What has been your biggest takeaway from your time at MIT so far?
My biggest takeaway is how kind and supportive everyone is, while also having a humble ambition. I think most of us arrived at MIT with imposter syndrome, something that is very common amongst women, but I have also been surprised to learn that it impacts all genders at MIT. However, despite challenges like this, my peers continue to push themselves and deploy a growth mindset to continuously learn and improve. They have been incredibly supportive and community focused. This extends to the LGO and MIT Sloan alumni networks, who have helped all of us through both our school application and full-time recruiting processes. I knew MIT was a great place but could not have anticipated how supportive everyone here is, and I hope to pass this forward in my interactions with the classes that come after me.
What are your hopes for diversity in LGO and in industry?
While we are seeing a lot of positive changes regarding diversity in the United States, and at LGO specifically, I think we still need a lot of work to get to parity, which is what I hope for. LGO and most of the professional world do not have gender and race representation levels that match the US population. I hope LGO can work to further strengthen its recruitment pool to get more women and minorities applying, as well as providing more aid to these populations to added LGO. In industry, I hope to strengthen the recruitment processes while also being a good mentor, sponsor, and advocate for my peers.
How have you been able to engage with communities of women at MIT and LGO?
I had an amazing time getting to know the women of LGO and MIT Sloan. In my LGO class we have a women’s-only chat that we use to support eachother. We started having monthly women’s nights within the first month of the program. I now have a group of very close female LGO friends who help me deal with career discussions, vent frustrations, conquer my anxieties, and help celebrate my successes. During our internships, when we lived across the country, we had a virtual wine night and book club where we furthered our community. This group has extended to helping provide each other job recommendations and support each other through recruiting. It has been wonderful to have such a strong, supportive, and ambitious group of friends. In the MBA program, the Sloan Women in Management club, SWIM, provided an additional support network by arranging small group dinners, speaker series, and mentorships.
What is the coolest project you’ve been able to work on since coming to MIT and LGO?
I am impressed and honored by the project opportunities MIT has provided me with. Especially in healthcare, a field I am pivoting to from oil and gas. I have been able to work on an Operations Lab project with Boston Medical Center, a 2.75 Medical Device Design project to design an improved speculum, and a Boston Scientific internship working to develop an operations strategy to replace human visual inspection with machine vision. The latter is the project I found most interesting, because it combined my interests of technology, operations, and healthcare. In this project, I worked to develop a framework to find the best opportunities to replace human visual inspection with machine vision, and my proposal was rolling out to all sites when I ended my internship. It was great to be able to learn so much during such a short time, while improving my understanding of the medical device industry, and working to deploy a new-er operational technology.
What are your plans post-LGO?
Post-LGO I plan to join Deloitte in their healthcare strategy practice at their McLean, VA office. MIT has reinforced my interest in healthcare, but I want to explore the space outside of the product landscape. I feel this opportunity will enable me to continue to develop the toolkit I learned at MIT while getting a diversified experience within healthcare.
Do you have any advice for prospective LGOs?
The application process is so stressful, and it can really feel like the school is looking for something specific. I would advise prospective students to be authentic and convey themselves as much as they can in the application. They should also try to look at the application holistically and try to paint a full picture of themselves using the different questions available. Finally, applicants should try to relax and enjoy using this as a time to explore what they want to get from their MBA experience as much as possible.
