Meet Foster’s MBA Class of 2018

Sandra Mumanachit

Foster School of Business, University of Washington 

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: I try to make the most out of life through positivity and trust.

Hometown: Philadelphia, PA

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love food and cooking so I went to a try out for a reality cooking show on FOX, but didn’t make it.

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard College, Neurobiology

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Boston Medical Center – Pediatric Inpatient Unit (Associate)

ICON, plc (Senior Analyst)

CVS Health (Senior Consultant)

Boston Children’s Hospital – Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator (Business Analyst Intern) 

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: After deciding to no longer pursue a career in medicine and instead approach healthcare from a different angle, I realized that my career would not be in a single company or organization. My biggest accomplishment was accepting uncertainty and realizing that my career would take place at several different places in a few different roles so I could learn and hopefully impact healthcare in various ways. Since deciding to make that change in my career, I have been fortunate enough to work at some amazing companies and have gained so many different perspectives.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Before asking mentors and managers for letters of recommendation, think carefully about your strengths, what makes you unique, and how all of this relates to your story of pursuing business school now. The story you are telling needs to excite you and makes sense to you, as well as your letter writers. Prepare materials for them to refer to about what you’re looking for in a program, key work and projects that you’ve completed, and how your work with them has reflected your character. Your letter writers are taking time to help you, so make it as easy as possible for them.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? Foster was not on my radar at first, but after more research, I knew it was the right place for me. I wanted to be in a smaller MBA program, so I could really get to know and interact with my classmates. I also wanted the program to be part of a larger university. This would mean there was access and resources to different disciplines and thus opportunities to collaborate and innovate. My career has been focused on healthcare, so I wanted to be at a school that also had a strong medical school and school of public health.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? My dream job right now would be to work with talented engineers, software developers, clinicians, UX designers, and others to create a number of simple, customizable tools and gadgets to help people improve their health.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program? Sandra is positive, energetic, and thoughtful. She cares a lot about people and is passionate about translating that into impact.