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 Pinar Acar
Student
Supply Chain Engineer
Ryder Integrated Logistics
A native of Turkey, Pinar is educating herself about global business and culture inside and outside the MBA classroom. She used her business acumen to engage with Ann Arbor residents and organizations by way of the Community Consulting Club. “The club takes advantage of the fact that Ann Arbor is an activist city with an incredible amount of nonprofit organizations,” she says. “Nonprofits don’t necessarily have funding to hire consultants, so Ross students do it for free. This offers students the chance to practice their consulting skills while serving the community.” Pinar’s project sought funding options for the Ann Arbor Public Schools Educational Foundation in order to improve the diversity of programs and build community awareness. “This is the best thing about being a Ross student,” she says. “We learn to be socially responsible corporate leaders.”
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 Patrick Fay
Student
Sustainability, Environment, and Safety Engineer
Ford Motor Co.
As an engineer, Patrick always has managed to satisfy his interest in sustainability. A focus on alternative energy technology at Ford included work with the EPA and the California Air Resources Board. But the Evening MAP (Multidisciplinary Action Project) class sparked a change. “I’ve always been more of an entrepreneurial guy than a corporate guy," he says. Patrick’s MAP experience in Africa exposed him to the needs of international nonprofits regarding sustainability and other aspects of business. “We went to Uganda to help a hospital develop a marketing plan,” he says. “I really enjoyed the work and started down this new path.” He continued with a summer consulting internship in Peru through the William Davidson Institute. “I worked with TechnoServe, a nonprofit seeking to eliminate poverty in Asia, Africa, and South America. I helped winners of a national business plan competition get started and keep on track with their goals.”
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 RashinderPal Singh Gill
Student
Business Development Manager
NYX Inc.
RashinderPal decided long ago to pursue an MBA. “I’ve always known this is what I wanted to do, and I started preparing for it the day I graduated,” he says. “One thing that’s top of mind for every student here is how to maximize their possibilities and potential.” At Ross, RashinderPal has participated in the Toastmasters Club, the Evening MBA Association, and case competitions. He also was one of 20 U.S. students selected for a Canadian leadership development program. “Ross has provided the platform for me to focus on areas for improvement, which makes me a better candidate to explore different career options,” he says. He also credits the faculty with broadening his options. “I’ve taken courses from professors Ahuja, Karnani, and Prahalad: three pioneers in the field of strategy with different views on topics that most people only learn through the media. At Ross, you talk with them and learn from them, and it helps you develop a unique, structured approach to solve complex problems."
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 Merrill Guerra
MBA 2008
Founder and CEO
RealKidz Inc.
During her marketing internship at a local startup, Merrill told her boss about an idea she had: a clothing company that provides age-appropriate apparel for plus-sized and average-sized girls. He encoraged her to move forward, and RealKidz was born. “I’ve always been entrepreneurial,” Merrill says. “But before Ross, I wasn’t thinking about entrepreneurship because I didn’t have any capital. I figured I would first have to work in a traditional setting.” Back at Ross, she took classes like “New Venture Creation” and tailored her coursework to obtain the tools needed to launch RealKidz. She utilized opportunities through the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies to vet her idea and obtain funding. Merrill secured seed money through the institute’s Dare to Dream program, was runner-up in the Michigan Business Challenge, and met future board members and investors at the Michigan Growth Capital Symposium. “Using the resources of the business school while my business was in such fledgling stages was very important to me.”
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 Dan Hearsch
MBA 2007
Associate
Ricardo Strategic Consulting
Prior to Ross, Dan worked in purchasing and supply chain. His initial vision of life post-MBA was admittedly “not well thought out,” but he knew he needed the degree to advance. Now he consults in the transportation sector, and says the broad thinking required to serve his clients reflects his own personal and professional growth. Before business school, “I knew the set of tasks I must do,” Dan says. “By the end of the program I thought beyond that and looked at what was going on in other areas. Now, if I see a problem elsewhere, I help address it.” Dan found the part-time schedule of the Evening Format melded smoothly with his commitments at work and home. “The nice thing about the Program at Ross, that I don’t think is true at a lot of top schools, is it’s an extension of the Full-time Program,” he says. “The requirements, professors, and caliber of students are the same. That’s important to recruiters.”
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 Kal Krishnan
Student
Engineering Program Manager
TI Automotive
Like many Ross students, Kal leverages extracurricular activities to enhance his leadership skills. As president of the Evening MBA Association, he works with the board to plan career development, networking, social, and service activities each year, all with the goal of involving part-time students in campus life. “Evening students may not always take classes with the same cohort, so it can be harder to form relationships. We try to facilitate that outside of the classroom.” The association engages Ross alumni in career events, and members plan activities outside Ann Arbor to reach more students. Leading an organization, taking classes, and working full-time can be a challenge, but Kal says it’s worth it. “The cool thing is that I go to school and learn about team dynamics and organizations. Then I actually sit in a leadership role in the association and apply what I’ve learned.”
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 Rohan Mendonza
MBA 2009
Operations Manager
Amazon.com
Rohan is one of a handful of students participating in a leadership rotation program at Amazon in Phoenix, Ariz. His long-term goal is to launch his own company building low-cost medical devices for patients in developing countries. Rohan got hooked on entrepreneurship through business plan competitions at Ross, including two trips to the finals of the Michigan Business Challenge (MBC). He credits the Ross faculty and the alumni community with helping him make key connections. “At the MBC I met an investor who told me, ‘If you’re serious about this, I’ll cut you a check right now.’ This is because people have a lot of confidence in Ross students. Alumni know your background; they know how prepared you are to succeed.” Rohan’s involvement in clubs has connected him with an expansive group of peers. “I have met people here who played professional baseball, fought in Vietnam, are cardiovascular surgeons, have turned over multimillion-dollar companies. The level of exposure here is amazing.”
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 Michael Nash
MBA 2009
Finance Leadership Development Program
Dow Chemical Co.
After graduation, Mike joined the finance leadership program at Dow’s Midland, Mich., headquarters. The two-year, rotation-based program offers exposure to such operational areas as controlling, mergers and acquisitions, and management. “It’s a great opportunity to learn the various functions of corporate finance within the organization, so I get a better idea of where I can best leverage my strengths,” he says. Mike utilized the Ross School’s Office of Career Development to direct his job search and secured his position through its on-campus recruiting program. “The huge advantage at Michigan is that a lot of companies come here every year looking for great people. That might not be the case at other schools,” he says. Mike feels his value to recruiters was enhanced by the combination of academic rigor and teamwork. “At Ross, you’re challenged by the best people out there. That’s good preparation for launching into the real world.”
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 Justin Ventura
MBA 2008
Region Executive Manager
Sun Microsystems
Justin entered Ross with a clear vision for his career. The MBA was going to open the door to a coveted sales management role in the firm. His plan worked. “Without my MBA from Ross, I would have had a harder time getting the interview,” Justin says. “I was competing with people who were older and more experienced than I. It helped that I had shown the initiative to learn about the structure of business – and that I had the discipline to perform at work and go to school at the same time.” Although steadfast in his career path, Justin appreciates how the different perspectives he gained at Ross have broadened his thinking. “When you’re in a company you get focused on what you’re doing day to day. Sometimes you don’t think about alternative ways of doing things or opposing viewpoints,” he says. “Meeting people with different backgrounds helped me see that when you’re working in groups, when you’re doing projects, you really need to take into account what everyone’s thinking.”
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 Jennifer Webb
Student
Summer Associate
Deloitte Consulting
Jennifer pursued an MBA to advance to a more fulfilling role in her company. “Once I was at Ross I said, ‘Wow, there’s a whole different world out there that I didn’t even know about,’” she says. As part of Professor Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks’ class, “Bridging in a Globalizing World: Turkey and the European Union,” Jennifer traveled to Istanbul to research women’s use of head scarves and created an audio podcast of her findings. “It’s not something you would study in a normal MBA curriculum. It was a way for me to leverage my qualitative skills.” Jennifer is focusing her MBA studies on corporate strategy and management and organizations so she can help companies align people with business strategy to optimize firm performance. Her summer internship at Deloitte, in human capital consulting, moved her closer to this goal. “The Ross MBA Program can take you all over the world if you want it to. It has allowed me to chase my dreams.”
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 Sueann Wickstrom
Student
Project Manager
Third Eye Innovation
Sueann prefers working with people. She appreciates her technical training and enjoys engineering, but she wants to love her career. So she made the move to consulting in strategy, marketing, and sustainability. Consulting brings lots of client interaction with large companies. Working in a small consulting company sets the stage for plenty of interpersonal experiences while giving Sueann the opportunity to exercise her technical and business muscles. “I enjoy small team work,” she says. “In a group, I’m the project manager. ‘What do we do next? Our deadline’s tomorrow; let’s do one more run-through of the final presentation.’ I’d never had formal leadership training before coming to Ross, so all of that teamwork and collaboration has been very beneficial.” As a vice president in the Evening MBA Association, Sueann is building a network that will last long after graduation. “You can go to another university and get your degree, but you don’t get the network. You need the alumni network as well as the one you meet on campus.”
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