Meet Duke Fuqua’s MBA Class Of 2027

P&Q: What types of support do you provide to international students before and during business school to enable them to better acclimate to your country?

Morgan: “International students are an important part of our community at Fuqua. We take a proactive approach to ensure international students thrive with pre-business school preparation and cultural immersion, a robust on-campus orientation and support, and full-spectrum assistance ranging from academics to career and family support.

All of this begins the moment students receive their acceptance to Fuqua. Information and setting expectations are key, so we deliberately connect with students as much as possible while they prepare to come to Durham. Our International Programs Office (IPO) provides detailed guidance on everything from getting a driver’s license, opening a bank account, finding housing, and more.

Once at Fuqua, our pre-programming curricula includes the Business, Communications, and Culture (BCC) bootcamp. BCC focuses on setting international students up for success at Fuqua with an immersion in American classroom dynamics, English business communication, case-study skills, and teamwork. Delivery in BCC includes mock classes on memo-writing, presentations, cold-calls (yikes!), and group work.

The career journey for international students can be different than that of domestic students, and Fuqua’s Career Management Center (CMC) has dedicated advisors for international students, offering coaching tailored to U.S. job markets and visa sponsorship strategies. The Daytime MBA degree carries the STEM designation, which allows graduates to qualify for extended Optional Practical Training (OPT) for up to 3 years.

A number of our students, including international students, arrive with families. For them, the decision to attend Fuqua could mean a career hiatus for a partner or helping young children adjust to a new environment. Along with IPO, Fuqua’s diverse student body — with the Daytime MBA Class of 2026 representing 51 countries — is an important resource. Reflecting on their stories, it is easy to understand why.

* Advice from students and IPO helped Coco Mao and Eric Li decide which neighborhood was right for their young family of four. Students also led them to an elementary school with a dual-language program for their kids. Coco wrote about the how Team Fuqua assisted her family’s move from China to North Carolina in this blog post.

* In another instance, Camila Serra, the partner of a Fuqua student, shared her internal battle with taking time away from her career in Argentina to achieve the couple’s shared dream of living internationally while her husband pursued his MBA. Feeling included in the MBA experience from the start helped her find spaces to connect and get involved. It wasn’t long before she became embedded in Fuqua’s Latin American Student Association, embarking on a Fuqua journey of her own.

Throughout their time at Fuqua, international students can rely on the IPO, backed by Duke’s International Student Center, for ongoing support with visa issues and connections to global academic opportunities. Fuqua’s IPO partners with the MBA Association (MBAA), the student government, to coordinate panels, socials, and networking aimed at intercultural engagement.”

P&Q: How does your program integrate other disciplines, such as the liberal arts and STEM, across your curriculum to provide students with a more interdisciplinary experience in business school?

Morgan: “Fuqua’s Daytime MBA is intentionally interdisciplinary, ensuring students graduate with a holistic worldview that blends business with science, policy, culture, and ethics. This approach aligns with Duke’s broader academic mission to prepare students to lead in complex, interconnected environments.

In Leading Business in a Complex World, Fuqua and Duke faculty partner to bring higher-level strategic questions that leaders face today to the classroom. Recent class sessions have focused on issues related to geopolitics, team dynamics, and mental health.

The curriculum is designed to allow customization through focus areas (concentrations), which blend traditional business courses with other specialized topics. For example, Health Sector Management intersects with policy and medicine; Energy & Environment integrates engineering and environmental science; and Strategy, Innovation & Entrepreneurship draws from social sciences and technology.

For students looking to go deeper, we have prominent dual-degree options with other world-class graduate programs at Duke, including the Nicholas School of the Environment, Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke Law School, and Duke Medical School. This allows MBA students to blend business knowledge with expertise in science, public health, policy, or law, which benefits their classmates as well. In addition, all MBA students have the opportunity to take classes at other parts of Duke as part of fulfilling their elective requirements.

Finally, as I mentioned above, the Daytime MBA is a STEM-designated degree that integrates analytics, data science, and technology with management education. Students gain deep exposure to quantitative modeling, data-driven decision-making, and technological innovation and operations.”

P&Q: What are two ways that your program is incorporating Artificial Intelligence into your programming? How do they better prepare students for the future world of work?

Morgan: “We are focused on providing students with the technical proficiency to use AI, the real-world experience to apply AI, and frameworks for reflection on what ethical leadership means in a world of AI. Overall, we believe this focus will prepare students for the future of work through having the hands-on mastery of AI tools and concepts, the ability to be thoughtful stewards of the role of AI in business and society.

Our faculty are jumping to the forefront of AI research and are designing new courses. This fall, we’re excited to offer Modern AI for Managers and Transforming Tech Analytics with Machine Intelligence. Still to come, courses on sports analytics and using AI responsibly are in the approval process, slated to launch in the spring.

Beyond the classroom, students are experiencing what it means to apply AI strategies in a consulting context through the Fuqua Client Consulting Practicum (FCCP). One recent example is a strategic collaboration with Coforge, where student teams worked on real-world generative AI use cases across industries like finance, travel, and customer service. In these projects, students develop strategic frameworks and roadmaps with mentorship from Fuqua faculty and industry experts.”

P&Q: What types of educational and career support do you provide to alumni after graduation? How does it make them more valuable to employers during their careers?

Morgan: “We work with our alumni throughout their careers to have the appropriate mindset around career development, which includes being prepared for new leadership roles, having access to those roles, and having a supportive network for mentorship.

Specifically, our work with alumni features a robust calendar of professional and career development programs, such as seminars, alumni panels, and industry networking events. We foster community through ongoing job search groups and other group sessions. Alumni can also take advantage of personalized one-on-one career coaching and executive coaching.

We’ve seen how this support directly impacts alumni career trajectories. Coaching helps them strengthen leadership capabilities, navigate transitions with intention and confidence, and remain competitive in a rapidly evolving job market.

Fuqua supports lifelong learning with access to discounted programming on open enrollment executive education programs at Fuqua, degree-connected alumni certificates in Health Sector Management, and a host of selected resources available through Fuqua’s Ford Library. While this programming undoubtedly supports alumni, it is a benefit to employers as these graduates are less likely to stagnate or burn out. Their long-term development mindset supports growth, retention, and internal promotion — key outcomes for organizational excellence and stability.

Investing in the success of our alumni benefits our entire community. Many alumni go on to become Fuqua champions at their employer, partnering with us to recruit talent and mentor current students, creating a powerful cycle of engagement and impact.

Best of all, students graduate with a lifelong toolkit of leadership, learning, and connection that enhances their value at every stage of their career.”

Click on the links profiles to access in-depth profiles of the Class of 2027.

MBA Student	Hometown	Undergraduate Alma Mater	Last Employer
Adrian Abrams	Villa Park, IL	Georgetown University	ElevateAI by NiCE
Julissa Davila	Lima, Peru	Pontifical Catholic University of Peru	McKinsey & Company
Cecilia Dolan	New York City, NY	Fordham University	Pacific Northwest Ballet
Valeria Gavidia	Lima, Peru	New York University	Seven Hills Global
Isaiah M. Green	Charlotte, NC	University of North Carolina, Asheville	Converse
Laila Jalilian	Los Angeles, CA	University of California, Berkeley	Boston Private Industry Council
Patrick Kelly	Morro Bay, CA	U.S. Military Academy	U.S. Army
Eunmi Ko	Yeongju, South Korea	Seoul National University	POSCO
Adam Kouhel	Waukesha, WI	Marquette University	Deloitte Consulting
Jay Pandit	Mumbai, India	BITS Pilani (India)	Bain & Company
Cassidy Patscot	Wales, WI	Butler University	Capgemini
Jonathan Sochaczevski	Montreal, Canada	Brandeis University	Suited Scouting

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