“The Merage MBA Career Center begins to work with you before your first-year classes even begin, with an innovative program called Career Visioning. And I was impressed by how many connections they have with major companies.”

Vital Statistics
	Graduating Year: 2009
	Hometown: Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan
	Undergraduate and Previous Work Experience: Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance and Accounting, University of Michigan, Specialist, Apple Retail
	Major: Finance and Accounting
	Internship while in the Program: Strategy and Competitive Analysis Intern, Cisco Systems
	Extracurricular Activities: VP of Finance, Challenge for Charity, VP of Finance for Merage Key Assets, member, Golf Club, member, Financial Management Association, member, Toastmasters
	Just for Fun: surfing, snowboarding, biking, camping, any outdoor activities
	OC Favorite Places: Golden Spoon frozen yogurt, across the street from campus and Kura Sushi in Costa Mesa – it’s a revolving sushi bar where you get to pick what you want to eat and the restaurant has a really fun atmosphere.

The MBA Career Center Made a Difference My experience with the Merage MBA Career Center was positive right from the start. The professionals in the Center have corporate experience and expertise themselves, and they work with you before you even begin your classes. They understand the challenges you face with your job search, especially in this economic climate. The Career Center sent me information on a career fair for Cisco Systems. I went to the career fair, interviewed for a position and the rest, as they say, is history. My internship with Cisco Systems as a strategy and competitive analysis intern enabled me to use my past experience and apply what I’ve learned thus far in the MBA Program.

Teamwork is the Foundation to Success The hands-on projects bring what we learn in the classroom into the real world. In one of my classes, our group was assigned the task of building a parachute for an egg that would drop from a four-story building. We were given limited resources and a tight deadline. What was really terrific is how we all came together as a group. A major emphasis of the Merage School is teamwork, and projects like these can truly improve those skills. When we dropped our parachute, people below were watching and laughing as our eggs broke. I’ll never forget it.

"The professionals in the Center have corporate experience and expertise themselves, and they work with you before you even begin your classes." Michael Goldsby

It Was Easy to Get to Know Everyone When I arrived at the Merage School, I had an idea of what to expect, because the staff was very helpful in answering my questions. Like me, most of the students had received their undergraduate degrees a few years before. We were all on the same page and eager to draw on our personal and professional experiences in order to make a contribution to the class discussions. During the first week we met the entire class and really got to know our section and group of five people. Extracurricular activities were scheduled daily and provided everyone the opportunity to meet and get to know each other before the program even began. There was no shortage of events, and by the time I had a chance to reflect, I was getting ready for the next quarter.