Taylor Boles

Texas A&M, Mays Business School

“An Analytical problem-solver with a passion for improving our healthcare system.”

Hometown: Austin, Texas

Fun fact about yourself: I love leatherworking as a hobby and opened a profitable Etsy store during Covid to sell my work.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering, Texas A&M University, May 2019

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? Rice 360 Institute for Global Health Technologies, Tech Translation Manager

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? Apex Health Solutions, Houston, Texas

Where will you be working after graduation? Apex Health Solutions, Data Analyst III

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

• Team Leader, Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics Case Competition, 2nd place
• Graduate Teaching Assistant, Business Communication, Fall 2023 – Spring 2024
• Texas A&M Entrepreneurship Experience, 1st place pitch
• Student Panel Speaker, Texas A&M MBA Prospective Student Weekend
• MBA Scholar Award, December 2023

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I am most proud of placing second in the Humana-Mays Healthcare Analytics case competition. I knew I had the analytical mindset needed to be successful, but had very little prior experience with Python and no experience with machine learning, so it was a challenge to say the least. The case competition was a culmination of my background in healthcare combined with what I’ve learned from my MBA and MS Analytics. The first year I competed in the case competition, we finished in 6th place, which was the first time an A&M MBA team had made it to the second round. The second year I competed, we were able to finish in 2nd place, owing to both our analysis and our ability to distill complex ideas and recommendations in a short amount of time, which felt like a strong validation of everything I had learned through the program.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? Before I returned to school for my MBA, I worked in engineering for a global health organization that was designing medical devices for low-resource neonatal ICUs. My work involved every stage of the design process, but the most validating achievement was the clinical studies we performed on our devices in Malawi. It was incredibly rewarding to see our devices in action in helping the most vulnerable population. Just before I returned for my MBA, we completed work on two products for use and it has been inspiring to see how it has impacted the quality of care provided in the hospitals where they have been introduced.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose Texas A&M because I knew it would propel me upwards in my career trajectory. The quality of the program is outstanding, but what drew me to Texas A&M was the ability to pursue my MBA and MS Analytics concurrently. Throughout my career, I’ve seen the value of analytics in business. I believe having the analytics skillset to derive business insights coupled with the business expertise to act on those insights will serve me well in my career.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite MBA course was Predictive Analytics. As someone leaning towards the technical side of business, it was extremely impactful to gain a deeper understanding of how analytics, specifically machine learning and AI, can improve forecasting to inform business decisions. This technology is rapidly advancing, and this course showed me how I can harness that advancement in my career. The class was focused on using predictive analytics for real-world applications and prepared me to excel in my internship and my future career.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA event is an annual event called Brisket Bowl. It’s always held the day before a big football game and provides an opportunity to make personal connections with professors and former students. Especially early on in the program, I was looking for inspiration on which direction to take my career, so it was a great experience to have events like this to meet with former students who were established in their careers and learn about their experiences, all while enjoying good food.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I would have liked to have been more intentional about living in the moment. When you’re going through the program, you are just trying to keep your head above water and survive. Looking back, it was such an amazing and transformative experience that I wish I had taken the time to enjoy more. Of course, I took advantage of many opportunities to form relationships with my classmates and professors, but I took for granted just how lucky I was to be part of this program. I wish I had taken the time in the moment to be grateful for the unique experience.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? I really enjoyed Bryan-College Station’s small-town, laidback atmosphere. I’ve always lived in larger cities, so I really appreciated how easy it is to get around town, how nice the people are, and how easy it is to meet new, interesting people. The only time it’s not a relaxed environment is on gameday, when 50,000 students and 50,000 alums set up tailgates around the football stadium… I can’t think of a better networking opportunity. 

What surprised you the most about business school? I’ve always been a very quantitatively-minded person, so I was shocked by how some of the classes that benefited me most were the “subjective” ones. Our leadership, communications, and management classes taught me so many skills that I never knew I was lacking. I was also surprised by how devoted all of my classmates were to the program. Everyone was super excited to be there and looking to do whatever it took to advance our careers, so it was awesome to be part of that positive and growth-seeking atmosphere. We all came from different cultural and professional backgrounds, so it was an amazing experience to learn from the diversity of experiences.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? The classmate I admire most is Eli Baisden. He had graduated from undergrad when he was 17, so obviously he was a genius. What I admired more than that was his courage in then moving from Idaho to Texas, a place he’d never been before, to join a program where the youngest person was 10 years his senior. I can’t imagine the courage that must have taken. Eli was also one of my favorite people to work with during school. During an analytics case competition, we had to teach ourselves Python and machine learning in the span of four weeks, while also taking classes. I would not have even known where to begin if it weren’t for Eli, and we ended up finishing 6th!

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

* Work for a startup and see it all the way through to the acquisition stage. A startup offers me a breadth of experience that I can’t get at a larger company which would give me the opportunity to greatly expand my knowledge base in a variety of functions.

* Gain industry knowledge and return for my PhD and eventually become a professor. I have been inspired by many great professors and would love to pass on my knowledge to others.

What made Taylor such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2024?

“Taylor truly embodies the core values of Texas A&M University and of the Mays MBA program. While he was an outstanding student (myself and many of my faculty colleagues would tell you that he was the top student in our classes), Taylor is far more than that. He is also an outstanding classmate, friend, confidant, and mentor who cares about his classmates. Taylor counsels them, learns from them, and celebrates their successes with them.

Taylor participated in two significant case competitions during his time in the Mays MBA program and his team placed first in one of these (an internal competition) and placed second in the other (a nationwide competition). I had the privilege of observing his presentation and his team’s work in both competitions. Interestingly, his partners in these competitions were not only two different classmates, but two classmates that varied greatly in terms of their educational background, professional background, strengths, and limitations. Taylor Boles was the one constant on these highly-successful teams. He is a true team player and the type of teammate that did whatever was necessary to complete the task.

One anecdote I would cite is related to the Humana Case competition, a national competition with participants from schools across the nation. Based on the first-round ranking (determined based on a mechanical calculation), Taylor’s team ranked just above the cut line for the second round. He came to me and asked whether they should continue, given the significant coursework he was taking (the competition was during the students’ first semester, which is the busiest) and the fact that they almost did not make the cut (50 schools made the cut with only five advancing to the finals). While I desperately wanted the team to compete, I told him I would understand if they declined to continue, given the amount of effort required and other commitments on his time. He thought about it and embraced the challenge. The bottom line: Taylor’s team finished second in the overall competition!

Taylor has the highest level of respect among the faculty, program office staff, and classmates. He truly embodies the A&M Core Values of Leadership, Integrity, Selfless Service, Respect, Excellence, and Loyalty. He is an outstanding young man with unlimited potential.”

Jerry R. Strawser
Associate Dean for Graduate Programs
KPMG Chair and Professor of Accounting

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2024