Emma (Em) Strieter

University of Tennessee, Haslam College of Business

“A hardworking woman passionate to serve others who views challenges as opportunities for growth.”

Hometown: Plymouth, MI

Fun fact about yourself: I have a rescue pup (or as I say, my adventure buddy) who has lived in three different states with me – and supported me through two degrees!

Undergraduate School and Degree: University of South Carolina (B.S. Biological Sciences, B.A. Spanish)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school? I was a full-time student, but my most recent internship was with Vecteris, a product management consulting firm (remote, founded in Cincinnati, OH).

Where did you intern during the summer of 2024? GEP Worldwide, Remote

Where will you be working after graduation? Mayo Clinic and Cook Medical (Collaborative), Supply Chain Fellow

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School: President of the Tennessee Organization of MBAs, Grads to Golf Director for the Women’s Organization of MBAs, Recipient of the Jan R. Williams MBA Dean’s Award, Recipient of Academic Honors, & Presenter with the 2024 Haslam MBA Case Competition Team

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? I had the honor of serving on the MBA case competition team, in which we represented the university and received awards in four national competitions. The four of us found success together, including a win in the 2024 KeyBank MBA Case Competition. There, I also received an individual award for Best Q&A. Despite these accomplishments, my proudest achievement was simply being a member of this team. Had we gone to each competition and lost, this would still be my proudest achievement because we worked together as a family. Through all the preparation, hard work, and some tears, we stood together to best represent our university, and I will forever be grateful to each of my teammates and our advisor.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? In my professional career, I am proud to have led planning for a “Diversity in Consulting” event to recruit and educate students during my internship at GEP. A lack of diversity has historically plagued many industries, consulting included. The opportunity to enact real change in that, by connecting with students and potential future consultants, allowed me to blend my passion with work to demonstrate the importance of inclusion in the workplace.

Why did you choose this business school? When I began studying biology at my undergraduate university, I had no intention of eventually attending business school. Rather, I had every plan to work in healthcare. As my studies progressed, I was surprised to find that my interest lagged in attending medical school. I realized I confidently wanted to work in healthcare, but no longer as a doctor like I originally planned. While exploring opportunities and adding a business minor, I was introduced to a new world, where I could still support patients, but from an administrative role rather than the front lines. I was particularly interested in supply chain; with the recent COVID-19 pandemic, I saw the supply challenges being faced and knew I wanted to part of the solution. The Haslam College of Business boasted the ability to deepen my learning in this area, but also connect with professionals who have served in healthcare supply chain. Because of these characteristics, I knew this was the school to earn my MBA.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor was Dr. Randy Bradley. During our first year, he taught an optional year-long course on strategy and consulting. Immediately, many of my classmates and myself became interested, as we wanted to learn from Dr. Bradley. He has a way of engaging an audience by making every person feel like a valuable part of the discussion. In addition to the coursework, he was also the advisor for our case competition team. He spent time with each of us fostering our skills, and he wasn’t shy about pointing out our weaknesses. However, he showed us how these weren’t really weaknesses at all – they were simply opportunities for growth that he would support us in. I learned more from his teaching and mentorship than I ever thought possible in business school, and I will forever be thankful for the ability to learn from him.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course as an MBA was the strategic management course taken between our first and second semesters. After initial course preparation, our cohort traveled to both Chile and Argentina to study management of the wine industry. We had the opportunity to learn from industry experts and take tours of facilities ranging from wine production to the making of corks. I think back on this course as my favorite because it evolved my global perspective and allowed me to learn about business operations in an industry, and location, I was previously unfamiliar with. As a Spanish speaker, I also learned about different dialects and slang in South America that now allows me to communicate more effectively in my second language.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? If I could have a do-over of my MBA experience, I would spend more time fostering relationships with peers in the other master’s degree programs. Haslam offers a variety of master’s programs, including business analytics, marketing, and HR. However, we mostly spent time within our individual cohorts and did not get to know others well. Looking back, I would have connected with others and tried to foster more cohesive relationships among graduate business programs.

What is the biggest myth about your school? A common myth I heard about the Haslam College of Business is that it lacks a diverse student population. However, after being a student here, I am thankful to say the MBA program facilitates a diverse group of students – whether it be in race, gender, socioeconomic status, and thought. One of my favorite aspects of my time at Haslam was learning from my classmates that come from different backgrounds than myself. I sampled home-cooked Indian food, learned about historically black sororities and fraternities, and celebrated Women’s History Month – among many other experiences. Thanks to the MBA program’s diversity, I now have a stronger understanding of those around me and have developed long-lasting relationships with people in many different walks of life.

What did you love most about your business school’s town? Living in Knoxville offers many benefits, including hiking, kayaking, and downtown shopping. Above all these positives, my true favorite thing about Knoxville is the passion of the residents for the volunteer spirit. Living in Knoxville, and especially attending the University of Tennessee, you begin to feel like you’re united with those around you. On game days, you won’t find anyone wearing anything but orange, and hearing “Go Vols!” at every corner is typical. I loved seeing the passion for the university bringing people together and showing everyone that we’re more alike than we are different.

What movie or television show (e.g. The Big Short, The Founder, Mad Men, House of Lies) best reflects the realities of business and what did you learn from it? Although considered to be a romantic comedy, Set It Up reflects key realities in the business world. It centers around two assistants who hope to grow their career but are constantly overworked. First, this movie demonstrates that no one person can do it all. While in a business setting it may look as though someone handles everything themselves, in reality, they likely have the support of a hardworking team. Each person on that team matters and does valuable work to support the overarching goal. Secondly, I learned that you will never be simply handed a promotion or a raise in the business world. Not only do you have to work for it, but you also have to ask and voice your goals and concerns. You must advocate for yourself to grow in your career.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? Haslam has integrated AI into the MBA programming in a variety of ways, including in our coursework. In some of our classes, we had assignments to be completed using AI tools, such as ChatGPT and Perplexity. We learned which prompts were most efficient and could best streamline our work, but one of the main insights I gained is that AI is a tool to be used, not a replacement for hard work. When used appropriately, AI can enhance work quality. However, it can also be wrong. I learned the importance of fact-checking my learnings and not considering AI as all-knowing. Now, I can use it in my everyday work to streamline my tasks, but I know it is not a replacement for the work I and my colleagues put in.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? My MBA classmate that I most admire is Savannah Brown. I could write for hours about her strengths, but my favorite thing about her is her authenticity. Whether it be in the classroom or at a social gathering, Savannah will always be herself. She is determined and kind, always ensuring all voices are heard in a conversation. When our cohort didn’t have an extracurricular organization that she wanted, she didn’t complain about it – she put in the work and created it herself, for our cohort and future cohorts to enjoy. She has taught me how you can reflect your authenticity and drive in your everyday life and leave a lasting impact on those around you.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list? On my professional bucket list, I hope to lead a women’s group within my future company. When interning at GEP, the organization had various resource groups that employees could join, and they made me feel welcomed to the team, even as an intern. I want to support other women in that way, providing them and allies with a space to connect with and learn from one another. Relationships are incredibly important to me, and by leading a women’s group, I hope to bring the feeling of in-person connection to a potentially remote team. Secondly, I hope to work in another country for at least a month. In both undergrad and grad school, studying abroad was an integral part in growing my understanding of other cultures and myself. I would love the opportunity to support my company while exploring a new place. As a lifelong learner, I believe working abroad would improve my knowledge and joy in my role.

What made Emma such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2025?

“Em is the quintessential example of someone who sees the best in others and seeks to build meaningful connections. From her first day in the program, she was interested in learning about her classmates’ interests, motivations, and career aspirations. Though many do this on a superficial level and as a nicety, Em’s sincerity was evident. This genuineness was on full display at the end of the program dinner, where she acknowledged something unique and valuable about every student in her MBA cohort. Please don’t confuse this exemplar as her being a nice person. She immersed herself in nearly every curricular and extracurricular opportunity offered by the program…and she excelled. Where she had knowledge deficits due to not having a business foundation, she worked to shore up those deficits. What made Em such an invaluable member of the Class of 2025 was her relentless pursuit of excellence. Rather than only fulfilling program requirements, she consistently asked, “How much can I do?” This commitment was highlighted by her participation in four national case competitions, where her team placed in the top four in every competition, and she won the award for Best Presenter in at least one of them.”

Dr. Randy Bradley
Associate Professor
Supply Chain Management

DON’T MISS: MBAS TO WATCH: CLASS OF 2025

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