Biography
As someone who has always worn many hats, Atlanta native Celia Quillian knew Goizueta’s Evening MBA would be the perfect opportunity to help provide better focus on her career. “While I wanted to go back to school, I couldn't stomach the idea of not making an income. I appreciated Goizueta's solid reputation combined with the Evening MBA's flexibility that allowed me to get the same quality education while still working at the startup I loved.”
Although her days are long being a student and working in a startup environment, she finds it exciting when she can directly apply the lessons and skills she has learned in the classroom in real time at her job. “I've learned countless frameworks, tools and processes with which to approach and tackle business problems, and have already used these to guide marketing plans, pricing strategies, product messaging and so much more at my job.”
Beyond learning project management and allocation skills, she has become a more confident leader by assigning ownership and deadlines across teammates and navigating ambiguity. She has even had the opportunity to act as a leader for her class in the roll of Academic Chair, allowing her to experience a formal leadership position by being an advocate for her class to the larger Emory community. “I've also enjoyed the Delta Leadership Coaching Fellows program that I have been participating in this semester. In this program, I've been able to hone my active listening skills and have become better at asking the right open-ended questions to drive others to success.”
Celia has taken advantage of many opportunities offered to Evening MBA students including the Business Librarians and the Career Management Center. Because she is an active member in the workforce, she is confronted with challenging dilemmas such as how to ask for a raise and finding the right job fit for a future career. “In my first semester, the Business Librarians helped me with the first set of questions, and a year later, the Career Center helped me with the second. I recently made a positive advancement in my marketing career, and I have Goizueta's resources to thank for that. The Career Management Center has helped make my goals and priorities for my career clearer and clearer with each meeting I set.”