Kellogg Chronicles: How 4 MiMs Across 4 Industries Are Preparing For What’s Next

AI is reshaping industries, and early-career professionals are tasked with more than just menial projects – they must think cross-functionally, strategize, and quickly adapt to ever-evolving landscapes.

At Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, Master in Management (MiM) students approach that challenge from many different starting points – from ClimateTech to food science to software engineering to marketing. Recently, four MiM students reflected on how Kellogg has prepared them individually for each industry:

* Ana Belen Coronel ’26: A former software engineer in the tech and automotive industries with goals of starting her own business.

* Ella Marshall ’26: A University of South Carolina alumna hoping to work in marketing or human resources when she graduates from Kellogg.

* Henning Stoffel ’26: Kellogg MiM class president originally from Germany with a background in strategy and consulting.

* Stanley Huang ’26: A previous intern at McKinsey Beijing who ran operations at his family’s food ingredients business in Shantou, China.

Together, they share one theme: the skills that matter most are shifting in real time, and so is how they are preparing.

Why Kellogg and why now?

Ella Marshall: “I came to Kellogg freshly out of undergrad, so I hadn’t yet had full-time work experience, just internships and part-time jobs. I wanted to delve more deeply into the management side of business, since I felt like I hadn’t had much exposure to that subsection of business. I appreciated that Kellogg’s program catered to those who didn’t necessarily have the full-time experience needed for an MBA while still providing a rigorous business program.”

Stanley Huang: “I studied food science and engineering as an undergraduate, which gave me the technical foundation along one part of the value chain. Now, I want to close the loop on the strategy side: how decisions get made, not just executed. Kellogg MiM is the right place to build that lens early.”

What changed the way you think?

Henning Stoffel: “I came into the MiM program believing career success was largely about standing out and clearly communicating what you’ve achieved. While that still matters, Kellogg reframed it for me. ‘Low ego, high impact’ isn’t just a slogan often heard in Kellogg classrooms; it’s about helping others create tangible results. Serving as class president and working closely with deans, directors, peers, and staff taught me that what actually moves a team forward is empowering the people around you, not focusing on your own visibility.”

Ana Belen Coronel: “Before the MiM program, I never considered that a line at a coffee shop serves as a real-time signal of wait time – one that disappears the moment you order through an app. That invisible queue problem fascinated me, because it revealed how much operational complexity hides beneath everyday customer experiences. Equally surprising was learning how to think rigorously about differentiation — not just having a better product, but understanding why customers choose you over a competitor and how to sustain that edge over time. Both insights changed how I see businesses I interact with every day.”

What industry shifts are you preparing for?

Ella Marshall: “People are talking about how AI will shift the marketing landscape, but I think there is a fundamental misunderstanding about how AI will really affect the industry. While AI will become a crucial tool for marketers (it often is already), it cannot replace them. AI is helpful for generating images to show various layouts or concepts, as well as streamlining work and polishing writing, but turning marketing completely over to AI generators is a losing game. AI cannot reason or empathize the way a human can, and that human nuance is necessary to make marketing resonate with the public.”

Ana Belen Coronel: “With the rise of AI, the biggest shift I see is how much more valuable it is to sit at the intersection of technical and business thinking – and Kellogg gave me exactly the toolkit I needed to close the gap between the two. It’s no longer enough to just build a great product; the MiM program teaches how to position, scale, and sustain momentum. I came in as someone who could build the product, and now I can also evaluate the business model around it, which changes everything about how I think about my future company.”

Share some classroom insights in practice:

Stanley Huang: “Accelerated Corporate Finance had the steepest learning curve for me because I don’t come from a finance background, but I was able to use what I learned in the course almost immediately. After the spring quarter ended, I started applying takeaways from the class to help restructure my family business’s procurement pricing contract.”

Ella Marshall: “Having classes in career readiness and leadership has been a huge help in my job hunt. When interviewers ask about my strengths and long-term goals, I am able to use assignments from these classes as jumping-off points. For example, during my Personal Insights for Early Career Professionals class, we re-evaluated our life goals and ambitions. It’s been very helpful in finding jobs that align with my values and articulating those values to employers.”

Henning Stoffel: “As class president, I lead a team of six chairs through everything from defining our team principles to navigating real disagreements. Kellogg’s collaborative but focused leadership style gave me a practical approach: start with the other person’s perspective, make a real effort to understand it, and then act. That mindset helped turn potential friction into opportunities and better outcomes.”

What advice would you give for prospective students?

Henning Stoffel: “The MiM program is built for self-motivated people who thrive in collaborative, interactive environments and want to master the ‘big picture’ of how organizations function. While those seeking highly specialized technical mastery might find a better fit in a more niche program, the MiM is the ideal accelerator for anyone looking to build a broader management foundation.”

Ana Belen Coronel: “If you don’t have a business degree and want to work in that landscape, I would definitely recommend the MiM program. The program is structured to give students the big picture of business, along with core foundations across accounting, operations, marketing, analytics, finance, and leadership. You’ll also be surprised at how much time you spend with people from your cohort throughout the whole program, which is one of the major bonuses. It’s a natural way to build genuine friendships and strengthen your network.”

Stanley Huang: “The best way I can describe Kellogg’s MiM program is the Chinese phrase 如虎添翼 – ‘Giving wings to a tiger.’ It amplifies what you already bring with rigorous training and higher-level thinking. Come in with substance and an open mind, and you’ll leave with sharper instincts, a stronger network, and a vantage you couldn’t have reached alone.”

---

A computer science graduate of Georgia Tech and former software engineer in the tech and automotive industries, Ana Belen Coronel ’26 is now a Master in Management student on a mission to build her own company.

Ella Marshall ’26 is a Master in Management student originally from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 and hopes to work in marketing or human resources after her Kellogg graduation.

Henning Stoffel ’26 is a Master in Management student, originally from Germany, curious about driving growth and passionate about photography, guitar, and tennis.

Stanley Huang ’26 is a Kellogg Master in Management candidate who loves learning new things and solving hard problems. He previously interned at McKinsey Beijing, and ran operations at his family’s food ingredients business in Shantou, China. Currently, he publishes content about his research in IO economics and commentary on anything fun on his blog, X and LinkedIn channels.

DON’T MISS: SPOTLIGHT ON U.S. MIMS: NORTHWESTERN KELLOGG SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

© Copyright 2026 Poets & Quants. All rights reserved. This article may not be republished, rewritten or otherwise distributed without written permission. To reprint or license this article or any content from Poets & Quants, please submit your request HERE.