Emily Smith

Rice University, Jones Graduate School of Business

“I am a wife, mother, athlete, engineer and forever part of the Rice Business community.” 

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio

Fun Fact About Yourself: Volleyball has been a key pillar of my life from high school through today. I played indoor volleyball in high school and collegiately at the University of Maryland. Throughout my professional career, I have continued to compete in indoor, beach and grass volleyball, building incredible volleyball communities as I have traveled and lived across the world. Volleyball, and beach volleyball in particular, will always have a special place in my heart: It is how I met my husband, a central part of how we celebrated our wedding weekend, where I have met my closest friends, how I spend my free time, and who the community is around which we have built a home here in Houston.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Maryland, B.S. in Chemical Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: ExxonMobil, Business Planner

What has been your favorite part of Houston so far? Why? There are so many things I love about Houston, including the friends and family I’ve built here, incredible food, career opportunities, huge parks, and world-class medical center. However, my favorite part of the city is how easy the neighborhoods make it to build a real life. With a competitive cost of living, the ability to stay close to friends, and an incredible volleyball community, Houston makes it easy to put down roots while staying connected and active. I love living in a great neighborhood with access to two major airports — which also makes traveling (something I do often and love) easy. It’s a city where community and mobility coexist.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the one key part of the Rice Jones MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? One key aspect that drew me to the Rice Business Full-Time MBA program was the strength of its community. Rice’s smaller class size creates an environment that fosters meaningful connections, while the breadth of clubs and events provides consistent opportunities to also engage across MBA programs and gain unique perspectives.

What truly set Rice apart for me was how genuine and accessible the community felt from the very beginning of my journey. From my earliest interactions, I felt immediately welcomed by the staff, second-year students, and alumni — all of whom were eager to continue the conversation and offer guidance on how best to prepare for the MBA experience. Rice hosted numerous events that connected prospective students with the broader community, and many of the same people I met during those events are faces I still see regularly on campus today.

Throughout the semester, I have watched that tight-knit community grow and bonds deepen. I have learned so much from my cohort, the faculty, and the extended Rice alumni network. This ranges from those who return to campus to share their experiences to those who are always willing to lend an ear and provide insight into the wide range of career paths and opportunities.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Rice Jones? The Consulting Association has been an incredible resource at Rice Business. For those of us pursuing consulting recruiting, it has served as a one-stop shop for resources, guidance, and support. Our co-presidents, Caroline Metts and Julieta Falcon, along with all of the association officers, career development advisors and second-year students, have been there with us every step of the way.

I learned so much about each firm through weekly Lunch and Learns and about internship experiences from second-year students. The Wayfinder series – along with the plethora of super-days and one-on-one sessions generously offered by second-years, alumni and advisors – allowed me to hone my behavioral and case interview skills. Between my assigned mentor and others who continuously offered their time and advice, the dedication of the Consulting Association made a huge difference. I could not have navigated the semester without them!

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I am passionate about giving back to the community, and ExxonMobil provided that opportunity for me through the Women’s Interest Network (WIN). Serving first as a representative and later as the chair of the Houston WIN Outreach Committee, my most meaningful experience has been co-leading the Women’s Annual Volunteer Event. Throughout the event, we coordinated approximately 150 ExxonMobil volunteers to lead 10 interactive sessions focused on topics like interview preparation and resume building in support of clients from The Women’s Home and Santa Maria hostel. During the process, we also managed a clothing drive for the Women’s Home Cottage Shop. The event required months of planning and cross-functional coordination, and it was incredibly rewarding to see our efforts translate into tangible support for the Women’s Home and Santa Maria clients. Grounded in our core objective to empower women to succeed, that experience has been one of my greatest accomplishments.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far? Seeing the results of hard work come to fruition has been my greatest accomplishment as an MBA student so far. I was fortunate to be part of an exceptional core team that approached each assignment with rigor, taking the time to exchange ideas, draw on our diverse prior experiences, and challenge one another’s thinking. This dynamic significantly expedited our learning, and its impact has extended well beyond the classroom.

In particular, I have felt these benefits during case interview preparation with my cohort, where I am able to organically apply newly learned frameworks, principles, and strategies. Seeing this tangible progression, as well as the hands-on application of classroom concepts, has been the most meaningful accomplishment of my MBA journey to date.

What has been your best memory as an MBA so far? I’ve had many wonderful experiences during my MBA journey thus far, but one of my favorites was the “Everything Is Bigger in Texas” Partio. Partio is a cherished Rice Business tradition where faculty, staff, students from all the MBA programs (and their families) come together to decompress, enjoy food and drinks, and get to know each other better.

This year, I entered a new chapter of my life in more ways than one, beginning business school while also becoming a new mother. I feel the constant pull on my time and attention between classes, recruiting, social events, and family — knowing there never is enough time for everything. But when my son was just about three months, he was finally old enough to be around a larger crowd, and my husband and he were able to join me at Partio.

Watching my classmates gather to meet my son, I felt all the pieces fall into place. In that moment, I knew that this was exactly where I belonged — with my family, surrounded by an incredible community unlike any other. It was a full circle moment where I knew I had made the right decision to go back to school, and that there was nowhere else I’d rather be than Rice Business.

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