Real Humans of University of Washington Foster MBA Class of 2025

Jasmine Douglas, Washington Foster’s MBA Class of 2025

Age: 28
Hometown: Dallas, TX
Undergraduate Institution and Major: Jackson State University – B.S. Civil Engineering, The Ohio State University – M.S. Civil Engineering
Pre-MBA Work Experience (role, company, years): Traffic Engineering Associate, 6 years

Why did you make the decision to attend business school? Why now?
I made the decision to attend business school because I saw the glass ceiling of the career path I was on at that time. I knew I wanted to eventually get on the business side of transportation engineering consulting, but there was no clear path to getting there besides waiting for more than 15 years and hopefully getting lucky. My mentor impressed upon me that I deserved more than just luck. 

Why did you choose the University of Washington Foster? What factors figured most prominently into your decision of where to attend?
I chose Foster primarily because it was in Seattle. I moved to Seattle in early 2022 and have started to call the city my new home. I wasn’t ready to leave just yet. Though location was important to me, the real decision-making factor was meeting with Brent Nagamine in February 2023 to inquire if an MBA was right for me and if the program would be a good fit. During that meeting, Brent answered all my questions warmly, actively listened to my story, and validated that an MBA could point me in my desired direction. That meeting with Brent led me to apply to Foster (only), and in the 3rd round at that.

What do you think is your most valuable or differentiating contribution to the Class of 2025?
I think my most valuable contribution to my class is my ability to genuinely connect with my classmates and hold space for them. I also bring a multitude of diverse experiences, outside of my career as a transportation engineer, that allows me to engage with an elongated perspective to creatively solve problems.

Tell us a fun fact about yourself that didn’t get included on your application:
In 9th grade, I was on my high school’s solar car team. We drafted, designed, built, and wired a real solar car from the ground up! Once we passed two days of rigorous scrutineering, we got to race it on the Texas Motor Speedway! Although I wasn’t old enough to drive it myself, one of my greatest accomplishments was watching something I helped create go 9 miles per hour around the Texas Motor Speedway for three glorious days!

Post-MBA career interests:
Post-MBA I hope to land in a strategy-based role that’s somewhere on the corner of happy people and healthy operations. 

Advice for Current Prospective Applicants:
–What is one thing you would absolutely do again as part of your application process?
I would do my interview again. I really enjoyed the interview. I was able to relax and tell my story genuinely through answering the unique questions asked. I felt like more than just another applicant. 

–What is one thing you would change or do differently?
I would apply in Round 1 or 2 in order to give myself more time to plan and transition.

–What is one part you would have skipped if you could—and what helped you get through it?
I would skip the pre-recorded interview if I could. It felt more high pressure than it probably was. Not practicing too much helped me get through it because it allowed me to be as natural as I could be without trying to memorize a script that would hopefully be applied to the randomized questions.

What is your initial impression of the Washington Foster students/culture/community?
It is an academic community that sincerely wants you to flourish. Foster is very intentional about the students, faculty, curriculum, and programming that goes into developing an environment that everyone can find support and success in.

What is one thing you have learned about Washington Foster that has surprised you?
What’s surprised me is the global nature of the program. On our first day we learned that 55% of our class were international students. As a domestic student, this was an exciting yet overwhelming statistic. However, it made me wonder what my perspective would look like if I had this opportunity throughout my academic journey? Pondering on this made me excited to take advantage of this unique opportunity to expand my perspective as I engage with my classmates. 

What is one thing you are most anxious about in your first year?
I’m most anxious about the lifestyle transition from working full-time to going to school full-time. It’s a bigger transition than most people are willing to admit.

What is one thing you are most excited about in your first year?
I’m most excited about applying the principles I learn in class to taking an Applied Strategy course in either the winter or spring quarter!