D. Sofia Trueax

Carnegie Mellon University, Tepper School of Business

“Strategic, accomplished leader with progressive experience in financial operations, business partnering, and performance measurement.”

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Fun Fact About Yourself: My first job out of college was working as a Production Accountant at MTV Studios in Times Square.

Undergraduate School and Major: Brown University, Economics

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Eightfold.AI – Strategic & Corporate Finance Pre-MBA Intern

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of Carnegie Mellon’s MBA curriculum and programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you?  I’m excited about the Accelerate Leadership Center’s coaching and programming because of its holistic approach to leadership. It offers individual coaching as well as the Accelerate Leadership Development Certificate, among other programs. Paired with the Tepper School’s STEM academics, the Accelerate Leadership Center will help develop my classmates and me into data-driven, human-centric leaders.

What course, club or activity excites you the most at Carnegie Mellon? I’m looking forward to joining the Pro-Bono Consulting Club to partner with local non-profit organizations, like Reading Ready Pittsburgh, and help them work through challenging problems to keep moving their mission forward.

The Tepper MBA is known for intensive one-on-one coaching and personal development. What area do you hope to strengthen during your two years in business school and why? I hope to further learn balanced assertiveness and persuasive communication to present business recommendations and influence stakeholders. In any role, it’s important to be able to present your ideas and recommendations in a clear and direct way to make sound decisions and influence outcomes.

The Tepper MBA is also known for being highly data-driven. Why does the program’s focus on quantitative analysis and decision-making appeal to you? How have been able to leverage this approach in your career so far? As a STEM program, I was drawn to the emphasis on analytical, data-based decision-making because this method of reasoning provides thorough and strategic direction to real-world business problems. I’ve leveraged this approach when creating budgets and forecasts in my financial planning and analysis roles at large media and technology companies. I’m looking forward to learning how to further develop this skill as it will be an asset in any professional environment.

When you think of Carnegie Mellon University, what is the first word that comes to mind? Why? The first word that comes to mind is innovation. Carnegie Mellon is at the forefront of AI and technology development. I regularly read about research and developments around campus, especially in the Swartz Center for Entrepreneurship. I’m excited to be in an environment that is buzzing with creative problem solving and breakthrough ideas.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At Comcast, I managed a global team of four to centralize key financial operational functions, including contracts, payables, and receivables. It was great to work with teammates in various countries to make sure we could standardize the onboarding clients, invoicing, and cash flow. This initiative deepened my knowledge of statutory reporting and compliance requirements for international business. I really enjoyed driving a large-scale project alongside an international team.

© 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.