Rachel Sze, MBA '23
Rachel Sze, MBA ‘23, has held a lifelong love of music. So it’s no surprise that her career aspirations were focused on music education and becoming a high school band director. But a desire for growth inspired her to pursue opportunities that would best utilize the influential experiences she had working with others, and leverage her talents on a broader scale.
From Music Education to MBA
Rachel's early career path led her from her home state of Maryland to Michigan State University, where she studied euphonium and earned a bachelor’s degree in music education. Rachel was able to parlay her experience and education into a high school teaching position right after graduation. “I was incredibly pleased to be doing what I loved: teach band, lead a marching band, teach orchestra, and direct musicals at the high school level.”
After fulfilling her dream, Rachel began to consider how she could broaden her scope of impact. “I was looking for interesting and diverse experiences that would allow me to stretch myself, but also leverage the leadership, the people management, and the collaborative skills that I had honed as a high school teacher.”
Research led her to a Masters in Business Administration, and consulting specifically, as something that would allow her to do that. “It was going to be something that was going to give me a ton of options. My mom is an MBA and did a similar pivot in her career, so I knew that this could be a possible path for me.”
The Michigan Ross Difference
“As I was looking at schools, Ross peaked on my early radar because of rankings.” But it was evident from her first interactions with students and staff that Ross was also a welcoming, inclusive place.
I was intrigued by the collegial, people-focused culture that Ross has. As a musician, I thrive in environments where talented and skilled people come together to earnestly collaborate in order to learn, grow, and assist in others’ development. So, I knew it would be a good fit for me.
Rachel said that she appreciated the interesting discussions around her classmates’ passions, both personally and professionally. “I was blown away by the vast variety of former positions and interests that my classmates had. It felt like professors were intentional about ensuring that groups had different bases of experience.”
The seven-week Multidisciplinary Action Projects course gave Rachel the exposure she needed to the consulting world. MAP is the Michigan Ross action-based learning course that challenges teams of students to devise creative solutions to pressing business problems at sponsor companies. “I think it's unique that it's a full-time, immersive experience versus just having classes. It allows us to go more in-depth and allows companies to trust us with bigger questions since they know our attention is solely focused on them.”
Rachel and her team worked with Blue Origin, the aerospace manufacturer and sub-orbital spaceflight services company owned by former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, on medium and long-term strategy regarding opportunities that may be available in the space industry.
I gained a ton from working with Blue Origin. It was really interesting to do a short-term project for a company that is bringing a true question of consequence to our team, and to have the trust to be able to find or guide a solution for them.
Doing More For Business
Rachel has embraced the Michigan Ross spirit of giving back through her involvement in a number of extracurricular activities and organizations. She is the vice president of diversity and inclusion for Out for Business and is one of the vice presidents of education for the Consulting Club. She has also done consulting work for Detroit Revitalization & Business Initiative and local nonprofits. “It was helpful for me to see what it is like to actually work in consulting and get an idea of what it is like to work on teams. That was something that I really wanted and I really got at Ross.”
Rachel also has been able to stay connected to her original love at Ross. She channels her creative energy toward playing trombone in the Michigan Ross cover band, Risky Business. “We're pretty good, and I say that as an expert in the industry.” She says of her bandmates: “We have backgrounds in everything from consulting to the professional music industry, but everybody comes together to create something special and fun for the Ross community.”
Continued Growth
For Rachel, the culture of an MBA program is important and her advice to incoming students echoes that sentiment: “Take the opportunity to talk to as many current and former Ross students as you can. Students are always eager to share their perspectives and experiences and selflessly offer help, which is something I appreciate and will pay forward.”
By leveraging networking skills honed during her graduate experience, Rachel has been able to focus her efforts on a new career in consulting. This summer she had an internship consulting and advising a diverse client base at Bain & Co in Washington, D.C., where she intends to return after graduation.
I'm really excited to continue building on what I've learned in the MBA program and continue to seek growth in all ways that I possibly can.