Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class of 2018

Cynthia Tassopoulos

Emory University, Goizueta Business School

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Put simply, I’m a Southern Greek working to positively impact my local and global communities.

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Fun Fact About Yourself: I’ve had 14 different (and rather unusual) nicknames throughout my life.

Undergraduate School and Major: Harvard University, History of Science

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:  The Advisory Board Company (Washington, DC) – Analyst and Senior Analyst

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At The Advisory Board Company, I served as an expert on orthopedic and spine strategy for hospitals looking to advance their existing orthopedic services. It was my job to stay abreast of new services and strategies within this space and serve as a source of knowledge and insight to our strategic planning members. Although I entered this role with limited orthopedic experience, I had to and did become one of the company’s go-to experts on orthopedic and spine service line strategy. While this progression isn’t tied to a single project or moment, I consider becoming this type of expert as one of my biggest career accomplishments so far.

Looking back on your experience, what advice would you give to future business school applicants? Before I even started writing my essays, I created a master document of my different experiences from my job and extracurricular activities. This list included successful projects, unique experiences, and even projects that were more challenging or trying. When I then started to write my essays for different applications, this list helped me remember and sift through which experiences would best answer the essay prompt in a more organized way.

What led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA? When I visited Goizueta’s campus in February for my interview, I immediately felt drawn to the warm, collegiate students, faculty, and administrators I met. I know it sounds cheesy, but I felt like I could feel the pulse of the campus during my visit. As I learned more about Goizueta’s value proposition, the promise of a rigorous and challenging – yet extremely intimate – MBA experience attracted me more. Finally, I was drawn to Goizueta’s commitment to connecting to the larger Emory University community. I will be pursuing a joint MBA-MPH degree with the Rollins School of Public Health so it was imperative to me to attend a business program that looked outside of its own activities to interact with other research and individuals on campus.

Tell us about your dream job or dream employer at this point in your life? My dream employer is The Gates Foundation, a true leader in the global health and development space. I am pursuing a joint MBA-MPH degree to ultimately improve maternal and child health for populations and individuals who cannot achieve good health whether through issues of access, economic inequality, etc. Through the work of its Global Health Division, I see The Gates Foundation as an organization that aligns with my personal mission and creates the opportunities to make a positive and sustainable impact on women and children around the globe. Furthermore, I hope to work on developing public-private partnerships in my career to combine the strengths of the private sector with the public sector, a model that The Gates Foundation uses when interacting with its global and regional partners.

What would you like your business school peers to say about you after you graduate from this program?   In two years, I would love my peers to describe me first as a supportive classmate and team player. I value being a strong contributor to my environment, so I will consider my Goizueta experience successful if they say that. Also, given my interest in global health and social enterprise studies, I hope they will confirm that I have stayed true to these interests and career goals. And who knows, maybe I’ll inspire a few of my peers to tackle global health challenges in their own careers!