Emily Nuss
Class of 2019
Hometown: Detroit, MI
Undergraduate University: Central Michigan University
Class Year: 2012
Major/Minor: Business Administration
Specialization: Consulting
Employer: Deloitte, LLC in the Human Capital Practice
Emily Nuss was a community economic development volunteer with the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic when she decided to pursue her MBA. She was attracted to the full-time program because of the immersive nature and considered William & Mary's School of Business because of its prestigious name, culture of discussion, and supportive environment for learning.
Emily attributes the school's proximity to Washington, D.C., and her being awarded the prestigious Coverdell Scholarship as contributing factors to her decision to attend William & Mary's full-time program, as well as the welcoming, personalized attention she received during the application process.
"I really appreciated that in the business school, it seems like a family especially coming from a Peace Corps experience where family is so important. It was so key to me," she says. "I was applying while I was abroad, but I could still sense it being that far away."
Once in the program, Emily set her sights on securing a consulting internship. Despite the limited number of available summer internship opportunities offered by Deloitte, Emily successfully earned a spot in the company's coveted program and leveraged her experience there into a full-time offer in the Human Capital Practice upon graduation.
"I had my eyes on Deloitte or a firm like it because I saw all of the good work they've done, not only for the U.S. government but across the world in different agencies and businesses," she says. "I think I've been on the path to human capital, or human resources, for a while. Taking a lot of the consulting courses is really preparing me for my next steps of having to go in and evaluate businesses or agencies on what is happening with their people and making sure they have the correct strategy to move forward. I feel like William & Mary's MBA program has helped me put the tools in my toolbelt for next year."
In addition to advancing her skill set and business acumen in the program, Emily is enthusiastic about joining the Tribe alumni network and paying forward the positivity expressed by other William & Mary graduates when she got to her internship.
'It's just this sense of instant camaraderie. There was already this group from the business school at Deloitte, and the first day I started there, I had an email from them inviting me to brunch, saying we want to invite you to our Tribe. It was so cool that they had established something like that to support me," she says.
Eventually, Emily would like to own her own consulting firm working with smaller businesses in the Detroit area, applying her past Peace Corps experience and her future experience in federal consulting to better their human capital practices.
Her advice for prospective students considering a full-time MBA program?
"An MBA at William & Mary is one that prepares students across the country and the world because it's so well-rounded. The hard, technical skill development is offered here, as well as the soft skills, as well as the leadership development, as well as the content on ethics—it all really prepares people to be top business leaders," Emily says. "I think that there might be a lot of reasons to not get an MBA; it's less costly, it's less time-intensive, it's less stress-inducing, but you would never feel a sense of regret for having done an MBA. Because it will help."
