Aarushi Singla

University of Washington, Foster School of Business

“Bold thinker, empathetic leader, relentless optimist who challenges limits and follows through.”

Hometown: Sunam, Punjab, India

Fun fact about yourself: My weirdly specific (and very useful) superpower is that I can plan and book an entire trip within hours. It’s always been my favorite kind of puzzle. I accidentally turned that into a group travel community for people who want to explore, but were nervous to go alone. Somehow, that led to me hosting over 50 trips, and bringing together 3,000+ travelers.

Undergraduate School and Degree: Dr. B. R. Ambedkar National Institute of Technology Jalandhar – Bachelor of Technology (Major: Biotechnology)

Where was the last place you worked before enrolling in business school?  Project Manager – Digital Transformation at IeImpact Microsystems Private Limited

Where did you intern during the summer of 2025?  Product Manager Intern at Armada AI, Bellevue, WA

Where will you be working after graduation? Associate at McKinsey & Company

Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:

1. Co-president Global Business Association
2. Tutor helping first-years navigate academics
3. Challenge for Charity (C4C) volunteer

Which academic or extracurricular achievement are you most proud of during business school? One achievement I’m especially proud of was leading Foster’s Diwali celebration as Co-President of the Global Business Association. My board and I organized many cultural, networking, and skill-building events throughout the year, but Diwali meant the most to me. As an international student from India, Diwali is basically our Christmas, and for many Indian students at Foster, it was their first one away from home. I wanted it to feel joyful, welcoming, and true to the spirit of the festival. I also made a conscious effort to pull people in early: sharing what Diwali means, involving classmates in decorations and dance choreography, and building excitement before the celebration even started.

Close to 170 people participated. What made it special was how much love people showed for it: classmates from different backgrounds borrowed Indian outfits from their friends, joined group dances, and fully embraced it. It wasn’t just a successful event; it felt like we created a little piece of home for those who really needed it. Creating that sense of belonging through culture and community is what makes me most proud of it.

What achievement are you most proud of in your professional career? One achievement I’m particularly proud of is how I approached my product management internship last summer. I had no prior experience in product management, and the company was in edge computing, another unfamiliar space for me. I wasn’t even sure this was the path I wanted long term, but I knew I wanted to squeeze every bit out of the opportunity. So, instead of choosing safe assignments, I deliberately took on ambiguous projects that felt outside my comfort zone.

It was difficult, and there were moments when I questioned myself. But I kept going, and by the end of the internship, I had built and shipped more than six features into production. My work mattered; it impacted real users in real time. What I’m most proud of isn’t just the output, but the way I shaped the experience for myself: leaning into the unknown, learning quickly, and taking ownership beyond what was expected of me.

Why did you choose this business school? I chose UW Foster for the people. Every conversation I had with alumni felt approachable and real, like people knew and supported each other. That mattered to me. I entered business school earlier in my career, so I was intentional about choosing a smaller class experience where relationships would be genuine, not just surface-level introductions. I wanted a close-knit environment where I could really know people, learn from them, build genuine friendships, and find mentors I could grow with over time. Foster felt like that. The fact that so much of that network is rooted in tech made it feel even more aligned with my background and the kind of community I want to stay connected to in the future.

Who was your favorite MBA professor? My favorite MBA professor was Kelly Breslin Wright, Affiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business. I took her Culture-Driven Sales and Go-to-Market Strategy class, and she brought the kind of energy that immediately pulls you in: passionate, sharp, and clearly an expert in her subject. What I appreciated most was how she could challenge perspectives while still keeping the room fully engaged.

One moment from the first class has stayed with me. She asked, “Who here is in sales?” and almost nobody raised their hand. Then she said, “Everybody is in sales.” Whether you’re pitching an idea, building trust, or even presenting yourself for a job, you’re selling in some form. That completely changed how I think about sales. The other thing I admired was how well she met people where they were; she explained things in language the audience understood, which made her teaching style effective.

What was your favorite course as an MBA? My favorite course so far has been Consumer Marketing and Brand Strategy, co-taught by Mark Forehand, Professor in Business Administration, and Michael Huang, Affiliate Instructor of Marketing and International Business. I didn’t come in with a branding background, and honestly, a lot of “brand” language felt like buzzwords. This course changed that. It started with consumer psychology, which made those ideas feel real and more thoughtful than I had given them credit for. We learned through everyday products—analyzing creative ads, brand names, and brand mistakes —so you’re never bored.

The best part was Live Cases. We didn’t rebrand hypothetically for a class assignment; we rebranded three real companies facing real brand challenges in real-time. That raised the bar. We built full rebranding stories and execution plans, then presented them to senior executives from those same companies. Seeing them react in real time, ask real questions, and knowing some of our ideas could make it into the real work: that’s what made the class so exciting.

What was your favorite MBA event or tradition at your business school? My favorite MBA tradition at Foster is how the community shows up for Challenge for Charity (C4C) every year to raise funds for local charities. It’s not just one event; it’s a whole season of volunteer days, fundraisers, and grand events like the C4C auction. The entire MBA cohort contributes. I think it reflects Foster’s values well: community-first, genuinely collaborative, and competitive in a healthy way.

Looking back over your MBA experience, what is the one thing you’d do differently and why? Looking back, I wish I had participated in more cross-school case competitions. Early in the MBA, I was focused on balancing academics and everything else happening around campus, so I didn’t sign up for many. After finally participating in one, I realized how much I had missed. Competing with people from various business schools while tackling a new problem under time pressure and seeing different ways teams approached the same challenge was an incredible experience. If I could do it again, I would do more of them, not just for the competition itself, but for the exposure and network.

What was the most impactful case study you had in business school and what was the biggest lesson you learned from it? One case that stayed with me was the Nisha Anderson case from my ethics class. It was a moral dilemma between business interests and personal conscience, in which Nisha was asked to protect her company, even if it meant betraying the trust of a longtime supplier. Nothing about the situation was illegal, but that was exactly what made it so difficult; it wasn’t a clear right vs wrong situation.

This situation felt very real. I think a lot of business decisions are like that: not black-and-white, but still a real test of your values. It made me reflect on my own values and whether I would have the courage to stay true to them in a difficult moment. The biggest lesson I took away is that business decisions cannot be separated from conscience. The easier decision is often the one that brings short-term gain. It may also come at the cost of who you are, and that discomfort stays with you much longer.

What business leader do you admire most? I admire Nikhil Kamath, the co-founder of Zerodha, one of India’s biggest online investment platforms, for the kind of leader he is. He’s proof that you don’t need a conventional path to build something impactful at scale. He helped make investing far more accessible and affordable in India, and I respect leaders who solve real problems that improve people’s lives at scale.

What I admire even more is what he has chosen to do beyond the business. He isn’t just building success for himself; he’s also paying it forward by backing young founders and supporting climate-focused work. I also find his honesty refreshing. The business world is rarely perfect, and I respect leaders who are willing to be unfiltered.

What is one way that your business school has integrated AI into your programming? What insights did you gain from using AI? AI is already part of how business works, and Foster treats it that way. Beyond the AI specialization led by Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics Thomas Gilbert, I’ve appreciated how AI is integrated across courses in a practical way. We are learning how to use AI thoughtfully to improve the quality and speed of our work. Personally, I’ve used AI for everything from synthesizing research and structuring problems to cutting down redundant work (and even learning how to build agents). The biggest insight I’ve gained is that AI is a significant productivity boost when used intentionally and cautiously. It can help you move faster, but critical thinking, creativity, and context still have to come from you.

Which MBA classmate do you most admire? One classmate I really admire is Sparsh Garg. He’s one of those people who somehow seems to be everywhere at Foster. He is the VP of International Affairs and a board member of Tech Club. He organizes events, arranges workshops, and participates in case competitions. And he still finds time to support peers or juniors. And he does all of that while genuinely enjoying the MBA experience. I’ve honestly caught myself wondering: How can anybody do all of that without crashing?

It’s not just how much he does; it’s about the attitude he brings to it. Sparsh has an incredibly positive outlook and somehow finds the best in every situation, even when things get stressful. Ask him for help or a drink, and he’ll show up. Being around that kind of mindset is contagious, and it has pushed me to show up more and believe in myself a little more.

What are the top two items on your professional bucket list?

1. Build a scalable platform that helps more women step into business leadership.
2. Serve on the board of a mission-driven company and help guide its long-term strategy and impact.
   

What made Aarushi such an invaluable addition to the Class of 2026?

“Aarushi demonstrates the resilience and growth mindset that we teach here through UW Foster’s FTMBA core Career Professional Development coursework. Faced with a challenging internship market for international students, but knowing she had transferable skills from her pre-MBA work in digital transformation and professional services, she pivoted to seeking experience in a smaller startup, where she knew that her solid project management expertise would be valued.

This led to what was initially scoped as a Program Manager role for Armada AI, an M-12-backed company aiming to leverage AI and connectivity to streamline high-performance data processing. Within a few weeks at the firm, Aarushi and I were strategizing on how to best position her for a move into her target function, product management. She gained the support of her managers and mentors, and turned work shadowing into some trial projects. By the midpoint of her internship, she was fully in a produce manager role, meeting with external stakeholders and owning the delivery of critical product features. Her internship ended with fantastic feedback from her manager, and she gained real business skills in leveraging AI to enhance business processes and create customer value.  This, in turn, led to an interview invitation and a subsequent offer from McKinsey & Co.  This fall, Aarushi will be joining their Seattle office as an Associate.

Now that the job search is over, Aarushi is dedicating her spare time to supporting current international first-year students, thus exemplifying the value of the community that Foster is known for. But for me, what stands out is her ability to pivot quickly, create new opportunities, and drive them forward to achieve her goal of a full-time consulting role here in Seattle.”

Kay Dawson
Assistant Dean, MBA Career Management

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