Meet Emory Goizueta’s MBA Class Of 2020

Andrew Schirmer

Emory University, Goizueta Business School

“Relational, goal oriented problem-solver seeking new experiences and driven by a desire for social impact.”

Hometown: Columbia, South Carolina

Fun Fact About Yourself: I was first introduced to international cultures at age 4 when my family adopted my brother from Albania. Over the following 9 years, we adopted 3 more kids from 2 other countries. I learned to love the diversity that different cultures bring, and I’ve continued to explore new cultures and build cross-cultural relationships whenever I have the opportunity.

Undergraduate School and Major: Liberty University, BS in Religious Studies

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Service Source International, Senior Account Manager

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I was contracted to manage a segment of a large tech client’s federal service business with the goal of increasing revenue and providing new business insight. Our engagement focused on client data that supposedly identified the customer opportunity within our segment. Within a couple months, I discovered that the data was flawed and insufficient. I realized our engagement focused exclusively on effectively selling at the expense of identifying the true customer opportunity.

Through collaboration with the client’s account teams, I identified new sources of customer data that accurately and comprehensively identified potential sales opportunities. With these new data sources, I created a structured go-to-market process that defined the customer needs and then targeted those customers with an effective sales motion. I secured commitment to the process by both the federal and SLED (state, local, and education) sales teams and led the implementation. Within a year, the new approach increased revenue by $6M within my territory and uncovered $20M of additional sales opportunity across the two public sector teams. Collaboratively solving a strategic problem and witnessing both the resulting impact and the lasting change in strategy was incredibly rewarding.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? My classmates’ selfless support for one another has been a standout characteristic of the Goizueta community. Goizueta’s members truly desire one another’s success and demonstrate this desire in their actions. Even during busy summer internships, the second year students make themselves available to discuss career objectives and review resumes outside of official “career coaching” relationships. Before a summer networking function, one 2nd year student spent over two hours coaching me and researched and provided numerous resources to prepare me for the event.

This supportive quality also manifests itself in the incoming 1st year students. Though classes haven’t yet begun, 1st year students are actively engaged in the Goizueta community and are pursuing relationships with each other. Students constantly share information on helpful resources and events and often sacrifice time to find answers to their peers’ questions. I believe this genuine desire to grow one another and the community as a whole forms the foundation of Goizueta’s uniquely close-knit and supportive culture.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key factor that led you to choose this program for your full-time MBA and why was it so important to you? Goizueta’s emphasis on experiential learning played a significant role in my business school decision. The program offers a variety of hands-on opportunities from international consulting projects to social impact work with local nonprofits.  The Impact 360 course particularly appealed to me. In this semester-long project, Goizueta pairs student teams with various client companies, and the students work to address a real world business problem for their client. As a career changer, I view the Impact project as both an opportunity to practice the new skills I learn in the core curriculum and an opportunity to translate my existing abilities to new environments – all before beginning my summer internship. Impact 360 and other experiential opportunities contribute to Goizueta’s top-tier job placement and internship conversion rates, and I believe these experiences will be critical to realize my full potential in business school.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school? I am most excited to participate in one of Goizueta’s Mid-semester travel modules. Every year during Spring break, Goizueta sends teams of students to various countries to study the intersection of business and culture. Students have traveled to China, Brazil, South Africa, Thailand, and many other countries. During the trips, the students meet with various corporate and public leaders within that country, many of whom are Goizueta alumni, and learn about the opportunities and challenges that the market faces. I’m confident that the travel module will be a great bonding experience with my classmates and a unique opportunity to learn about business in an international context.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? I decided to pursue an MBA because I believe this is the right time to commit to a new career path. After college, I began my Seminary education and planned to pursue full time pastoral work within the church. While in Seminary, I began working for Service Source. The scale and strategy of our organization fascinated me, and I enjoyed several opportunities to solve strategic problems and witness the resulting impact. I became convinced that business would provide the best platform for me to use my strengths to effect meaningful change. My growth within my company would, however, be limited to one function and would offer few new challenges or opportunities for development. Conversely, an MBA would accelerate my transition to a more strategic role. Confident in my new direction and ready for a new challenge, I decided now was the right time to pursue an MBA.

How did you decide if an MBA was worth the investment? I first defined my professional goals and then evaluated whether an MBA would be the best route to reach them. I came to the conclusion that the MBA experience would be absolutely necessary to accomplish my objectives. I want to use business to drive social impact. To do so, I need a deep business understanding and an effective problem-solving skillset. I believe these skills can be best learned in a role that focuses on creating strategy and overcoming strategic challenges. Such a role represented a significant career change from my trajectory in account management and sales. To obtain a strategy-focused corporate role with my nontraditional background, I would need the business knowledge and hard skills that an MBA program will provide. In addition to rounding out my skillset, I would also need an audience with the companies I want to work for. Top tier business schools offer access to the world’s top employers, and apart from the program it would be extremely difficult to gain that access. After defining my goals and evaluating the paths to reach them, I came to the conclusion that the MBA degree was the necessary route and consequently a worthwhile investment.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? I also applied to UVA-Darden, Duke-Fuqua, UCLA-Anderson, and Georgetown-McDonough.

How did you determine your fit at various schools? I believe the first step in evaluating “fit” is understanding what you are looking for. My background, personality, and professional goals guided my evaluation of programs. I had a non-traditional background, a relational and team-oriented personality, and a desire to transition into management consulting. In light of these realities, I wanted a program that offered strong experiential opportunities, a close knit and team-oriented culture, and a proven track record of placing students with my target consulting firms. School websites, Poets and Quants Insider Guides, and employment reports provided a good overview of this information and helped narrow my initial search. From that point on, the most helpful resource was conversation with current students. Through these conversations, I learned about available curricular and extracurricular projects in greater detail than the information provided online. Students exemplify their program’s culture, so by getting to know the students I got a better feel for the culture of their respective programs. Finally, the students who have been through the recruiting process know which factors most influence employment opportunities and can speak to their school’s strengths and weaknesses in those areas. Overall, clearly defined goals guided both my online research and my conversations, and I feel confident that the program I chose will provide the experiences, atmosphere, and opportunities I need to reach those goals.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? Though not necessarily a “moment”, the experiences that I had as an international English teacher certainly helped define my purpose and shape my perspective. I spent a summer in South Korea teaching North Korean refugees, and a summer in Indonesia teaching students from a variety of backgrounds. I loved exploring the cities, trying new activities, and building relationships with people who have a very different outlook from my own. I also heard first-hand accounts of the horrible oppression that has taken place in North Korea, and I witnessed cycles of extreme poverty in Indonesia. Both experiences developed my affinity for international cultures and opened my mind to the gravity of international need. This awareness drives my desire to address international struggles and gives me an appreciation for the opportunities and subsequent responsibilities I have in the USA.

What do you plan to do after you graduate? After graduation, I plan to work as a consultant for a strategy consulting firm. While my background will most directly translate to projects within customer strategy and marketing, I hope to also pursue projects focused on corporate growth and globalization.

Where do you see yourself in five years? I see myself leveraging business to drive international social impact, most likely in one of two ways. I would love to continue in consulting and apply the business acumen I develop to bring economic opportunity to developing economies through aiding corporate expansion in emerging markets. Alternatively, I am also excited for the possibility of crossing over to the social sector and utilizing these same problem solving and commercial skills to drive impact through nonprofits as a social impact consultant.

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