Meet Indiana Kelley’s MBA Class Of 2026

No one cares where you start. What matters is where you end up.

Question is, how do you get there?

That’s the question haunting every business school applicant looking to make a change. They come to do more and make more, experiment and grow, follow a path and take ownership. That means venturing into the unknown, forfeiting time and savings – knowing that feeling uncomfortable and falling short are the price of admission.

Growth is hard, whether students are looking to move into new roles, industries, or geographies. It requires a willingness to take risks and fulfill commitments. It takes trial-and-error and an openness to listening and reflecting. More than that, success is rooted in ongoing support – the personnel and programming that sustains growth.

ME, INC.

When it comes to an MBA programs geared towards career transformation, you would be hard-pressed to find any school that does it better than Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business.

How do Kelley MBAs get where they want to be? It starts by learning who they are. That’s why the Kelley MBA kicks off with Me, Inc. Lasting two weeks, Me, Inc. taps into Kelley’s marketing prowess by helping students develop their personal brands. A mix of one-on-one coaching, student feedback sessions, introspection, and presentations, Me, Inc. is designed to help students make sense of their personal journeys. This includes developing an inventory of what students can bring to employers; exploring how their past drives their outlook, responses, and goals; and gaining self-awareness of how they come across to others. At the same time, Kelley first-years hone their personal pitch that succinctly reflects their talents, experiences, and values to prospective employers.

In many ways, Me, Inc. is the culmination of a summer-long program. Even before stepping on campus, first-years are completing nuts-and-bolts exercises like sprucing up their resume, cover letter, and LinkedIn profile. As students, they take tests to scientifically pinpoint their personality, leadership style, and career pathways. As a whole, these efforts give Kelley first-years a jump on fall recruiting and lays the early groundwork for a career pivot.

A COACHING CULTURE

Himadri Gogoi, who last worked in CPG and pharmaceuticals, describes Me, Inc. as an “incredible self-discovery program.” Her fellow first-year Nick Zumwalde boils the experience down to two words: personal growth.

“I am doing an MBA to pivot my career, but more importantly to challenge myself and hopefully come out the other side a better person,” writes Zumwalde, a financial analyst from Wisconsin. “The Me Inc. program is all about understanding yourself so that you can improve, and find exactly how your skill set fits into the business world. It is a collaborative experience that will allow me to work with fellow students, future mentors, and career services to give me a head start on the MBA process.”

That said, Me, Inc. is just the opening salvo for a program that invests two years into helping students prepare to do something entirely new. Notably, the Kelley MBA invests heavily into coaching. Every full-time MBA student is assigned an executive coach according to Rebecca Cook, executive director of Kelley Career Services. Throughout the first semester, students meet regularly with these coaches. Even more, these coaches aren’t faculty members or retired alumni. They are certified, adds Cook, meaning the executive coaches have “gone through hundreds of hours of coaching training and are certified by various professional coaching organizations.” On top of that, students complete a core, pass/fail course that includes resume critiques and mock interviews from coaches, classmates, and second-year MBAs. Best of all, this support can extend far beyond the first semester.

“Students continue to meet with their coach throughout their time at Kelley, although it isn’t required as much as they move through the program,” Cook tells P&Q. “We pride ourselves as having good relationships with all of our students, and knowing what they are looking for and where they are at in their job search.  The more we know, the better we can help them.”

A COMMITMENT TO EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Not surprisingly, Cook’s career services center posted the 4th-highest satisfaction score among MBA students and alumni survey by The Financial Times in 2024. When it comes to helping students making jumps into new careers, the Kelley MBA offers a variety of pathways. This includes the first-year Academies. Here, students receive industry-specific instruction and partner with companies on projects in their choice of seven areas. In the process, they gain real world work experience in their career path before they head out for their summer internship. MBAs can further bolster their credentials in a new field through GLOBASE – the Global Business and Social Enterprise. Here, they work with businesses and nonprofits worldwide to tackle issues ranging from speeding up manufacturing processes to boosting social media presence. Such experiences appealed to Holly Hecht, whose background includes sales, marketing, and advising.

“A full time MBA is a huge commitment, so I was looking for a program that would invest in me as much as I plan to invest in it. Kelley has dedicated itself to setting its students up for success through robust professional development (Me Inc. and Graduate Career Services) and experiential learning (Academies).  When speaking with current students, it was clear that Academy projects directly prepared you for the work you would perform during your summer internship. I loved that I’d receive hands-on experience that would directly correlate to my success in the workplace.”

Hecht’s classmate, Sarah Wales, has also bought into Kelley’s recipe of mixing personal introspection with practical know-how to set students up for long-term success. “Kelley’s commitment to student growth shines through in everything they offer. You can immediately tell from interactions with students, faculty, and alumni that everything that Kelley does is intentional. From Me, Inc. to the academies, GLOBASE to the many student-led organizations, it’s clear Kelley isn’t just about the degree; it’s about the transformation process. As someone who is pivoting from a “nontraditional” background in education, the intentionality behind Me, Inc. and the academies excites me as I continue exploring what’s next in my career journey.”

That transformation echoes far beyond a new career, adds Rita Korkor Agyei, a 2024 Kelley graduate. The program also equips students with tools to bring out the best in themselves. “Prior to business school, my expectations were to see growth in my ability to navigate the areas of business that I had gaps. These included finance, accounting, and operations. To my surprise, and pleasantly so, my greatest growth areas in addition to closing the gaps identified have been in essential skills of time management, prioritizing, effective communication, leadership, poise, and confidence. The soft skills I have acquired have been truly priceless and have been a great driver of my successes within the program.”

AN ACTIVIST-TURNED-STUDENT

The best classes expose students to a wide range of backgrounds. That is especially true with the Kelley MBA Class of 2026. Roee Alper describes himself as a “passport-stamped story collector” and “maestro of organized chaos.” And his exploits range from backpacking across 20 countries to living in a Buddhist monastery. Before business school, he headed up operations for Sea Shepherd, a marine life conservation society that deploys its fleet of ships to protect wildlife.

“I led a major anti-illegal fishing, cross-national inspection operations that involved coordinating over 30 professionals across five departments,” shares Alper about one action. “This monumental effort culminated in the arrest of 11 fishing vessels across Sierra Leone, The Gambia, and Liberia. These arrests were not just a mere enforcement of the law: they were a stand against illegal fishing practices that threaten marine biodiversity and the livelihoods of local communities. The operation potentially set the stage for fines totaling an astounding $33 million, reflecting the gravity of the offenses and the impact of our intervention.”

The health industry is also represented in the class. Prior to joining the Class of 2026, Dylan Michel earned a Doctor of Physical Therapy before becoming a director at a North Carolina clinic. In contrast, Sabbir Ahmed worked as an emergency room nurse, where he learned “resilience, work ethic, and quick decision-making,” At the same time, Himadri Gogoi made her mark on the R&D side of healthcare. This included setting up six manufacturing sites to fulfill the demand for disinfectants during COVID-19.

“I did this despite facing challenges such as remote work, regulatory compliance, supply procurement, personnel safety, resource allocation, production volumes, market competition, and communication issues. I managed the product label design process, ensuring labels were ready for printing upon license approval. By providing the leadership team with real-time updates, I kept all key stakeholders well-informed. These efforts earned me a COVID-Hero award.”

TEACHING STEPHEN COVEY…IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL

Cristian Novoa has already made one career transition, moving into technology after focusing on the biosciences during his career. His break came six years ago, when he earned a spot in the SAP Sales Academy despite limited tech experience. After ranking among the top performers at the academy, he earned a series of promotions that culminated in becoming a senior solution engineer at SAP.

“I discovered the world of customer experience from a tech perspective,” he writes. “I became a key figure in Latin America for SAP’s personalization and omnichannel marketing platforms, leading complex proposals from a functional and industry standpoint to deliver valuable solutions to clients. I also trained partners, peers, and clients.”

You could describe Holly Hecht as a sales legend. She once ran three sales territories – AND made quota! Oh – and she headed up her company’s internship and mentorship programs too. Sales and mentorship were also passions for Rayna Strasser-King, which enabled several of her trainees to land promotions at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. At Twitch, Billy Von Arx lived his dream by signing a content license agreement with Towelliee, a World of Warcraft streamer. As a teacher, Sarah Wales tackled communication and teamwork by using Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People to teach her 2nd graders.

“We explored each student’s gifts, talents, interests, and cultural backgrounds through projects that integrated Stephen Covey’s leadership habits into our daily routines,” she tells P&Q. “Through morning meetings, mentor texts, passion projects, and student-led conferences, students developed the confidence to take ownership of their learning and growth. On “Leadership Day,” my students took the stage to demonstrate leadership habits and showcase their classwork to families and our community. Part of what made this experience remarkable was that seven and eight-year-old students led the event of “Leadership Day” while I remained in the audience. They gave speeches, handshakes, and presentations to a crowded room full of adults.”

Next Page: An Interview with John D. Hill, Faculty Chair

Page 3: Profles of 12 Members of the MBA Class of 2026