A Little Bit About Me

A native Californian, I attended the University of Washington for my undergraduate education, earning a Bachelor of Arts in both journalism and cinema studies.

After graduating in 2008 I moved home to southern California and began the intimidating, and at times overwhelming, job search.   After several months of 'pending', 'in review' and 'I'm sorry to inform you' applications to film studios and publishing houses I decided to take a position as an executive assistant at a landscape architectural firm in Westlake Village, CA.

I spent the next two years honing my administrative skills. I did anything and everything from composing correspondences and editing cost estimates to scheduling meetings and, yes, even making coffee.

So, you may ask, what is a journalism and film studies major with experience in the landscape architecture industry doing in business school?

When I started at the University of Washington, I knew my path was leading me to the entertainment and media industry, I just wasn't quite sure which street off that freeway I would end up on.  By my junior year I realized that while I loved writing restaurant reviews for my school paper and analyzing the philosophy behind Scandinavian films, I wanted to participate in the industry I loved from the business end. 

What I wanted from business school was to fill out my previous experience with the accounting principles, economic analysis and marketing concepts that I would need to succeed in my (hopeful) transition to a managerial position.  That whole 'networking' thing wouldn't hurt either.

What I also recognized is that I was lacking in the 'work experience' department.  That is the main reason I chose to attend Northeastern.  I found its six-month corporate residency to be unmatched in any program I had researched (and I researched many).  This residency, or 'co-op', was going to give me that applicable knowledge I needed to compete for a position out in that big, bad 'real world'.

When I came out to visit the campus in February of 2010 the warm reception I received from the MBA office, professors and students solidified my decision to send in that deposit check.

So, after a two-and-a-half-year application process including two GMAT tests, 20 employer recommendations and innumerable essays I began orientation at Northeastern University. 

* Note: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are not necessarily those held by Northeastern University, its staff, faculty  or affiliates and are solely the opinion of Katrina Graves