Meet Notre Dame Mendoza’s MBA Class of 2019

Faith Miller

University of Notre Dame, Mendoza College of Business

Describe yourself in 15 words or less: Former reporter looking to make a greater impact through business than I could on TV.

Hometown: Northville, MI

Fun Fact About Yourself: I love powerlifting, and I can deadlift 250 lbs and bench 125.

Undergraduate School and Major: University of Southern California, Broadcast and Digital Journalism

Employers and Job Titles Since Graduation:

Reporter, WILX-TV (Lansing, MI)

Marketing Associate, Fraser Trebilcock, PC

Substitute Teacher, EduStaff, LLC

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While working at Channel 10, I produced, wrote, edited, shot, and fronted a long-form piece about how all of the medical marijuana dispensaries in Lansing were operating without licenses or regulation of any kind. The city couldn’t get its act together and create a licensing ordinance. After the piece aired, the city council and mayor wrote and passed a new ordinance and dispensaries are now licensed and regulated in the city.

Looking back on your experience, what one piece of advice would you give to future business school applicants? Tell the truth about yourself. Yes, selling yourself is inherent in any application process, but if you believe what you accomplished in one of your hobbies is proof of some of your best qualities, don’t be afraid to talk about it. I described the effort, hours, planning and dedication that I put into benching 100 lbs. for the first time in my interview with Notre Dame. Am I looking for a job as a powerlifter when I graduate? Of course not, but I felt it was indicative of the kind of person I am, inside and outside of my career. That interview, and that answer, is part of what got me into the excellent program I’m in today.

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? I chose Notre Dame for its dual-degree, MBA/MSBA program. The program is in its first year, but simply by creating it, Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business has shown it is dedicated to preparing students for the evolving landscape of business. Big data is changing everything, and I want to be one of the people who can harness the power of the mass amounts of information companies now collect every day and use it to drive business forward. Earning these two degrees in two years will put me in a unique position to take on challenges involving big data, wherever I choose to work.

What would success look like to you after your first year of business school? I want to be in a position where I can solve interesting problems every day and teach others how to do the same. Big data (and the computations often required to untangle it) can be daunting, but I hope to explain it to my coworkers and clients in much the same way I explained complicated matters of politics, science, and society to my viewers as a TV reporter. If I really understand business analytics, as I hope to after I earn my degrees, I will be able to explain how to use them to others. That is what is most satisfying to me. That is success. Solving problems and then teaching so that the problem can be solved faster the next time.

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