Spencer Payne

Washington University, Olin Business School in St. Louis

“Golfer and Jazz-aholic, with a penchant for classic attire and spontaneous humor.”

Hometown: Davenport, IA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I starred in a pizza commercial for a local chain when I was in elementary school. Nothing like seeing your face on a menu.

Undergraduate School and Major: Washington & Lee University – Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: M&T Bank – Growth and Marketing Specialist

What has been your favorite part of St. Lous so far? What makes St. Louis such a great place to earn an MBA? As someone new to St. Louis, spending time in Forest Park has been a highlight. It’s right across the street from campus and is great for a walk or a quick nine holes of golf. There’s no place like it – its energy and vibrance are unmatched. This shared sense community exemplifies what makes St. Louis a special place to live and WashU Olin Business School such a nurturing place to learn.

Aside from the global immersion, what was the key part of Washington Olin’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Business is complex. Every industry is unique, and no two companies are the same. As I was considering MBA programs, WashU’s top ranked Entrepreneurship Program piqued my interest. What a great opportunity to learn about every aspect of business – from venture capital, to startup, to scaling, to organic growth. These are key moments in each company’s evolution, and cultivating a better understanding of key corporate considerations is exactly what drew me to business school in the first place. I’m looking forward to engaging with the Skandalaris Center and building business acumen to draw on for years to come.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Washington Olin? Joining the Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation has been one of my favorite experiences here at Olin. It offers the opportunity to engage with St. Louis companies and help them solve challenges facing their businesses. It’s also been a great chance to collaborate with WashU students outside of the MBA program, while gaining deeper knowledge of diverse industries and engaging with the St. Louis business community.  Our team is currently working with a local firm to optimize its distribution channels and speed up processing time, and it has been exciting to help develop recommendations poised for immediate impact.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I had a fantastic experience at M&T Bank before coming to Olin. It was a truly collaborative environment, and working in various communications and strategy roles opened my eyes to banking and beyond. There, I had the chance to advance meaningful work as a young professional – from corporate messaging, to intranet management, to leading proofs-of-concept. However, serving as the President of the Character Council of Western New York is the career milestone of which I’m most proud. It’s an organization committed to promoting the benefits of good character and fostering its development in the generation of tomorrow. Working with the Board of Directors, local schools, and partner organizations taught me what it means to support a community cause and a lot about myself. I’m truly grateful to have had the opportunity to work alongside such passionate, dedicated people, and I look forward to engaging with the St. Louis nonprofit community soon.

Describe your biggest achievement in the MBA program so far: Sometimes it’s the little things that resonate most. For me, successfully transitioning from a full-time employee to a full-time student has been particularly gratifying. Before coming to Olin, I wasn’t accustomed to presenting to 50+ people regularly, and I’d gone seven years since taking an exam. Making intentional decisions to balance coursework, class preparation, and extracurricular engagement hasn’t always been easy, but it has made all the difference in my MBA experience.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? There have been many enjoyable moments since starting the MBA program last summer. Travelling abroad with the cohort and hitting balls with classmates at Top Golf have certainly been memorable. But what jumps out most to me is the volunteering our core team did at the McPherson Community Garden. We met off campus to work together and further a social cause, while doing something completely out of our comfort zones. As a golfer, the closest thing I’d done to gardening was repairing divots. Through it all, we had fun exercising our green thumbs, sharing laughs, and seeing our efforts pay off. The weather was great, and it was the perfect way for our core team to connect right at the start. It was also rewarding to give back to the St. Louis community which has already given us so much.

DON’T MISS: MEET WASHINGTON OLIN’S MBA CLASS OF 2026