Hey Alex and Graham! Huge fan of the podcast, my friend introduced it to me a few months ago and I have been hooked since. Like most, it makes my Monday commute that much better (though I agree with Graham that running while listening is not ideal).

I am a chemical engineer working at a Fortune 500 oil & gas company (think Chevron, etc.). I graduated in 2018 with a 3.7 in chemical engineering from a strong public state school (think UDel, looking at you Alex). I was in my school’s Honors College, and was heavily involved in the program, taking on various leadership roles (ex. I directed and led the the Class of 2021 Freshmen Orientation program, and served as a mentor and section leader for many classes). I was also heavily involved in my engineering fraternity, and served as the VP for one semester.

I have been working at my current company for about 3 years (would matriculate with 4 years of experience), and have moved jobs about each year. I began as a process engineer, successfully completing multi-million dollar initiatives, moved on to become a strategy coordinator and managed several stewardship systems, and am now a business analyst where I am completing finance/accounting analysis, as well as financial presentations for management. I am a top performer at my company and have consistently received positive feedback regarding my performance. I enjoy spending my time at work mentoring others, as well as serving as a mentee in my various relationships. I am on the leadership team of the Women’s Network at my company, and help plan Professional Development events to help employees overcome the many challenges and barriers that prevent women from succeeding in the workplace.

I would like to go to business school to pivot careers, and further my leadership and management skills. I do not think I will be able to get the experiences I am looking for if I were to stay on my current track or within my current industry. Short term MBA goals would be to enter into a strategy or management position at a food/fitness company to learn the business and gain experience. Long term, I would love to start or work at a non-profit that focuses on educating low income areas about nutrition, and help provide ways for families to gain access to healthy food alternatives that are affordable for them.

Some context around my career goals, I am very passionate about fitness/nutrition. My hobbies include rock climbing, weightlifting, and spinning. I also just completed a 10K Spartan race which has got me on a running kick, so I’m currently training for my first half marathon. I think pivoting into a career in nutrition/fitness management at a consumer goods company would allow me to turn my hobbies into a career. I also mentor a young lady through a local women’s mentorship program. She lives in a low income area, and through my time with her I have realized how difficult it can be to live a healthy balanced lifestyle. In these areas, there are limited food options close by (mostly fast food) and family members are always working/too busy to make ends meet, so they don’t have time to cook or prioritize nutrition.

I have taken the GMAT twice now, with my best score being a 720 (Q48/V40). I am planning to take it again in 2 months, but I am not confident I will do better as I get very nervous in the test setting. I recognize my score is on the lower side for the schools that I am targeting, but hoping my engineering background can make up for the lower quant score? Also I have a decent number of schools on the list, and am trying to decide if I should cut some or just split my applications between R1 and R2. Lastly, is my application overly specific? I am afraid that I might be drawing too small of a box around myself. Would absolutely love to hear your thoughts and feedback, thanks for all that you do!!