Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class Of 2028

MBAs want to make an impact. In their summer internship, they’re hoping to get noticed for all the right reasons. Think team player and problem-solver, versatile and reliable, curious, conscientious, confident, and capable. An employer may expect to hold their hands, but they take notes when an intern does that for them.

That begs the question: How can summer interns start fast, get results, and make an impression? You could ask that question of Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, where 100% of its first-year students landed summer internships in 2025. Over the past decade, 92% of Goizueta MBA graduates have landed job offers within three months of graduation. And employers have been impressed with what they’ve seen, with 2025 Goizueta graduates collecting $205,000 in total median compensation.

PREPARING TO MAKE AN ‘IMPACT’

Credit that, to an extent, to the Goizueta IMPACT project. A 30-year staple of the program, IMPACT acts as internship prep during second semester. Working in 5-6 member teams, students partner with employers like Coca-Cola, Delta, and Atlanta Habitat for Humanity. Supported by advisors and peer coaches, Goizueta first-years gain industry experience, while being exposed to the best practices at leading companies. In an environment where repetition produces confidence and expertise, Goizueta estimates that first-years head into their summer internship with nearly 600-hours of corporate-level experience.

Last year, Goizueta MBAs completed 23 IMPACT projects, which ranged from developing AI marketing strategy in the tire industry to better integrating digital and in-store initiatives in big retail. Through these projects, first-years can apply what they learned in the core courses to a real-world, high-stakes context. All the while, they are sharpening the skills that employers covet: teamwork, problem-solving, communication, and leadership. The best part? At semester’s end, the teams compete in the Goizueta IMPACT Showcase. Here, they present their projects to company sponsors, along with Atlanta business leaders and Goizueta alumni, with the top three teams receiving special honors.

For the MBA Class of 2028, Goizueta IMPACT is a signature experience that will provide a huge advantage entering the marketplace. Andy Asante, a banker from Ghana, was seeking a graduate business education where “theory and practice continually reinforce each other.” In the process, he continues, he wanted to “apply what I learn while developing the judgment to lead in complex, real-world situations.” For Asante, the required IMPACT course does exactly that.

“Rather than waiting until after graduation to solve meaningful business challenges, I will have the opportunity to work alongside classmates on real client engagements where our recommendations can create lasting value for organizations. Knowing that our work has the potential to influence real decisions makes the learning experience far more meaningful. It is the kind of hands-on environment where I know I will be challenged, grow as a leader, and graduate better prepared to make an immediate impact.”

LEARNING TO LEAD: FROM MILITARY EXERCISES TO SAILING

Goizueta IMPACT is just one of the experiential learning opportunities cited by first-years. At the end of first semester, students participate in Growth Week. During this time, student team dip into all the skills they gained during the core curriculum to develop a growth strategy for a real company, with Coca-Cola executives coming to Druid Hills last year. MBAs can also take advantage of week-long Global Experiential Modules – popularly known as GEMs – where students can experience the culture and business practices in nations like Denmark and Japan.

Of course, there are the long-standing Goizueta traditions. Talk to alumni and they are bound to discuss the Leader’s Reaction Course, where students head to Fort Moore Army Base. Here, teams work together to overcome obstacles like walls and moats. Along the way, they learn how to develop strategies, tap into each other’s strengths, and rebound from setbacks. Over the holiday season, MBAs can absorb similar lessons from the Goizueta Advanced Leadership Academy (GALA), where students exchange leadership roles during sailing ventures around the Virgin Islands.

For Brianna Carter, a brand builder from Jamaica, these hands-on opportunities will provide practical experience in how to lead people and get things done.

“I didn’t want to spend two years only learning frameworks. I want opportunities to test them, refine them, and grow through them. Coming from a fast-paced startup, I know the best lessons often happen when you’re solving real problems with real people. That emphasis on experiential learning made me confident I’d leave Emory not only with an MBA, but with the judgment and confidence to lead in any environment.”

MEET SAMSUNG’S MAN RENAISSANCE MAN

On the plus side, Carter won’t be coming to Goizueta to learn how to be organized. She jokes that her planner is so color-coded that it “could probably qualify as modern art.” That’s just one story from the up-for-anything MBA Class of 2028. Looking for entrepreneurial instincts? Before business school, Andy Asante launched “a thrift shop, a perfumery, and a kitchenware business.” Morgan Atkins has followed in some pretty big footsteps. In 2023, she was named the state of Mississippi’s Cherry Blossom Princess. The role involved representing the state in “educational, leadership, and cultural activities” with Japan, with past Cherry Blossom Princesses including “Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito of West Virginia, U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, and Congresswoman Debbie Dingell from Michigan.”

And how is this for starting fast out of the gate? “Most people celebrate turning 22 with a party,” observes Shriya Kancharlapalli, a United Kingdom native and ExxonMobil engineer. “I celebrated by starting my first job, moving cities, and buying my first home!”

And the story only gets better for Kancharlapalli, whose influence drove a multimillion-dollar investment in an alternative contractor strategy at ExxonMobil – one that shredded projected costs by 27%. That said, Kancharlapalli wasn’t alone in driving results at blue ribbon companies before business school. Most recently, Clarence Stephens worked in marketing and employer branding for Pfizer, where he built the firm’s Colleague Ambassador Program, 800 members strong, in under a year. At the same time, Song Bo Sim studied geography in college before moving into software engineering in the Android division of Samsung. Soon after, he transitioned into corporate management, including a stint as chief of staff to the Management Support Group’s CFO. In the process, he developed the reputation for being a jack-of-all-trades who could adapt to any situation.

“Over the years, I have evolved into a rare hybrid expert bridging technology, corporate strategy, and financial operations at Samsung Electronics, seamlessly combining practical programming capabilities with advanced financial management and strategic leadership.”

BRINGING WARRING POLITICAL PARTIES TOGETHER

The class also brings a wide range of experience to Fishburne and Clifton. Brianna Carter comes out of logistics, where she established “Jamaica’s first all-female delivery fleet. Florian Vielhaber worked in the shipbuilding industry, where his business development role took him from North America to Europe to China. By the same token, Shivani Sharma spent time at Microsoft as a technology consultant, with one project requiring his team to develop an “AI-powered predictive platform for a renewable energy client.” And it wouldn’t be an MBA class without one member versed in government. In the Class of 2028, that person would be Morgan Atkins, most recently a program manager at the Bipartisan Policy Center.

“In my previous role, I created an impact tracking system to show the ripple effect of the bipartisan Congressional exchanges I managed,” she tells P&Q. “Because of my research, we discovered that dozens of pieces of legislation had been introduced as a result of the newfound partnerships between our Congressional pairings, including five bills signed into law.”

Andy Asante and Kylinn Askew could both be described as builders. Askew is an entrepreneur, who took a venture from scratch to 10,000 users. In contrast, Asante is more of an intrapreneur, who grabbed the reins for a newly-launched banking branch despite being “early in my career.”

“Starting with a blank slate, I earned the trust of a cross-functional team and introduced customer-focused operational improvements, Asante writes. “I started with the people, not the products, since I needed to accelerate my team’s learning curve to deliver results. More meaningful than the numbers was proving to myself that leadership is earned through service, collaboration, and empowering others to succeed.”

A CARNEGIE HALL PERFORMER … WHO RAN A BUSINESS

Stuart Anderson also experienced a trial-by-fire – literally. A West Point grad who completed an internship in the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Anderson also served as a Psychological Operations Officer in the U.S. Army.

“Last year, I led a team of eight soldiers to Europe where we worked with our allies and partners on complex information issues. I am very proud of our accomplishments, and I enjoyed seeing my team’s hard work with our allies and partners build a more resilient Europe.”

At the opposite end of the spectrum, you’ll find Jarred Morehead, a classical pianist who owned his own teaching studio. “Performing in Carnegie Hall was a lifelong dream come true, but building a business that allowed me to mentor students to achieve their own dreams has been even more meaningful.”

As they embark on their business school journey, what does the Class of 2028 hope to achieve over the next two years. Brianna Carter, for one, isn’t just focused on new skills and career opportunities, but also gaining the courage to “think bigger, lead with purpose, and create meaningful impact.” Shivani Sharma hopes to come away as someone who brings out the best in others. Above all, says Andy Asante, he will consider the next years to be successful “if I get to live its core values: Courage, Integrity, Accountability, Rigor, Diversity, Team, and Community.”

“They are not just words or marketing strategy,” Asante continues. “They’re intentionally lived every day. Throughout my application journey, every alumnus, current student, and faculty member I interacted with genuinely embodied these values. It created an overwhelming sense of support and belonging that made me confident Goizueta was the right fit for me.”

A CLASS PROFILE

This year’s class numbers 98 full-time MBAs, with the school accepting 35% of applicants during the 2025-2026 cycle. In the GMAT Focus, the class hit a 655 median, with the average GPA being 3.43.

As a whole, women make up 38% of the class, while underrepresented minorities account for a 53% share. In terms of global representation, the class features students from 21 countries, with 40% hailing from outside the United States. Taken together, 62% of the class grew up in North America, while another 30% share come from Asia. The school also reports that LGBTQ students and military veterans constitute 7% and 6% shares of the class respectively.

The class arrives with 6 years of work experience on average. The largest share of the class – 19% — last worked in Financial Services. Technology (14%) and Government and Non-Profit (13%) professionals also represent sizable shares of the class, as do Consulting and Healthcare (Both 11%). As undergraduates, 37% of the class majored in Business-related fields, followed by Social Sciences (23%), Engineering and Computer Sciences (14%) and Arts and Humanities (12%).

FACULTY MAKE THE DIFFERENCE

A Top 20 stalwart in American MBA rankings, Emory Goizueta has climbed from 21st to 15th over the past two years according to Bloomberg Businessweek. One of the program’s biggest advantages, say students and alumni alike, is faculty. Here, there is a 5-to-1 student to faculty ratio, ensuring MBAs receive the personal guidance they need, says Martin Gravely, a 2026 graduate.

“Goizueta has a culture of deep engagement from professors. It goes to the point where they hold multi-hour Saturday morning study sessions. That way, students can ask more questions to help them better grasp the material and apply it to class and the workforce.”

The program also maintains a ‘small-by-design’ structure. On the surface, this means classmates have the space to build relationships with all of their classmates. However, echoing Gravely’s sentiments, Kylinn Askew observes that the tight-knit structure has enabled her classmates to build “real relationships” with faculty as well.

“Every student I talked to said the same thing, that the faculty genuinely care about your growth and take an active role in helping you get where you want to go,” Askew continues. “That kind of access to people who are invested in you is rare, and it was a big part of why I chose this program.”

Ginger Abblitt-Rondinelli, a 2026 P&Q MBA To Watch, points to Professor Usha Rackliffe as personifying this faculty ethos. A former CFO, Rackliffe teaches the core accounting course at Goizueta. Here, says Abblitt-Rondinelli, she is known for holding “office hours [that] stretched late into the evening and early into the morning. More than that, Rackliffe was feted for “meeting students where they are” – particularly students like Abblitt-Rondinelli who’d never read an income statement and perceived accounting as a “foreign language.”

“She genuinely wanted every student to leave that classroom fluent in financial fundamentals, and she made that happen! Her ability to break down complex financial statements into clear, logical building blocks changed how I think about business. She didn’t just teach debits and credits. She taught how the income statement, balance sheet, and cash flow statement tell a story about strategic decisions. That foundation shaped how I approached every finance and strategy course afterward.”

Next Page: Profiles of 12 members of the Class of 2028 and an interview with Associate Dean Brian Mitchell.

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