Evi Lowman ’24

I describe my background in corporate crisis response as one giant group project. Whether it’s a high-profile federal investigation or a disruptive cyber breach, you’re going to need team members with various skills to quickly come together and put a plan in action.

Getting this kind of group to work together smoothly is no small feat. The executives that I admired most had two key traits: an unparalleled understanding of the intricacies of their business and a strong sense of empathy if things went awry.

At Yale SOM, I’ve been able to learn about these intricacies within every function of a company. I’ve seen what kind of chaos can ensue when the customer team ignores the legal team or when finance doesn’t know how to communicate with operations. Every team has its own unique language, and the MBA is empowering me to act as a better bridge between them.

Coming from a liberal arts background, I was looking for an MBA program with strong coursework on finance, operations, and other key topics, but also a community that understood the privilege of pursuing this degree and a desire to do something positive with it. I realized SOM was the right fit when I started talking to other admitted students and saw that many of them shared these values.

One of the best parts of my week now is when I meet with my C.A.T.—also known as my Career Accountability Team. A C.A.T. pairs together students who are pursuing career paths with slightly less formal recruitment structures. My C.A.T. includes myself and my classmates Jessica Perelman ’24 and Kelsey Niehoff ’24. We spend an hour each week sharing updates, setting goals, and holding each other accountable. Our meetings help us compartmentalize the career search process, and I love having a formal space to support—and be supported by—my amazing female MBA community.

Over the summer, I worked as an Economic Development Fellow in the Office of Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont ’80. I first learned about the position from a classmate and then received a lot of great advice from other students with previous public sector experience. I love working at the center of big, complicated projects and was thrilled to spend my summer collaborating with the Governor’s staff and various state agencies to develop Connecticut’s first economic development plan and industry group for offshore wind energy.

Seeing Governor Lamont stand up at a podium and publicly launch those efforts in October was unbelievably rewarding. Over the long term, I’m looking forward to continuing a career that advances these types of critical projects, both in the public and private space.