Innovative Booth Students Recognized as Siebel Scholars

Lelia Busch had never visited Chicago before applying to Booth’s Full-Time MBA Program. But once she arrived for the school’s First Day weekend for admitted students, she knew it was the right choice.

“It immediately felt like home,” Busch says. “As soon as I stepped foot on campus, I instantly felt connected to the people and environment around me.”

Busch started her MBA with an ambitious goal: to promote global food security. “I like to say that I came to Booth to learn how to feed the future,” she says. She first discovered this passion while earning her BS in international politics at Georgetown University. After graduating, she started her career in social impact at the global public affairs consulting firm APCO based in Washington, DC, where she focused on sustainability, green energy, and higher education.

Busch came to Booth to deepen her business skills, and is working toward her goal by earning a joint MBA/Master of Arts in International Relations. “I have become increasingly interested in using private market mechanisms to achieve policy objectives,” she says. “My dual degree allows me to apply the private market frameworks I learn in my MBA to the global trade and policy considerations I explore in my MA.” She’s also excited to pursue Booth’s new Business, Society, and Sustainability concentration, which focuses on innovation in ESG investing, sustainability reporting, and impact investing.

Busch was thrilled to make her family proud when she became a Siebel Scholar. “They spent a lifetime encouraging my academic and professional success,” she says. “Their excitement made earning this scholarship all the more special.”

Growing up in the United Arab Emirates and Armenia before moving to the United States, George Kobalyan spent his life exposed to many different opinions. He looked for a business school where that would continue.

“I wanted a place that would challenge me to think harder and lead better,” he says. “I have always valued diverse perspectives, and Booth’s community reflects that spirit. People don’t just share ideas; they push each other to make them stronger.”

Prior to Booth, Kobalyan worked as a consultant for private equity–backed companies focused on telecommunications and technology. This experience also underscored the value of being open to different views. “What I took away most was an industry-agnostic approach to problem-solving—while frameworks may be similar, successful execution depends on adapting to the context, people, and culture,” he says.

Kobalyan is pursuing a career in technology product management, and spent his summer interning at Amazon. After Booth, he hopes to build innovative products that help customers. “I want to work on complex problems that touch millions of people, where thoughtful design and execution can transform everyday experiences,” he says.

Being a Siebel Scholar has stoked his ambitions to impact society through his career even further. “To me, it is not just recognition of academic performance, but also of the energy I have invested in building communities and paying it forward,” Kobalyan says. “It carries a responsibility—to keep raising the bar, to lead with empathy, and to open doors for others the way people at Booth have done for me.”

When Isha Mehrotra left her role at Google to cofound a hedge fund startup called Nova Intelligent Systems, she got a taste of the difficulties that come with starting a company.

“As a cofounder, I had to quickly learn how to build while managing marketing, operations, pitching, and more,” Mehrotra says.

Now, Mehrotra wants to build a career in venture capital, where she can use her technical and entrepreneurial background to advise other startups. “Having experienced firsthand the challenges founders face, I wanted to help other entrepreneurs bring their visions to life,” she says. So Mehrotra returned to the University of Chicago, where she had studied computer science as an undergraduate, to earn an MBA at Booth.

Mehrotra quickly took advantage of Booth’s opportunities in venture capital, becoming an associate on the Steven Tarrson Impact Investment Fund—one of the largest student-run impact funds in the country. Last year, she led the deal team for Kwema, a startup focused on worker safety, particularly in the healthcare field.

“I worked across the full deal cycle—from sourcing and founder interviews to diligence, memo writing, and presenting to the investment committee,” Mehrotra says. This year, she is co-head of sourcing and diligence on Tarrson’s Student Investment Committee, working closely with multiple founders.

Mehrotra is honored to be a Siebel Scholar, and grateful for the foundation’s support as she continues to develop her career at Booth. “When I began my MBA journey, venture capital was a completely new field for me,” she says. “Booth’s resources have been invaluable in both building my knowledge and providing hands-on experience.”