Matthew Schild

Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

“I like to make people laugh and always look forward to the future.”

Hometown: Monroeville, Ohio

Fun Fact About Yourself: My parents own a small grocery store.

Undergraduate School and Major: United States Naval Academy, Quantitative Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Surface Warfare Officer in the United States Navy

In the second half of the year, you will be completing an Academy devoted to areas like Marketing, Finance, Operations, Digital Enterprises and more. Which Academy interests you the most and why?

The Academy that interests me the most at Kelley is the Strategic Finance Academy. Having Majored in Economics, I am very excited to build on that foundation and work on applying the knowledge and experience from the Strategic Finance Academy to my future career.

At the beginning of the school year, you will be completing Me, Inc., where you will engage in reflections and exercises to build your personal brand? In one sentence, describe your personal brand and how will it add value to the classmates and future employers? I am a resilient and dependable veteran, who is approachable, charismatic, and enjoys building genuine personal connections.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Indiana Kelley’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? For me, it was Kelley’s Academies. Beyond just choosing a major to specialize in, I can choose an academy that bridges the gap between academics and the business world, which will help me build my skills and confidence while at Kelley. This is especially valuable to me since I am making a career change from a completely different industry, the military. The career knowledge, outreach, and hands-on experience will be critical for me to make this pivot.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Indiana Kelley? I intend on majoring in finance and joining the Veterans Club and the Investment and Strategic Finance Club.  I also intend on learning tennis at the IU Tennis Center as well.

Looking at your recruitment, what was the moment when you realized Indiana Kelley was the right program for you? Why? The moment I realized that Kelley was right for me was when I realized the amazing brand recognition that Kelley has and that it’s close to home for me.

What has been your biggest achievement in your career? My biggest career achievement was transforming a fractured, leaderless division into a cohesive, high-performing team during my time as a Naval officer. By establishing clear communication, structure, and accountability, I helped restore morale and effectiveness. As a result, I was able to lead this team through numerous inspections and certifications, directly improving the effectiveness of my ship’s mission and contributing to national security. Watching the team grow and succeed was both a proud moment and a lasting privilege for me.

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