Meet UCLA Anderson’s MBA Class Of 2027

The career center is the most undervalued part of the MBA experience. Most places, students don’t need to complete courses there. And it doesn’t carry the allure of an overseas trek or case competition, either. Instead, a career center is often treated as an afterthought – a just-in-time service to clean up resumes, rehearse interviews, or hone elevator pitches.

Truth is, the value of career center comes when their staff can share those uncomfortable truths, to guide students to an understanding of who they are and what they want. In the end, the career center serves as a business school’s memory. It is a plugged-in community that can introduce students to alumni and friends – the ones who’ll open doors to the roles, employers, and locations they covet.

EXPECTATIONS OF CAREER SERVICES “DRASTICALLY EXCEEDED”

And few schools have capitalized on the possibilities of a career center more than UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.

That’s because the Parker Career Center (CMC) has made itself an integral part of the student experience, both inside and outside the classroom. The Center reaches out to every student throughout their time in Westwood, while embedding their capabilities and services in the programming. Those are two reasons why first-year Cemil Revan Purington considers the CMC to be a “huge differentiator.” His classmate, Nicholas McDonough, a U.S. Army Engineering Officer, takes it a step further. He paints it as one of the primary reasons he joined Anderson’s MBA Class of 2027. While he came into Anderson with high expectations for the CMC, he admits that they have been “drastically exceeded.”

“The career advisers at Anderson genuinely care about each student,” he continues. “They work with us in creating career game plans, all tailored to our individual professional aspirations, location preferences, and personal strengths/weaknesses. Recognizing that I lack the foundational business experience that many of my peers come to business school with, the industry immersion programs led by the Parker CMC have been indispensable to my growth as a future leader in business.”

A MENTORING PARTNERSHIP

In that vein, Natalie Doppelt points to a joint effort between Anderson’s clubs and the CMC: Anderson’s Days-on-the-Jobs (DOJ) Treks. Here, students enjoy industry-specific treks, where they can learn about the “day-to-day experiences” of employees in specific roles at leading companies. For Doppelt, the DOJ Treks have proven more valuable than a typical coffee chat.

“As an experiential learner, I find it invaluable to directly engage with professionals and witness how their skills are deployed,” she tells P&Q. “Moreover, the DOJs position us to be more intentional and well-informed when we approach the recruiting process and provide a fantastic opportunity to connect with businesses and like-minded professionals, bolstering a robust professional network.”

The CMC doesn’t just tap into its deep company networks across the globe. Silvia Orozco observes that the Parker Center sets students up for success through its Anderson Career Teams and Interview Prep Teams, where second-years formally support first-years in areas ranging from “sharing industry knowledge [to] interview preparation.”

“This was important for me because not only do I benefit from the guidance of someone who was in my shoes a year prior, but I also have the opportunity to help the incoming class when I’m in my second year,” Orozco adds. “That’s the kind of impact I want to make. I remember leaving my Anderson tour thinking that the Share Success pillar was real. I knew Anderson was special.”

SHARING SUCCESS IS CENTRAL TO THE ANDERSON EXPERIENCE

By pillars, Orozco refers to Anderson’s core principles: Think Fearlessly, Drive Change, and Share Success. In many ways, the CMC’s efforts are an extension of a school philosophy where success is rooted in engaging with the world and supporting peers. Think Fearlessly, for example, reflects the program’s commitment to “push(ing) past unconventional thinking.” By the same token, the Drive Change pillar is defined by “making an impact” and ‘bettering communities.” In fact, Brennan Hart considers Drive Change as “core” to her identity.

“Volunteering at Girls on the Run (where I coached 3rd-5th grade girls in running and life skills development) ingrained in me a sense of responsibility to use the privilege, skills, and resources I have to create a better future for younger generations,” she explains. “Fueled by Anderson platforms like the Women’s Business Connection, Sports Business Association, and UCLA’s robust athletic ecosystem, I hope to build a career that bridges profit and purpose in the women’s sports industry.”

Still, Share Success may be the pillar that the Class of 2027 gravitates towards the most. Natalie Doppelt, for one, considers it to be the cornerstone of leadership.

“I am inspired by leaders who don’t just pursue their own best interests, but who invite others into the conversation, amplify their teammates’ skills, and celebrate collective wins. Some of my best managers have modeled this behavior by recognizing contributions and making space for others to shine, exemplifying that, when a team is fully invested in their shared pursuit, we work harder and more thoughtfully. I believe that success is contagious, and it often takes someone willing to champion others to help them realize their full potential.”

Anderson alumni have also bought into the Share Success pillar. When Sebastian Esselens joined the MBA program in 2023, he assumed Share Success was a recruiting gimmick. Over time, he discovered it was something that set Anderson students apart.

“As AnderTech President, I saw students openly share insights and job leads instead of keeping them to themselves. And when I interned at Apple, I met MBA interns from other top programs who told me their classmates were cutthroat and backstabbing…What makes this culture different is that people here genuinely want to see each other succeed. Not because they have to, but because someone once helped them, and now they want to pay it forward. It’s the kind of environment that pushes you to do better, not just for yourself, but for the people around you.”

A LOOK BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Anderson targets prospective students who are hard-wired to follow the three pillars, accelerating the qualities needed to thrive in a fast-changing environment where flexibility, continuous learning, and social intelligence are paramount. In the Class of 2027, these qualities are widespread, along with a wide-range of industry experience.

At the more conventional end of the spectrum, you’ll find Fernando Klüppel, a Brazilian who speaks four languages (with Mandarin on the way). A business manager for a media tech conglomerate, he orchestrated a partnership with one of Brazil’s largest education firms. Similarly, Trennedy Kleczewski partnered with Amazon as a marketing campaign lead for Discover Financial Services.

“I oversaw the launch of 30+ annual marketing communications across email, paid media, website, and mobile app channels,” writes Kleczewski, a certified dog-sitter and dog-walker in her spare time. “By driving cross-functional collaboration and applying creative development and audience-targeting strategies, I optimized our team’s campaign performance, resulting in thousands of new Discover card provisions and millions in annual sales lift.”

Brennan Hart’s passion is healthcare. She developed a social media platform catering to women’s health issues. At the same time, she interned at an women’s apparel company – launched at Anderson – where she built relationships with potential partners ranging from WNBA players to venture capitalists. Silvia Orozco also brings experience working for a healthcare startup. In her case, she devised the “entire system” that provided genetic testing results to clients.

“Think back to the first time you received a 23andMe health report,” urges Orozco, who learned to play guitar during quarantine. “Did you pay attention to how results are displayed? There is a lot of thought that goes into the language to describe a disease from a medical and legal perspective. There are even nuances we as consumers often overlook. For example, what made the company choose a particular color scheme or user interface? I was part of those conversations and drove the development of that process from its infancy into a system that started delivering real results to real patients.”

A PHYSICIAN ON A MISSION

Healthcare is a deeply personal mission for Melissa Venegas, who’ll earn her MD from UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine next spring. The daughter of immigrant parents, she was inspired to become a pediatrician after watching her family struggle to operate within the U.S. healthcare system. It also drove her to give back to families who were in the same position that she once found herself.

“My proudest accomplishment has been representing my predominantly Latino and Spanish-speaking community in spaces where they are often underrepresented. As a medical student, the patients I meet frequently remind me of my own neighbors, friends, and family. Serving them and advocating for their needs has been deeply meaningful, and I hope to continue using my privilege and opportunities to uplift and support vulnerable communities throughout my career.”

Chloé Margrethe Fausa jokes that she has “spent more time on chairlifts than in classrooms.” That’s because the Norwegian is a former competitive skier who transitioned to financial investments. Looking for grit? Nicholas McDonough completed the legendary Sapper Leader Course, a grueling, month-long series of drills that test solder-engineers on everything from fitness to demolition to survival skills. In Memphis, Meshach Boyce led a campaign to rename the area VA Medical Hospital after his grandfather, Tuskegee Airman Lt. Col. Luke J. Weathers Jr.

“This milestone not only honors his legacy but also establishes a lasting symbol of inclusive excellence in aviation and equality for the City of Memphis, affirming that I am on the right path toward championing his vision,” Boyce notes.

GOALS AFTER GRADUATION

After finishing their MBAs, the Class of 2027 plan to pursue a wide range of activities. Brennan Hart, for one, intends to remain in women’s apparel, devoting herself to creating products customized to women’s bodies over the usual “shrink it and pink it” approach. Along the same lines, Natalie Doppelt plans to use her education to help make healthcare more “humane.”

“My passion for this work stems…from real, personal moments I have experienced volunteering at nursing homes and rehab centers, where I sing with residents. Some of the most powerful experiences I’ve had involve memory-care residents, many of whom struggle to remember names or places, yet somehow light up and sing along to familiar songs from decades past. It is in these moments that I am reminded that healthcare is not only about clinical treatments, but about our responsibility to recognize the full spectrum of wellness.”

For Reshmi Neogy, a statistician from India, the future will hopefully revolve around technical product management. “I’m excited to build platform products—data pipelines, forecasting and optimization services, ML observability, experimentation frameworks, and API integrations—that improve planning, inventory, pricing, and personalization at scale.”

A CLASS PROFILE

As a whole, the Anderson MBA Class of 2027 consists of 307 members. On average, they are 29 years old, with 46% of the class being women. 35% of the class hails from overseas, representing 34 countries ranging from Australia to Iran to Vietnam. Among American classmates, 34% of the class are White/Non-Hispanic, followed by Asian-American (31%), Hispanic (19%), and African-American (16%). Another 9% of the class identify as LGBTQ+, while 4% possess military experience.

Together, the class brings a 703 Mean GMAT (10th Edition), with scores ranging from 670-750 in the mid-80% range. The combined GRE is 325: 162 (Verbal) and 163 (Quant). As undergraduates, the class also produced a collective 3.5 GPA. 30% of the class hold Business-related degrees, followed by Humanities and Social Sciences (22%), Economics (13%), and Biology and Physical Sciences (6%).

Career-wise, 84% of the class describe themselves as career switchers. Their average work experience is 5.6 years, including a 26% share who with more than 6 years of experience. The largest segment of the class – 20% — last worked in the Technology sector. Another 19% held roles in Finance, followed by Consulting (9%), Government, Education, and the Public Sector (9%), Media and Entertainment (8%), Marketing and CPG (7%), Manufacturing (4%), Retail (3%), and Real Estate (3%).

HIGH STUDENT SATISFACTION

The Anderson School of Management is part of the 2nd-highest-ranked public university in the United States. In fact, UCLA is feted for its Psychology, Engineering, Biomedicine, and Software Engineering programs. Not surprising, when it comes to business research prowess, Anderson ranks 17th in the world according to The Financial Times, While Anderson is a Top 20 mainstay among American MBA programs, it also ranks 5th in both the U.S. News & World Report Executive MBA and Part-Time MBA Rankings.

However, it is student satisfaction and programming where Anderson excels. When The Princeton Review surveyed students about their business schools in 2025, Anderson posted the highest score of any program in Campus Experience. Students also ranked Anderson 9th for Classroom Experience and 6th for Marketing programming, while data gave the school a 7th and 10th ranking for Resources for Women and Resources for Minorities respectively. When U.S. News & World released the results of its annual survey of business school deans and MBA directors earlier this year, Anderson produced Top 10 scores in six disciplines: Finance, Supply Chain, Business Analytics, Entrepreneurship, International Business, and Marketing.

Entrepreneurship has become a particular bright spot at Anderson, where over a third of students take electives in the field. That’s no different with the Class of 2027, where Andrea Vo intends to launch a consumer brand and become an angel investor after graduation.

“A large part of Anderson’s culture hinges on entrepreneurial spirit, which manifests through the Price Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. The center offers courses, accelerators, and mentorship for founders. As an aspiring founder and VC, I wanted a program where I would feel both inspired and supported on what can often be an isolating path. Knowing that I’d have a built-in community of people and resources on this trajectory was the single most important factor in my decision to choose Anderson.”

A CHANCE TO EXPERIENCE ENTREPRENEURSHIP

The Business Creation Capstone (BCC) is one way that entrepreneurship-minded students can test their ideas. Working in teams, students can take advantage of Anderson’s resources and expertise – all while receiving intensive one-on-one leadership coaching.

“I’m really looking forward to participating in the Business Creation Capstone next year, where small teams test a startup hypothesis and potentially bring it to launch,” adds Brennan Hart. “While BCC is still about a year away, the excitement is palpable from many of us already brainstorming and exchanging ideas. BCC is basically a practice run for anyone interested in starting their own business – a low-risk environment to explore what it’s like to be an entrepreneur.”

She’ll be joined by Reshmi Neogy, who’ll be participating in startup pitch competitions. And the Class of 2027 can leverage the expertise of alumni like Matthew Maxwell and Jack Schweighauser, 2025 grads who started a music advisory startup as students. These alumni members credit the startup case studies they analyzed to helping them adjust their business model. Even more, they praise their Los Angeles digs for giving them a noticeable advantage in networking.

“There are several events for those on the business side to connect, which is helpful for collaborations,” they add. “We’ve attended formal events such as LA Tech Week and Music Tectonics. However, the fun part of L.A. is that, even when casually going to the grocery store or grabbing a coffee, there’s a chance of building connections quite serendipitously. Last, we believe L.A. is a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem. Many colleagues on the VC side have spoken to the world of opportunity here for startups compared to other, more developed ecosystems, so it’s fun to be part of that.”

Go to next page and scroll down to access 12 in-depth student profiles of the Class of 2027.

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