Kathleen Barrow

Duke University, Fuqua School of Business

“Curious about people and history, catch me reading nonfiction and overanalyzing reality TV!”

Hometown: Boston, MA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I backpacked solo through Patagonia. I had a blast hiking, walking on a glacier, seeing penguins, and meeting interesting people from all over the world.

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, A.B. in History & Literature with a Citation in Spanish and a Certificate in Latin American Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Partner, HawkPartners

The MBA program is renowned for its “Team Fuqua” culture, which is predicated on six paired principles: Authentic Engagement, Supportive Ambition, Collective Diversity, Impactful Stewardship, Loyal Community, and Uncompromising Integrity. Which of these resonates most with you – and what does that principle demand of you as a Fuqua MBA? “Authentic engagement” stands out to me. In a short time, fellow students have shared deeply personal stories about the pressures, motivations, and curiosities that drive them in their lives and careers. For example, a friend shared how her family’s culture expects her to support the extended family at all costs. Across the table, another friend expressed how strongly the experience resonated with him despite coming from a different cultural background. Family is also one of my core values, so we connected even though our experiences were different.

Conversations like these have shown me that authentic engagement is bringing your full self to the conversation and the willingness to be vulnerable with others. I can already tell this principle will help us forge strong relationships with our class and deepen our learning throughout our time at Fuqua and into the future.

Aside from your classmates and school culture, what was the key part of Duke Fuqua’s MBA curriculum programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Last year, I was involved in conversations with women about poor health care experiences in addition to a work project on childhood obesity. Combined, they piqued my interest in building a patient-centered health care experience in the way that my former technology clients had created user-centered products. I wanted to continue this trajectory in business school, which is why the Health Sector Management (HSM) program at Fuqua was particularly exciting to me.

Between the breadth of coursework, experiential learning opportunities, and the amazing faculty, HSM is a great opportunity to gain the foundational knowledge of this complex industry I need to make a difference in health care.

What has been your first impression of the Fuqua MBA students and alumni you’ve met so far. Tell us your best Fuqua story so far. Everyone I have met at Fuqua has impressed me with their kindness and interesting backgrounds. At Health Sector Management (HSM) Bootcamp, teams were asked to design a healthcare innovation to save healthcare costs while improving the company’s bottom line and to present the concept to classmates at the end of the week. My team had two engineers, two veterans, an ex-pharma strategist, and me, an ex-consultant. I was blown away by the insights everyone brought to the table and our different ways of thinking.

After the presentations, Professor Majumder rightly pointed out how our different strengths make us stronger as teams than as individuals. As we go off into our careers after Fuqua, we will continue to be on diverse teams – and good leaders will leverage the collective backgrounds and expertise of the team to make smart, successful decisions.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Duke Fuqua? I’m excited about the Mentored Study program, which pairs interested students with a mentor and a project at a real company. As I mentioned, I’m interested in health care innovation, so I’m looking forward to partnering with a health care startup to apply what I’m learning at Fuqua in real time while also learning from those already doing this work.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At my last job, my team was engaged by a rideshare company to improve safety for women. During the research, we heard first-hand accounts of harassment that were heartbreaking. It felt important to me to honor the women’s experiences and argue persuasively the need for better safety features, like the car dashboard camera and the preference for women riders to be connected with women drivers. I’m proud that by listening to women, we were able to help improve rideshare experiences for everyone.

Looking ahead two years, what would make your MBA experience successful? Two years from now, I hope I will walk away from Fuqua with a great many new and meaningful friendships as well as stronger leadership skills, confidence, and a clear vision for my career path. I’m so excited to embark on this journey of personal and professional growth at Fuqua!

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Duke Fuqua’s MBA program? You’ve heard it a million times, but it’s the best advice I have: be yourself! This is easier said than done. It’s hard work to reflect on who you are, where you’ve been, and where you want to go. The more of this you can do before diving into the admissions process, the better, because you will be able to better articulate why you want to come to Fuqua, specifically. Another thing you’ll hear a lot, “Team Fuqua is real!”—it is! Show how and why community has been important to you in your life and show how you will engage in and uphold the Fuqua community.

DON’T MISS: MEET DUKE FUQUA’S MBA CLASS OF 2026