Victoria Friedhoff

University of Texas at Dallas, Naveen Jindal School of Management

“Lifetime Equestrian, healthcare technology enthusiast and empathetic leader skilled at creative problem solving and implementation.” 

Hometown: Smalltown girl with roots from Kirchhellen, Germany 

Fun fact about yourself: I grew up on a horse farm, so I learned how to sit on a horse, before I could properly walk.

Undergraduate School and Degree:

Cologne Business School, Cologne, Germany
Bachelor of Arts, International Business, Concentration in International Trade Semester Abroad at Hanyang University, Seoul, Republic of Korea

Northeastern University, Boston, USA
Master of Science, International Management
Semester Abroad at Dublin City University, Dublin, Ireland

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I last worked as a Project Manager for E-Commerce at HV Equestrian, The Hague, Netherlands

Where did you intern during the summer of 2023? I was a full-time employee at HV Equestrian B.V. in the Netherlands.

Where will you be working after graduation? I am still open to opportunities after I graduate in May 2025 from my dual program MBA and MS in Information Technology and Management. My preferred landing spot would be at a cutting-edge Health Tech company focused on improving the lives of healthcare professionals.

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: I am the Career Representative for my MBA class and a Nash Leadership fellow. From my Master’s degree at Northeastern, I was awarded membership of the Beta Sigma Gamma honors society.

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? In my current entrepreneurship class, my team pitched a new business idea to AT&T on how to address mental health issues in school children by leveraging GenAI in Digital Health. They loved the idea and we’re now working on a business plan for execution with an AT&T mentor. I am really excited about this project because it could potentially improve many young lives and gives me an opportunity to explore the potential of GenAI for societal and wealth equity benefits.

Outside my program, I got the opportunity to work with first generation college students on the journey of grad school through our Graduate Education office. It was an incredibly rewarding program that forced me to dig deeper about my own personal journey through graduate school while helping young, bright minds plan their own journeys.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? At my last role at HV Equestrian, I was tasked with setting up a new customer portal to help bring the company to the next level in digitalization and lay the roots for future growth. During that project I got the chance to collaborate and understand all parts of the business, including design, procurement, marketing, and sales. Most importantly it allowed me to work closely with colleagues, helping them to optimize their work processes and refine their strategic presentations to higher management. One such colleague I worked with has now taken over my previous role with expanded responsibilities in product development and another colleague moved on to start her own business. I am most proud of this because while I was able to help the company expand a new growth channel, I was also able to help my colleagues unlock capabilities and skills to further their careers.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose UTD because it offers a great learning environment. For me the smaller size of the cohort and the close connection with the MBA and Career Office staff offer an unmatched environment for making strong connections. The relationships are genuine and everyone is truly rooting for the success of each other.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? Professor Hicks is my favorite professor. He taught our organizational behavior class last semester. During it, he offered different perspectives on organizations and the realities we face as managers. As a former consultant, he shared a lot of personal experience that added a lot of value to the theory discussed in the class. He especially focused on discussions, sharing experiences and gave assignments that made us reflect on our personal leadership and teamwork styles. This pushed us to think deeply about our personal approach to navigating the corporate landscape. His feedback was always detailed and actionable, which I appreciated. After this class I will never again forget the importance of problem framing.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? Operations management, is my favorite class. With an operational background, I loved Professor Honhon’s practical approach to teaching the class. She gave a lot of examples, case studies, and kept us engaged with exciting brain teasers trying to find the optimal processes and solutions. One of the books we read for her class is The Goal by Eliyahu M. Goldratt (an MBA classic), which is an amazing approach to showing how to approach operational management.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? Friendsgiving for our cohort last year, which was organized by our social chairs, was my favorite event so far. The evening really brought us all together and was especially amazing for us international students, since it was the first American thanksgiving for many of us. This just emphasizes the feeling of being part of the “UTD family” that the business school really lives by.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? I’d certainly make more use of the networking opportunities right from the beginning of the school. UTD has a very engaged alumni network, many of them already coming to our LEAD camp at the beginning of the program to share their advice and journeys. Going back, I would be more diligent in following up on these opportunities and taking my chance to learn more from them right at the beginning of the program.

What is the biggest myth about your school? That we are very nerdy. This is partially true, but especially in our cohort I have met a lot of people from different backgrounds with a lot of artistic and creative flair.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? What surprised you the most about business school? Coming from Europe, I knew Texas was big and people drove their cars almost everywhere. However, I was surprised by how dependent you are on a car here. I came from taking the train and subway everywhere to now having to drive at least 30 mins everywhere. On the other hand, Dallas is geographically very spread out, so it offers a lot of different experiences with many areas to explore. There are amazing road trips you can do easily from Dallas and the DFW airport has direct flights to almost everywhere. Those are some good perks.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? From the first day at school, Jared Brooks has been someone I admired. He stood out and is just a natural leader. Juggling his MBA, his family life and military duties, he still always is the first to offer help to others. He has an open ear and a helping hand for everyone and you can always count on him to make others shine. I admire a lot how he is able to tell his stories and express his ideas in a clear, concise manner.

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

1. Be a C-level executive, leading my team to build innovative products, that improve the lives of doctors and nurses. Giving them time to focus on the core of their work -humans.

2. In the future, I would like to mentor younger people on their journey, coaching and helping them to succeed and avoid some of the mistakes that I made in my journey.

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

“In the classroom, Victoria demonstrates analytical thinking and is a leader in class discussions. Her ability to understand complex concepts and offer insightful perspectives enriches the learning environment for her peers.

As an active member of our MBA community, she has demonstrated exceptional leadership skills, driving initiatives that promote collaboration, diversity, and inclusivity. Whether leading student clubs or organizing student events, Victoria’s dedication to enhancing the student experience is clear.

Victoria is an outstanding MBA student. She excels academically, shows great leadership, and genuinely cares about making a positive impact. Her contributions to the Class of 2024 have been invaluable, and I’m confident she’ll continue to do great things in the future.”

Andrea Burdman
MBA Program Manager, the University of Texas at Dallas

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