Elizabeth Grady

University of Southern California, Marshall School of Business

“I’m a North Carolinian in California, former tech consultant and football staffer turned Trojan.”

Hometown: Greensboro, North Carolina

Fun Fact About Yourself: I won a trip to Hawaii on The Price is Right!

Undergraduate School and Major: UNC Chapel Hill, double major in Journalism and Political Science

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: The University of Southern California, Director of Football Recruiting Operations

What makes Los Angeles such a great place to earn an MBA? On top of USC’s student experience, Los Angeles has everything you could ever want. These include our beaches, mountains, diverse culture, award-winning restaurants, professional sports teams, and world-famous museums. Earning your MBA in Los Angeles means that you don’t have to choose between a top school and an amazing city for launching your postgrad dreams. The same place where you are building your network is full of opportunities long after you earn your degree.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of USC Marshall’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The key factor in my decision to attend Marshall was the entrepreneurship offerings. My background in tech consulting for high growth CPG companies sparked my fascination with products, while my time spent in college football inspired me to help the next generation. With the right mission, I believe business can drive positive change and given the strong alumni network, I knew Marshall was the perfect place to learn from the industry’s best. Marshall’s support of new ventures makes it the perfect place to explore my desire to innovate.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at USC Marshall? I love traveling and learning about other cultures (specifically how they influence innovation), so for me, I am most excited by Marshall’s Global Program, PRIME. Studying abroad in undergrad changed my life, so I’m eager for the chance to return with professional insight, a more mature perspective, and my Marshall classmates!

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized that USC Marshall was the right program for you? Why? If I ever had the opportunity to get my MBA, I knew Marshall was the school for me. Because of this, I consider my choice to have been in the hands of the admissions office. I was in awe of USC as my football-loving family watched the Trojans during the Pete Carroll era. I developed an affinity for USC when I moved to LA and many of my colleagues were alumni of the University. I began to feel like part of USC when I left my career in tech consulting to join the football staff, and when given the opportunity, knew that I couldn’t miss my chance to officially join the Trojan family.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: My most significant career accomplishment was re-designing the training process for my Fortune 100 employer’s consulting workforce. With the Covid-induced shift to remote work, I felt there was a learning gap spurred by transitioning in person presentations to virtual delivery. To address this, I re-imagined the ways in which new hires could learn. I designed, proposed, created, and implemented a new training format that effectively trained double the headcount with half of the staff. This model integrated self-paced learning with small group application-based workshops and raised performance KPI’s across the board. The approach was globally adopted and remains a vital component of their development today.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? In two years, I would consider my MBA experience successful if I have cultivated new skills to confidently pivot my career, forged lifelong friendships while strengthening my professional network, and initiated a program that gives back to USC.

DON’T MISS: MEET USC MARSHALL’S MBA CLASS OF 2026