As the days grow sunnier, it means many graduate students will begin the long march to the convocation stage later this year. Each year different students take on a number of leadership roles in the Schulich community that have a direct impact on the quality of experience each grad student has during their time here.

This interview series will provide insight about students’ extracurricular leadership, professional achievements, and personal reflections.

– Frank Paul, Graduate Business Council President, MBA candidate, 2017


Class of 2017 Profile: Meet Karen Hudlikar, MBA Candidate

Part 1: Quick Stats

Age: 26

Hometown: Pune, India

Undergraduate School and Degree: Bachelor of Engineering, Electronics and Telecommunications, Mumbai University

Community Work and Leadership Roles: President, Business of Technology Management Association; Schulich Executive Graduate Ambassador; Women in Leadership Mentor

Fun Fact: I would trade over half the people I know in this world for dogs – I love dogs!

Part 2: Business Education & Achievements

Q: Where did you work before coming to Schulich?
A:
I was a System Engineer for TATA Consulting Services.

Q: Where did you intern during your MBA?
A: I was a Marketing and Strategy intern in Summer 2016 for TapMango.

Q: Which academic or extra-curricular achievement are you most proud of?
A:
Becoming a Schulich Executive Graduate Ambassador put me in a leadership position to influence and make change in current and prospective students’ lives.

Q: Which professional achievement are you most proud of?
A: Being a junior member of the TATA consulting team and being selected to be the client site representative.

Q: What did you enjoy most about Schulich? 
A: I appreciated that there are people from various backgrounds with different perspectives and different ways of looking at problems. Coming from an IT background, it gave me new ways to analyze problems and different strategies for determining solutions.

Q: What was the most challenging thing about your MBA? 
A: Being President of a club while keeping my grades up and participating in a lot of other extracurricular activities (staying on top of everything and being a time management expert).

Q: What was the most surprising thing about your MBA? 
A: The challenges that come from working with different people from different perspectives, and reconciling that to produce something great.

Q: Who would you most want to thank for your success?
A: My parents – they are the reason I am where I am today and have supported me at every major junction of my life even if it was half a world away.

Q: What’s your best advice to a Schulich applicant?
A: Always speak speak to current students/alumni because they will give you the most honest and direct answers to your questions about the school and the culture.

Part 3: Fill in the Blank…

“I knew I wanted to go to business school when…”
Karen: …
I asked myself at my previous job if this was something I wanted to do for the rest of my life. The answer was no, and the logical next step was to study further in the field I wanted to be in.

“If I hadn’t gone to business school, I would …”
Karen: …
Have been a RedBull muskateer (their marketing manager position).

Part 4: Fast Favourites

  • Book: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie

  • Movie: Grave of the Fireflies

  • Schulich professor: Ashley Konson

  • Schulich courses: Brand Management, Entrepreneurship and New Firm Creation, and Market Research.

Stay tuned for more profiles of the Schulich class of 2017!