Meet the MBA Class of 2022: Taniya Singh, University of Rochester (Simon)

Taniya Singh

University of Rochester, Simon Business School

“A Social bee who treasures meaningful relationships.”

Hometown: New Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I am an outdoorsy person. Absolutely love trekking, hiking, running, basically all outdoor activities.

Undergraduate School and Major:  University of Delhi, Graduation: Delhi school of economics. Major in economics.

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: American Express, Financial analysis manager

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: At American Express, I single-handedly drove results for a process optimization project. This initiative was targeted at streamlining the legacy revenue data capture process in 23 international markets. The process had been erroneous and intensely manual hitherto.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Smart, welcoming, and supportiveBeing a part of a small community of really smart people is a blessing. No matter what the requirement, recruiting or academic, there is someone to help.

Rochester Simon is known for being “unabashedly analytical.” Why does the program’s focus on quantitative analysis and decision-making appeal to you? How do you intend to leverage this approach as a student and professional? In my previous tenure at American Express, I noticed that business decision making across all functions is becoming increasingly data-driven. This motivated me to pursue an MBA program offering a curriculum with a strong quantitative and analytical focus.

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? I chose Simon MBA because of its stellar reputation as a Finance school and the strong academic focus on analytics. It’s matched my requirements for a quant heavy program.

What club or activity are you looking most forward to in business school?  I am an active participant in the Simon finance and investing club, and the data analytics clubs. I’ve always wanted to learn investing and I am currently doing that through practical experience in the Meliora Fund where I am an associate managing stocks in the healthcare segment.

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? ‘What matters most to you and why?’ Though this question looks simple at first, it really made me really sit back and reflect on my journey so far, and my priorities, ambitions, and intentions in life.

What led you to pursue an MBA at this point in your career? My entire work experience before this has been in financial services within the corporate finance domain. During my tenure, I realized the importance of management acumen, finance subject matter knowledge, and analytical skillset. I also saw that organizations immensely value an MBA credential. These factors made an MBA the obvious next step for me.

What other MBA programs did you apply to? Michigan Ross, Stanford, Duke Fuqua, UCLA, and MIT

How did you determine your fit at various schools? When choosing schools. I looked for strength of the alumni network, quant-focus of the program, and career opportunities.

What was your defining moment and how did it shape who you are? I dedicated two years of my life to the challenging Indian Civil Services examination. Competition is intense with around 100k people taking the exam each year. It was a dream to crack into the Civil Services and I was shocked when I did not make it through level 2. I went into a temporary phase of depression as I bid goodbye to what was a dear dream until then. However, this allowed me to break through the mental limits I had imposed on myself. So far, I had defined myself through external factors: achievements, titles, and accolades, but I soon realized the damaging implications of such a narrow self-definition.

Where do you see yourself in ten years?   I am open to new ideas and opportunities. Having said that, I see myself as a senior executive acutely focused on driving results for my organization and aggressively climbing up the traditional leadership ladder.

DON’T MISS: MEET ROCHESTER SIMON’S MBA CLASS OF 2022

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