pivot to investment banking, I felt extremely comfortable joining the Capital Markets Academy.”

AN INTERVIEW WITH JOHN HILL

In recent news, the Kelley School has launched A Master In Management program, while also naming Ash Soni as its new dean. What’s next on the horizon? Last year, P&Q reached out to John Hill, faculty chair of the Full-Time MBA Program. Here are his thoughts on the newest developments at the school.

P&Q: What have been the two most important developments in your MBA program over the past year? What type of impact will they have on current and future MBAs?

Hill: “We are expanding the Integrated Core to one-and-a-half semesters, starting this fall. This will allow us to incorporate more content into the Core and to take more time for teaching and learning, which we expect will provide students with even better learning outcomes in these business fundamental classes.

We refine our Me, Inc. professional development program every year, but last year we expanded it considerably to reintroduce a case competition, together with a preparation on case analysis, presentation skills, and the like. We then responded to students’ increased interest in case competitions by launching a formal program supporting students who wanted to take part in national case competitions, giving students more opportunities to build this skill set and network with students from other universities. This resulted in a significant increase in Kelley students’ participation and victories in these competitions over previous years.”

P&Q: Give us your one-minute pitch for your business school. What makes you unique?

Hill: “With our Me, Inc. professional development program and our Academies, we provide unique and robust career-centered resources to students that enable our students to land jobs in all kinds of roles and at top companies all over the world. We have a customizable curriculum that students can leverage to meet their professional and personal goals, including an array of global programs and opportunities to take classes within and outside of Kelley. The Kelley community of students, alumni, faculty, and staff is caring, helpful, and huge, and Bloomington is a fun and very affordable place to spend time with family, friends, and classmates. Our overall program cost is the best in the Top 25, and most students receive fellowship awards from us as well. Our relatively small program size allows us to get to know and work closely with each student individually, and the return on our students’ investment is one of the highest anywhere!

P&Q: Sustainability has emerged as a major attraction to prospective MBA students. How does your full-time MBA program integrate sustainability across its curriculum?

Hill: “We are integrating sustainability throughout our curriculum. For instance, in our accounting course in the MBA Core, we go beyond the basic financial statements to discuss how firms are reporting on CSR and the impacts of disclosure on firms’ behavior.

Sustainability is also a focus in our immersive learning classes.  For example, the Supply Chain and Digital Enterprise Academy toured a Home Depot reverse logistics facility to understand end of life cycle product handling in support of reuse and recycling.  Last year, the same Academy worked on an ESG project for a medium-sized manufacturer to better understand their carbon footprint and support a first in the company ESG report.”

P&Q: What are some key elements in your teaching of leadership? What types of options does your school offer that deepens student experience with leadership and makes them more competitive in the marketplace?

Hill: “Our MBA Leadership Academy is a signature Kelley opportunity for students to learn and practice leadership and coaching. In this second-year Academy, students learn to lead themselves, other individuals, teams, and enterprises. They develop and apply their individual and team coaching skills by working with first-year students and project teams. Additionally, we provide a multitude of other ways for students to put their leadership skills into practice. For instance, students can lead consulting engagements locally with 1Kelley Consulting or provide consulting services to help small businesses in a variety of developing countries through our GLOBASE programs. Finally, the size of our program gives most of our students a chance to hone their leadership skills in a variety of MBA organizations and clubs.”

P&Q: Two years ago, P&Q asked you to share how you’ve integrated AI, STEM, analytics, and digital disruption into your programming. Since then, what types of enhancements have you made in these areas? 

Hill: “We have added electives in our program to address issues related to AI, analytics and digital disruption. Our course entitled “Business Applications in Machine Learning” covers topics related to natural language processing, artificial neural networks, deep learning platforms, and other predictive analytics. Another course, “Artificial Intelligence in Business,” discusses methodologies related to intelligent process automation and discusses the business, legal and ethical implications of AI. Our newest course, “People Analytics,” focuses on human resource applications to establish a data-driven mindset, applying this framework to topics such as personnel hiring, training and program evaluation, performance management, employee engagement, employee turnover, compensation, and diversity.”

P&Q: How many courses outside the business school can MBAs take during your program? To what extent has your business school embraced coursework from other schools and departments at your university? Are students from other schools and departments at the university allowed to take MBA electives? 

Hill: “Students can take as many as 12 credits of graduate-level coursework outside the MBA program and count those toward their degree and, if desired, a self-designed major. Kelley frequently partners with other schools on campus to develop courses or educational opportunities. Notable examples include our partnership with the Kinsey Institute to create a short course on gender equity in the workplace, and with the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs to offer a Social Entrepreneurship Certificate. Students from other programs and schools frequently take our electives; one of the most exciting examples of that is in our Life Sciences Academy, which includes graduate students from science and technology programs as well as the MBA program.”

P&Q: What is your biggest student-run event of the year and what does it reflect about your school?

Hill: “The Faculty-Student Auction has been sponsored by the Women in Business club for many years. The event sells meals, crafts, and services like photography and pet-sitting offered by many dozens of faculty, staff, and students. It raises between $20,000 to $30,000 each year, for the benefit of a local non-profit organization — most recently the Boys and Girls Club of Bloomington. This fun and successful event highlights the creativity, generosity, community mindset, and engagement of everyone from the students through the Kelley deans.”

Click on the links below to access in-depth profiles of members of the MBA Class of 2025.

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Loretta Abdul-Ghani	South Bend, IN	Purdue University	Eli Lilly & Company
Lakshmikar Reddy Chitimireddi	Andhra Pradesh, India	VIT University Vellore	Philips
Lívia Bragança Claudio	São Paulo, Brazil	Fundação Getulio Vargas	Ambev (ABInBev Group)
Jack Dieber	Port Washington, NY	University of Delaware	Warner Bros. Discovery
Brooks Gill	Zionsville, IN	Indiana University	Baxter BioPharma Solutions
Nick Hagen	Fort Worth, TX	Oklahoma City University	U.S. Army
Aki Kiyomiya	Nara, Japan	Okayama University	Rohto Pharmaceutical Co.
Emily Meyer	Elmwood, IL	Washington University	NA
Constance Nkomosi	Accra, Ghana	Presbyterian University College Ghana	Deloitte
Rex Rumsey	Austin, TX	Pontifical College Josephinum	Texas Physical Therapy Specialists
Ishna Sachar	Mumbai, India	Pearl Academy	Reliance Brands Limited
Roberto Vasquez	Pasadena, CA	UCLA	UCLA

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