Lena Pawlek      

University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business

“Avid problem-solver using her skills to better the world.”

Hometown: Burbank, CA

Fun Fact About Yourself: My birthday is March 14, so every year I host a pie party for Pi Day (π = 3.14)

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvey Mudd College, Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Epic Solutions Corporation, Technical Solutions Engineer

When you think of Notre Dame, what are the first things that come to mind? How have your experiences with the Mendoza program thus far reinforced or upended these early impressions? Community and service are the first things that come to mind for me! I think this has really been reinforced for me as I’ve seen how invested the alumni are in the school, especially during the football season. I was really impressed with how everyone came together to put on the tailgates and go to the games as a community. For the service aspect, I really appreciated the amount of time my classmates are willing to offer to others through volunteering, coaching, or putting on events!

Aside from your classmates, what was the one key part of the Mendoza MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I really appreciated the core program that Mendoza offered. I also had a core program at my undergrad, and I think it was essential for me to know what I wanted to do after graduation. I really appreciated Mendoza’s core curriculum for allowing me to explore all the different areas of business so I am sure what I want to do after my MBA. In addition, the core curriculum allows me and my classmates to have a solid foundation to speak to any business topics instead of just our major.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Mendoza? I have really enjoyed all the potlucks and game-watching and other dinner events that my class has put on! I’ve appreciated those events the most because it has given me the ability to speak with my classmates in a more one-on-one setting and learn more about them. It’s also been really amazing to have food from all over the world as my classmates have made food from their home countries to share with us! Some examples are pasties from Georgia and a full meal from Zimbabwe – where I got to learn how to eat with sadza!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While I was at Epic, I was able to help my customers increase their membership by over 25 million members during their 3 Line of Business expansions. I had helped them decide to do the project and come up with a project plan and then see all the projects come all the way to completion which was really amazing. I appreciated being able to see the impact that my work had on such a difficult and large project.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? I think my biggest accomplishment so far is putting together a twice-a-semester potluck where I’ve had the opportunity to meet and speak with a lot more of my classmates!

Mendoza is known as a purpose-driven MBA program that asks students to “Grow the good in business.” What is your mission and how has Mendoza been helping you realize it? I came to Mendoza because of the mission because I feel it aligns closely with my mission of using my skills to positively change the world. I came to the MBA program so I could increase my impact from the technical projects I worked on to my company and hopefully my whole industry. I know that Notre Dame is setting me up for cusses by giving me the tools to use in the business world and giving me the knowledge to use business for good.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? I think the best single moment memory I have was taking a picture of our whole class on the football field during orientation! It was when being in the MBA program really hit me and made me realize how happy I was to have the ability to spend the next few years with such an amazing group of people!

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