Martha Conover, '08 MBA
Civil and environmental engineering consultant
A soccer player since age five, Martha Conover, '08 draws on sports metaphors, as well as her academic experience at Simmons, to describe herself. "I'm competitive," she says, "and I like to be challenged, but in sports competition, there's one common goal: winning. So, if one player scores a goal, it helps everyone."
Conover sees a similar mindset at the SOM. "There's a 'We want to help everyone be the best they can be' attitude at all the touch points—from really impressive faculty who care about their students, to the MBA office, admission, library, and career services staff," she says. "The program is competitive, but it's also collaborative and team-oriented. Students learn skills and push their own boundaries in a positive environment."
Conover is pushing her boundaries by making a career change, from civil and environmental engineering to business. "As a consultant, I learned about company finances, policies, and strategies, and became interested in business development,"she says. "At Simmons, I'm learning a lot and I can apply it immediately, which is very empowering."
Ana Clara Destafani, '06 MBA
Acquiring a Global Mindset
Can one accountant make a difference in improving a country's economy? What if that country were Argentina, which experienced economic collapse in 2001 and is now struggling through a recovery? Ana Clara Destefani believes one accountant can make a difference and she intends to do just that when she returns to her native Argentina after securing her MBA at Simmons.
"As an accountant, I'm able to use my analytical skills to read beyond the numbers to understand what drives a business to be profitable. I'm stimulated and challenged to find solutions to problems. Through pursuing my MBA, I'm acquiring the technical knowledge and managerial skills I'll need to facilitate positive change in the business world and within the global economy."
Obtaining those skills at the SOM was an obvious choice for Destefani, who worked for several years as an accountant in Argentina before heading to the U.S. to pursue an MBA. "I knew I wanted to continue my higher education abroad because my professional goal is to work for a multinational corporation; I needed an international perspective and global mind-set of the business world. Simmons offers that; it provides a diverse environment that will best enable me to shape the global mind-set I seek. As I interact with students and faculty of diverse backgrounds, I learn and understand different cultures that further prepare me to be globally competent."
Destefani says that at Simmons, she has found the personal attention and support that she wanted. "As a part-time student, I enjoy the flexibility of the day and evening programs. And the close relationships I have formed with my professors, the staff, and my fellow students make this feel like home."
Determined to make the best of her future, Destefani is already working the SOM network. As co-founder and co-leader of the school's Latina Club, she is beginning to establish relationships with the SOM's Latina alumnae and faculty and with Boston's Latino Professional Network. "Simmons has a strong network and I'm learning about the importance of connecting with professionals who can mentor me and open doors for me. Through my networking efforts, I'm already making contacts at firms I've targeted for future employment. I couldn't be happier with my decision to attend Simmons."
Lora Nielson, '04 MBA
Doing business "the Toyota way"
Lora Nielsen experienced a number of memorable insights while obtaining her MBA in the SOM's 18-month program, but none bigger than the one she experienced in her Operations class. "I learned about the Toyota Production System or 'The Toyota Way,' as they call it there. It's core to everything they do in their business of manufacturing cars. The system was fascinating, and their approach really resonated with me. I knew that to fully learn the Toyota Way, I needed to be there on the ground and live it day after day."
Sounds easy enough, right? Simply secure an externship with Toyota and experience the Toyota Way personally. But other than some undergraduate engineering co-ops, Toyota had never hosted an externship for MBA grads. Until now that is.
As a post-graduate extern with Toyota Motor Manufacturing in Kentucky, Nielsen is indeed experiencing the Toyota Way up close and personal. It's a "professional dream" come true, and she credits the SOM for making it happen.
"During my winter semester, I learned that some of our professors had toured a Toyota manufacturing site and were cultivating a relationship with the company. I quickly jumped on board and worked with them to pitch the externship idea. It took several months, but after two Toyota executives attended the SOM's annual Leadership Conference and learned more about the school's Executive Education program, our efforts gained momentum. I'm now coordinating a strategic leadership development program for mid-level assembly managers at Toyota."
Nielsen says the perspective she is gaining from this externship will surely inform how she approaches all her work going forward. "Being here has been a productive transition from the classroom to my next job. I have the advantage that I am focused on a singular project rather than having multiple responsibilities that come with a typical job, so I get this special period of time to take my academic experience to a deeper level of learning. It works both ways; I am integrating so much of the material we covered in classes while also getting to practice and integrate the unique Toyota principles - working those two bodies of knowledge back and forth to build some solid new expertise into my own portfolio. I'm grateful to have that and I know it will be exciting to put into practice everywhere I go."
