Jaimie Santmyer, OSU Fisher’s MBA Class of 2024
Age: 41
Hometown: Twig, Minnesota
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Social Work/Mathematics at Universtity of Wisconsin-Superior
Pre-MBA Work Experience (years, industry): 16 years, entrepreneur/ private education
Why did you make the decision to attend business school?
I’ve been working in business for 16 years but I wanted to professionalize my knowledge.
Why now?
You know, when one is approaching 40, one starts reanalyzing their life. I wanted to be the best I could be and I wanted to be an example for my kids.
Why did you choose OSU Fisher? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
We were living in Chile. We wanted our kids to experience a modern Midwest US city. Considering my social work background, I appreciate the interest in social values. We looking here cause, my father’s family is from Ohio.
What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2024?
My life experience.
Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
Last Spring my son wanted to play soccer at his new school. The last team for the school (all the new kids) did not have a coach and the school was going to cut their team. I volunteered without ever playing or even knowing the rules. I told the families and they 100% supported me. We called ourselves the “Muddy Puddles.” We ended the year winning 1 game but the boys had fun. It was one of the hardest jobs I’ve ever had.
Post-MBA career interests:
Dream job- working consulting. I just discovered human capital consulting. It’s my new goal.
Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
Take the GMAT. I could have asked to defer it but I choose to anyways; I found the process of taking that bring me back to the skills I needed to strengthen coming back to school.
–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
Start the pre-term math courses a little bit earlier than I did.
–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
Getting COVID the first week of pre-term. It was overwhelming because the family was trying to adjust to each of our new roles and then the whole household got sick. The program was great about sending me links to join by zoom. One just keeps going forward, and does the best they can each day.
What is your initial impression of the OSU Fisher students/culture/community?
I am absolutely thrilled with Fisher. The students are open, helpful, intelligent and hard-working. The culture is open, accepting and cutting edge.
What is one thing you have learned about OSU Fisher that has surprised you?
The upper-level Management world in the US is not only full of sharks and narcissists. I have met so many inspirational, wonderful people. People with truly beautiful souls.
What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
How my family was going to make the balance between not having me available/ or if they really need my help, how I would balance them with school?
What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
Learning. I am so excited for everything that I am learning and will get to learn.
Has the COVID-19 pandemic affected your personal application or admissions process in any way? If so, how?
Originally, COVID impacted our family security immensely and the situation highlighted our fragility. It just reinforced an idea that I had and confirmed that this was the right choice for all of us.
