Full-Time MBA Student Profile Emily Ruff, ’16

Emily Ruff: 00:03
I think the flexibility is what makes this place so great, and what attracts such great people. I worked in DC as a consultant for the federal government. I wanted to get an MBA because I'd been working in the public sector for so long, so I knew a lot about cost cutting, but not a lot about competitive strategies, or really the way the actual free marketplace worked. I knew which areas I really wanted to explore, and those were these highly analytical kind of classes, things like probability and statistics. But I think that, to me, things that are more useful are not repeating the classes I took in undergrad.

Emily Ruff: 00:34
Before I came to Booth, I probably would've had no idea that I had much interest in marketing, but what I found here, especially through Data-Driven Marketing with Günter Hitsch and Pricing Strategies with J.P. Dubé, is that I absolutely love the way you can use analytics to really inform marketing. I really feel like I'm learning appliable knowledge here at Booth.

Emily Ruff: 00:55
There are so many opportunities to learn outside of the classroom. One of my favorite experiences has been leading the first annual Booth-sponsored education business plan competition. It was really great exposure for the school, and also just helped get us more recognition in the education work and social impact work.

Emily Ruff: 01:11
I am actually on student government. I organize all of the cohort experience events. One thing that makes our cohort system really different is that it doesn't constrict you to follow the same paths. We get to go out and pick our own courses, and really structure our own experiences, and then come back together and help each other out. When you have such great people, you want to see them reach their full potential.