“Always searching for good meals and an ideal story.”
Hometown: Westborough, MA
Fun reality about your self: Buzzfeed Tasty made a viral video about my accomplice’s and my long-distance relationship ritual known as dinner roulette—ordering shock dinners for one another and consuming collectively over video chat.
Undergraduate School and Degree: University of California, Berkeley, B.A. Integrative Biology, Minor in Education
Where was the final place you labored earlier than enrolling in enterprise faculty? I used to be the Account Director at Fly Communications, a boutique advert company in New York City that makes a speciality of launch advertising and marketing.
Where did you intern through the summer time of 2021? I used to be a Product Marketing Intern at Xbox inside Microsoft. I sat on the Minecraft group particularly, and my summer time venture was to create a playbook of suggestions for Minecraft’s transition from “video games as a product” to “video games as a service,” a enterprise mannequin shift we’ve seen in software program (SaaS) and different industries. My internship was distant attributable to COVID, however I had the prospect to go to the group in Seattle which was quite a lot of enjoyable.
Where will you be working after commencement? I beloved my internship, so it’s no shock that I’ll be re-joining the Xbox group as a Product Marking Manager this summer time.
While recruiting, I wasn’t particularly concentrating on the gaming trade (my goal was huge tech, extra broadly), however my expertise on the Minecraft group was wonderful. The enterprise challenges are attention-grabbing and dynamic, the group is sensible and artistic, and the product itself is enjoyable and massively influential.
Community Work and Leadership Roles in Business School:
Co-President, MMM Student Experience CommitteeInterviewer, Student Admissions CommitteeKbud (Kellogg buddy for brand new admits)Admissions Ambassador, Women’s Business AssociationEngage Dinner Leader (Diversity, fairness, and inclusion dinner sequence)VP of Marketing, Cork & Screw (Wine Club)Kellogg Dean’s List, Summer 2020, Spring 2021, and Fall 2021Second Prize, 2021 OkTech Product Management Challenge Case CompetitionFinalist, 2021 AbbVie Innovation Challenge Case CompetitionTop Team, 2021 Product Management for Tech Companies CapstoneTop Team, 2020 Research Design Build Capstone
Which educational or extracurricular achievement are you most pleased with throughout enterprise faculty? I’m most pleased with my group’s efficiency in Research Design Build—it’s the first-year capstone class of the MMM program and our first foray into the end-to-end design considering course of.
One of my targets in coming to enterprise faculty was to be taught and follow human-centered design. I imagine it’s the way forward for enterprise, each a framework for a way we should always deal with enterprise challenges and an ethos with which I need to lead. But the primary time you undergo it’s robust.
That class was difficult for me, and the design considering course of felt frustratingly imprecise at instances. By the top, I used to be pleased with what we completed and excited to be named the highest group by each our purchasers at Southwest Airlines and school mentors. Most of all, I’m proud we caught it out!
What achievement are you most pleased with in your skilled profession? When I first began working at NationSwell, a content material advertising and marketing studio centered on social affect, I used to be worker #10, and the corporate was very a lot in startup mode. I used to be employed as the primary account supervisor, and my function comprised consumer relations, venture administration, and enterprise improvement. But I rapidly realized a essential hole in management: as a digital startup, NationSwell lacked a expertise lead. This was a problem; our core product was our web site and thecontent it hosted, so the corporate couldn’t develop if our expertise wasn’t stable —distinctive, even.
Having labored at a digital advertising and marketing agency, I had led 40+ web site builds and understood the infrastructure NationSwell wanted to scale. So, inside my first week, I approached govt management in regards to the challenges I noticed and supplied to steer tech operations and technique along with my authentic function. To keep away from overstepping as a brand new junior rent, I fastidiously framed the dialog, acknowledging that whereas senior management rightfully centered on inventive — our differentiator — we’d profit from a backend lead. I obtained the inexperienced gentle and went on to spearhead two product launches and a web site rebuild, supporting NationSwell’s progress to $2.5MM+ in income and 30 workers.
Why did you select this enterprise faculty? I selected Kellogg for the MMM dual-degree program, the one certainly one of its sort. MMM graduates earn each an MBA from Kellogg and an M.S. in Design Innovation from the McCormick School of Engineering. I used to be extraordinarily drawn to its give attention to human-centered design and innovation which offers a novel lens by which to expertise the standard enterprise core.
The curriculum is rigorous, and there are extra required programs than the standard MBA, however I wished to problem myself and put each my left-brain and right-brain muscle tissues to work. Inherent to MMM can be a small-cohort expertise throughout the bigger MBA class which helped double-down on the collaborative, supportive group really feel that Kellogg is so well-known for.
Who was your favourite MBA professor? Surely a well-liked reply, however I’d must say Dr. Victoria Medvec who teaches Negotiation at Kellogg. She is a pressure to be reckoned with, and each class felt like a mini TED discuss. I’m not a pure negotiator, and I used to be nervous going into that class as a result of I knew I’d be pushed exterior my consolation zone. But Dr. Medvec works actually onerous to take the worry out of negotiation and generously shares real-world instance after real-world instance from her personal life which offers sticky tales I’ll always remember. She consists of a mixture of each high-stakes company offers (from her work as CEO of Medvec and Associates) and smaller-scale, private examples like job negotiation. I efficiently leveraged Dr. Medvec’s knowledge in my very own job negotiation, and I’ll at all times be glad about that.
What was your favourite MBA occasion or custom at your corporation faculty? There are so many nice ones, however the Special Ok Revue stands out as my favourite. It’s a totally scholar run satirical manufacturing that was born in 1980. Each yr, dozens of scholars work onerous and dedicate time to volunteer to sing, dance, choreograph, act, direct, write, compose music, and so forth. — all in service of hilarious, SNL-style sketches that seize Kellogg life in that second in time. As you possibly can most likely think about, COVID was woven into the final present in a manner that was humorous,poignant, and cathartic. The college and administration adore it too; they arrive with a wholesome humorousness and willingness to chuckle at themselves which is all within the spirit of the present and the college.
Looking again over your MBA expertise, what’s the one factor you’d do in a different way and why? I’d have taken extra benefit of the Chicago campus. I like cities, and I want I had put in additional effort to get to know Chicago from the meals to the comedy to the lakefront. Luckily, I do have one time period left upon scripting this, and I plan to bid on a downtown campus class to pressure myself into the town at the least as soon as per week! I’m shifting to Seattle after commencement, so it feels a bit like my final probability.
What is the largest fantasy about your faculty? Kellogg is solely a advertising and marketing/CPG faculty. I got here into Kellogg with pursuits in tech product administration and entrepreneurship. While my journey led me to product advertising and marketing, I’ve at all times been assured within the faculty’sability to set me up for fulfillment throughout features and sectors.
OkTech, Kellogg’s expertise membership, is without doubt one of the largest and quickest rising golf equipment on campus with a few of the greatest scholar management and sources round. Their assist, together with the Career Management Center (CMC), made the massive tech recruiting course of a lot much less aggravating than it’d’ve been in any other case.
What is one factor you probably did through the utility course of that gave you an edge on the faculty you selected? Applying to enterprise faculties is completely completely different than making use of to undergrad. Each enterprise faculty has a definite character, and I actually tried to grasp Kellogg’s character. I did this for every faculty I utilized to, and I might rapidly inform that my very own character was essentially the most naturally aligned to Kellogg’s. This holistic understanding of the college got here out in all the things I did from the applying to the essays to the interview. It’s necessary to have the ability to image your self at a faculty, actually, and to embody that future-state model of your self as an applicant.
Which MBA classmate do you most admire? Feels unimaginable to decide on only one, however Sarah Pinner comes instantly to thoughts. In addition to being an exceptionally sort, considerate, vibrant, vivacious, and loving pal, she is a badass entrepreneur who began an organization whereas at Kellogg known as Beni. In its present kind, Beni is a brilliant browser extension that makes second-hand buying simple by discovering curated alternate options from second-hand marketplaces. It’s sensible as a result of it does all of the be just right for you, and also you don’t have to alter the way you store—simply navigate to your regular shops, and Beni will discover the precise costume you’re on the lookout for, simply pre-worn and pre-loved. I can not adequately underscore how a lot Sarah’s big-hearted ambition conjures up me. She’s on her strategy to altering the world.
Who most affected your determination to pursue enterprise in school? I didn’t pursue enterprise in school—I used to be truly a biology main and for a very long time thought I’d be a physician. That stated, my dad was at all times very supportive of me going into enterprise and advised that I change majors sooner or later. He might see my pure abilities there manner earlier than I might. Finally, in my senior yr, I fell in love with a social innovation startup primarily based out of New York and, after interning with them remotely, was given the chance to work there full-time. In an enormous leap of religion, I deserted my MCAT books, moved throughout the nation, and by no means appeared again. My dad was my first telephone name once I obtained into to Kellogg.
What are the highest two gadgets in your skilled bucket record?
1, Launch a net-new product, not only a new characteristic or line extension. To put one thing fully authentic out on the earth that hasn’t existed earlier than—that’s so thrilling to me, and really completely different than working with an present product and model.
2. Launch my very own firm. I’ve thought fairly a bit about social entrepreneurship and have an concept in thoughts. I’ve additionally labored in that house earlier than and witnessed the enterprise improvement hustle, fundraising grind, B Corp certification course of, and so forth. It’s not simple, so I need to be certain and really feel prepared, which will not be for some time.
How has the pandemic modified your view of a profession? It hasn’t actually. If something, it’s solidified some views I’ve had about work and life, together with the separation of these two issues. I need to love what I do, and I’ve at all times been fortunate sufficient to like the roles I’ve had. I don’t need that to alter; a satisfying profession is necessary to my happiness. That stated, the factor I worth above all else are individuals and relationships. Those make life price dwelling, and lots of of my individuals and relationships have completely nothing to do with work. The pandemic, with all its scares and uncertainty, has solely strengthened that in my thoughts.
What made Danielle such a useful addition to the Class of 2022?
“Danielle is an excellent scholar chief who epitomizes a lot of Kellogg’s core values. Danielle is collaborative at her core, she is purpose-driven and she or he views success as one thing that the group achieves collectively. Danielle shares her time and skills generously and has been concerned in lots of features of the scholar expertise at Kellogg from serving as an Admissions Interviewer and welcoming admitted college students by our Kbud program to taking part in case competitions and taking over management roles in golf equipment. Danielle cares deeply about inclusion and has served as an Engage small group chief, facilitating open and trustworthy discussions round DE&I matters. She can be an advocate for scholar wellness and served as a panelist in our annual “Supporting the Mental Health of Others” workshop.
As one of many Co-chairs of the MMM Student Experience Committee, Danielle has labored tirelessly to construct an in depth and inclusive group amongst her fellow MMMs. Throughout the pandemic, Danielle strove to maintain the MMM cohort linked and to make sure that any considerations her classmates had have been raised to the administration. And as we now have returned to extra regular ranges of in-person actions this yr, Danielle has taken the initiative to revive a number of longstanding MMM traditions, together with sponsoring Hoot for the Homeless once more this previous fall.
Danielle has a constructive vitality that’s participating and galvanizing. This, mixed together with her creativity, her mind and her real concern for others, will be sure that Danielle continues to be the type of high-impact, low ego Kellogg chief that can make a distinction in her discipline and on the earth extra broadly.”
Fran LangewischAssistant Dean and Director of Student Life
https://poetsandquants.com/college students/2022-best-brightest-mba-danielle-ma-northwestern-university-kellogg/?pq-category=college students
