Meet The Michigan Ross MBA Class Of 2027

You don’t learn it until you do it. And you don’t master it until you repeat it – over-and-over.

Learning isn’t absorbed: it’s earned. It comes from repetition – muscle memory – where instinct becomes intuition and inquiry turns to know-how. It involves dead-ends and contradictions, lost time and wasted resources, new questions and old holdups. In the end, real learning – learning-by-doing – is a shared experience, one anchored to an unforgettable context that delivers the most valuable return of any lesson: confidence.

This is the foundation of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business MBA program. Call it hands-on, experiential, or active. In the end, employers know they are hiring graduates who have been truly tested in operating in teams, developing and executing strategy, and producing work product worthy of the top companies.

SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE

Take investment funds. Ross offers more student-run funds than any MBA program, so students can experience cutting-edge practices and real-world expectations in the VC space. Notably, MBAs make decisions in industries as different as healthcare, technology, education, real estate, and sustainability. Francesca Colombo, a 2025 P&Q Best & Brightest MBA, participated in the Social Venture Fund.

“I’ve consulted for an early-stage Kenyan start-up, pitched tech-enabled business ideas to a panel of investors, and role-played a corporate executive responding to an actual business crisis in a press conference of my peers,” writes Colombo, who has worked for two pre-seed funds since graduation.

“While I have enjoyed analyzing and discussing cases, action-based learning has provided hands-on experience to help me decide what I want to pursue next.”

Want to run your own company…with a safety net? There is the Living Business Leadership Experience (LBLE), where student teams operate as the arm of an existing business. Here, they handle responsibilities ranging from product development to finance to sales – and are held accountable for the results. Over the summer, MBAs can be part of the Ross Open Road, spending five weeks traveling the country to advise fledgling firms. Along the same lines, students can consult with local companies as part of the Detroit Impact Projects or assist companies seeking help in sustainability-related areas through the Erb Impact Projects.

That doesn’t count the ever-popular Story Lab. Sponsored by the Sanger Leadership Center, the lab is a mix of exercises and one-on-one coaching to help MBAs hone their communication skills through storytelling. For Colombo, who was admittedly terrified of public speaking or even answering questions in class, the lab became an “empowering” experience.

“Through the workshop and coaching sessions with storytelling consultants, I became confident in sharing my journey with a large audience – and it’s still on YouTube. This experience showed me early on how much I could learn at Ross if I jumped in headfirst.”

MAPPING OUT THEIR NEXT STEPS

However, the Ross School’s marquee attraction is MAP – or Multidisciplinary Action Project. A required first-year course held during the spring, MAP pairs student teams up with leading companies, startups, and nonprofits for consulting project. Last year, for example, Rocket sponsored a team that identified how AI could help the firm identify the best job candidates. Working with the United Tennis Association tasked a Ross team with developing strategies to make the sport more attractive to people who didn’t play it. At the same time, Ross MBAs dug into Riot Games’ finances to identify ways to cut costs and streamline processes in taxes, budgeting, and financial reporting.

As a whole, Ross sponsors over 75 projects each year. Lasting seven weeks, MAP culminates with an on-site presentation of each team’s finding (with 40% of presentations held overseas and 93% conducted in front of the senior leadership team according the school). The benefit of MAP, of course, is that it enables students to apply all the lessons they gained from the core curriculum to a high-stakes, real-world setting. More that that, it acts as an opportunity for students to prepare for the all-important summer internship. For career changers, MAP is also a chance to learn the intricacies of their target industries. At the same time, MBAs can build their networks in leading firms. Just ask Francesca Colombo, whose MAP project with the Ashoka Foundation required her to interview the company’s top executives – including CEO Bill Drayton.

Among the MBA Class of 2027, MAP was one of the main reasons they enrolled at Ross last summer. That includes Damilola Olupona, a senior researcher from Nigeria who noted that several alumni told him that MAP was the highlight of their MBA experience.

“They loved the quality of the projects and the chance to work directly with top companies in the U.S. and abroad. Hearing their stories made it clear to me that MAP isn’t just another class; it is a chance to test myself in a real business setting, learn from teammates, and build the confidence for the career move that I want to make.”

Destiny Clark, a Papa John’s executive who handled delivery strategies before business school, was equally bullish on MAP. “I’ve always learned best by doing—by taking concepts off the page and testing them in real-world settings. MAP offers that kind of immersion at a global scale, giving me the chance to stretch myself, collaborate deeply with peers, and see the impact of our ideas firsthand. It’s the kind of experience that I know will not just shape interviews, but shape the way I lead and tell my story for years to come.”

PERFORMING UNDER PRESSURE

Many first-years have also gravitated towards the Board Fellows program, where students act as non-voting members of local non-profits. That said, the Leadership Crisis Challenge has increasingly become one of Ross’s signature experiential learning programs. Picture a two-day simulated crisis that attracts over 400 students across Ross (along with another 100 alumni, faculty, and executive volunteers). Here, student teams operate as fictional companies and stakeholders facing a major issue. In the past, for example, teams have responded to a company data security breach or a dangerous flaw discovered in a passenger jet. Working in roles ranging from CEO to board members to journalists, students have 24-hours to hold strategy sessions and develop a plan, weighing variables like brand image, public safety, and earnings – with new developments popping up over the period to further complicate matters. In the end, teams present before judges, receiving feedback and honors in equal measure.

The Challenge resonates deeply with the Class of 2027. Destiny Clark calls it a “rare chance to practice leading under pressure [and] make high-stakes decisions,” providing the “reps” needed to lead teams facing similar circumstances in the future. Her classmate, Kenny Tran, most recently a finance associate with the Gates Foundation, loves how “every choice matters” in the simulation. More than that, it exposes students to ambiguity, adds Vibhor Gupta – and making decisions when the data is conflicting and the outcomes are unclear.

“At Ross, being thrust into a simulated crisis—facing the scrutiny of peers, faculty, and alumni—will be the ultimate test of my instincts as a leader. The experience will stretch my ability to communicate clearly, prioritize under pressure, and inspire confidence in uncertain times. I see it as the perfect training ground for leading turnaround projects in consulting and, eventually, steering portfolio companies through transformation.”

BRIDGING THE DIGITAL DIVIDE

Before enrolling at Ross, Gupta worked as a manager in the founder’s office of Finsol Techologies, a financial trading startup. Here, he developed a mobile app, which supported small brokers by reducing the risks inherent in trading in one currency and being paid in another.

“By prioritizing a smooth user experience and aligning features to client behavior, I strengthened engagement and created new revenue streams. The results were immediate: the app expanded active client usage by 20%, generating $300,000 in recurring revenue. More importantly, it positioned Finsol as an innovator rather than a follower. This accomplishment reinforced my belief that identifying hidden client needs and executing bold solutions is how I can create impact.”

Irma Gaviño joins the Class of 2027 after a four-year stint at PepsiCo International, where she worked on the strategy team. Her classmate, Wonji Seo, launched an “AI-driven advertising product” for a Seoul startup that generated $3-million in revenue. Haley Viall also operated in the digital space at Deloitte. Her biggest achievement, she says, was partnering with a regional hospital system to spearhead the launch of an electronic health record platform.

“I worked with client leadership to develop a rollout plan that supported clinical staff across multiple hospitals and outpatient sites, ensuring patient care continued smoothly throughout the transition. I coordinated practice runs with nurses, pharmacists, and technical analysts to prepare for the switch, which allowed us to successfully move all patient information and operations to the new system in a single day.”

FROM GOOGLE TO DOORDASH

Kyla Sherap also started in consulting with Guild, an eLearning provider. In one engagement, she built a “credit-for-training program” for a Fortune 100 firm. In college, she even devoted six months working for the Tibetan Government in exile. In contrast, Braylen Stevens followed his own path. At 19, he started his own brand and consultancy firm, MBRACED. It was a venture he continued to grow, even as he spent over four years working in finance at Google.

“Most recently, through MBRACED, we launched “Seat at the Table,” a key initiative for talent retention and holistic development. What started as a conversation about missed opportunities to connect and ideate with peers turned into a thriving community and sought-after experience. This year, we celebrated our third annual gala, with over 50 companies represented… The success of these projects has taught me about the power of calculated bets. This lesson has directly informed my approach to complex challenges at Google, where I’ve overseen financials and strategy from new product ideation through market launch and growth for the Pixel Tablet accessory line and Nest thermostat portfolios.”

Stevens isn’t alone in excelling in high-profile corporate environments. Take Destiny Clark. She built her career in strategy for DoorDash and Papa Johns. With the former, she led an accelerator program that doled out $20,000 in grants to support Black-owned restaurants during COVID.

“I partnered with our social impact team to select participants, held office hours to support them through the program, and worked closely with owners navigating the crisis. Seeing the restaurants graduate—and meeting a few of the owners who told me how the program kept their doors open—made the impact real. It’s the accomplishment I’m proudest of because it blended my skills in strategy with my passion for creating opportunities with lasting impact.

MORE THAN AN AWARD

Kenny Tran’s impact came in shifting how the Gates Foundation funded partners in low-income countries. “I built a tool that helped leaders see more clearly where money was going and how it matched our mission. With that clarity, we set new goals and ultimately doubled the funding that went directly to organizations on the ground instead of through intermediaries.”

Michael Clark studied at West Point before earning a Master’s in Industrial Engineering at Clemson University. In his spare time, he flies planes and skydives. While Clark has co-authored articles in peer-reviewed journals and earned internships at Boeing and the U.S. Congress, he believes that his biggest moment came when he was named Officer of the Year in his U.S. Army unit.

“The award recognized not just operational success, but leadership that made a difference in people’s lives. Leading soldiers in complex missions taught me how to earn trust, make decisions under pressure, and take responsibility for others’ well-being. That experience defined my leadership philosophy: success is measured not just by results, but by how much you elevate those around you. It’s a principle I carry into every role, whether leading troops, managing engineers, or collaborating with my classmates at Ross.”

A WIDE RANGE OF TALENTS

While Clark’s gift is elevating others, his classmates bring equally indispensable qualities to the Class of 2027. Irma Gaviño, for one, bridges creativity and analytical thinking, in which she says “thinking stems from being an artist at heart and an economist by training.” Vibhor Gupta points to a mix of energy and pattern recognition, while Braylen Stevens believes his differentiator is being able to “connect seemingly different ideas and people.”

“I don’t just see the world through a single lens,” he continues. “I view it from multiple perspectives as an experienced finance professional in Big Tech, a serial entrepreneur/founder, a creative marketer, and a community builder. This isn’t just about seeing a problem from every angle; it’s about synthesizing those different viewpoints into a more robust and complete solution.”

For poets looking for a primer in finance, they might not find a better guide than Kenny Tran. “Professionally, I’ve been shaped by seeing two different sides of finance. At Microsoft, I worked on large budgets and learned how scale drives decisions. At the Gates Foundation, I saw how those same kinds of financial choices ripple into real people’s lives. That mix taught me to think about both resources and outcomes, which is a perspective I want to bring into class discussions and projects.”

Next Page: An Interview With Matt Ganderson, Managing Director of the Full-Time MBA Program

Page 3: Profiles of 11 Members of the MBA Class of 2027

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