Paloma Paez

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

“I’m driven by curiosity, constantly learning from others to be my best self.”

Hometown: Nogales, AZ

Fun Fact About Yourself: When I was 15 and teaching myself how to play the guitar, I couldn’t play certain chords until I realized that I could never put my palms face up!

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Arizona, Bachelor’s degree in Marketing

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Houston Dash, Head of Equipment Operations

What has been your favorite part of Houston so far? Why? Moving from a small town to a big city like Houston has been an incredibly rewarding experience. One of the highlights has been exploring all that the city has to offer, from its diverse parks and museums to its vibrant food scene and performing arts. It’s been a great opportunity to try new things, learn more about the city’s culture and grow in ways I hadn’t expected.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the one key part of the Rice Jones MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? One of the key factors in choosing to attend Rice Business was the personalized approach throughout the application process. The admissions team took the time to truly understand my background and goals, making me feel like more than just another applicant. This reflected the program’s commitment to building a supportive and collaborative community, which was exactly the kind of environment I wanted during my MBA experience.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Rice Jones? Partio at Rice Business has been one of my favorite activities! I love meeting new people and getting to know classmates outside of the classroom, so being in a casual setting where we can talk about everything and anything has been an absolute joy.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was promoted to my dream job in the first two months of my career. Working with the Houston Dash, a professional women’s soccer team, alongside the players and coaching staff was a dream I didn’t think I would reach that quickly.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? Only halfway into my first semester, my biggest accomplishment so far has been successfully balancing full-time time school, recruiting and working part-time. Being able to juggle these things has been difficult but worthwhile to my long-term career goals.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? The best memory I have so far as an MBA has been meeting everyone during Launch. I love getting to know people and learning from them and where they’re from. It’s a big world, and meeting everyone at Launch made the world a bit smaller in the best way.

DON’T MISS: MEET THE RICE JONES MBA CLASS OF 2026

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