“Throughout the admissions process, I was continuously impressed by the individual attention and respect that I felt as an applicant. At no point in the process did I feel like a file number or a test score.”

Vital Statistics
	Graduating Year: 2009
	Hometown: Mission Viejo, California
	Undergraduate and Previous Work Experience: B.S. in International Business  from Pepperdine University; Project Manager for New Product Development at Honeywell
	Major: International Business
	Internship while in the Program: Johnson & Johnson
	Extracurricular Activities: MBA Student Ambassador, President, Women in Business, VP Corporate Relations, Challenge for Charity, member, Marketing Association
	Just for Fun: Dinner with friends, Tournament of Roses Float Crew Chief
	OC Favorite Places: Laguna Beach art walk on the first Thursday of every month and Disneyland – I have an annual pass.

Learning Opportunities Beyond Traditional MBA Curriculum The Paul Merage School of Business was the ideal MBA program for me because it offered unique opportunities to take on leadership roles and shape the direction of the school, while allowing me to attend a prestigious university in a desirable environment – an environment in which administrators, faculty, and students interact and share a sense of community beyond classroom walls.   In the classroom, I discovered that learning opportunities expanded beyond the traditional MBA curriculum and focused on developing and sustaining business growth through strategic innovation within an organization. This aligned with my career goals of developing new business through strategic marketing.

From the Classroom into a Doctor’s Office Throughout the curriculum, we work on many hands-on projects. It’s not just theory and case studies. One of my favorites, by far, was the organizational behavior study of a doctor’s office that had major issues. These issues were deeply rooted, and it was a great opportunity to address complicated real-life situations and see the potential outcome of our recommendations. We applied our classroom learning to make recommendations, and I was very pleased to hear that we improved the work environment of the office and positively impacted the daily lives of community members.

"...learning opportunities expanded beyond the traditional MBA curriculum and focused on developing and sustaining business growth through strategic innovation within an organization." Amanda Gast

As a Student Ambassador, I Represent the School Another exciting aspect about my time in the Merage MBA is my role as Merage Student Ambassador. I actively participate in recruiting future classes of Merage MBA students, fostering relationships between current students and new students entering the program. I also meet with the Dean on a regular basis to discuss student issues and concerns. Through these meetings I have found the School to be very supportive and receptive to change, making the Merage experience that much more rewarding and unique.