Amy Bernal’s path to become Chief Experience Officer at
artificial intelligence company Aira began before the company was even born. Prior
to entering the Rady School in 2011, Bernal, who graduated from the Flex MBA
program in 2014, had worked in project management and business development for
local non-profit organizations. “I was hungry to operate in an entrepreneurial
environment,” she says. “I knew that Rady was the best in terms of the ability
to connect to the right people.”
It was in her first study group at Rady where Bernal met classmate
Suman Kanuganti. Bernal and Kanuganti also worked together through their Lab to
Market course sequence. By their final quarter, Kanuganti had the idea for
Aira, which connects blind and low-vision people to remote human agents via smart
phone or smart glasses, and developed his concept through Rady’s Lab to Market
and StartR programs.
“I was able to see him create that company, leave where he
was working before, and I eventually followed him,” says Bernal, who a senior
offering program manager at Intuit before joining Aira.
Since 2016, Bernal has grown from Director of Agent Services
to Chief Experience Officer at Aira. Currently, she is working to expand Aira’s
network of 25,000+ partners across companies, locations, platforms and devices
to increase accessibility for Aira “explorers” (users).
In the video, Bernal explains how her MBA degree from Rady broadened her skillset and opened her world to new opportunities.
How Collaboration at Rady Changed Amy Bernal’s Career Path was last modified: November 6th, 2019 by Camille Cannon
Earning an MBA from the Rady School of Management was another accomplishment on Mariana Melcón’s (MBA ’14) long list of academic and professional achievements. Boasting a resume that includes a Ph.D. in Animal Physiology, publications in top academic journals and research experience in world-renowned laboratories, Melcón is well-versed in what it means to be a dedicated scientist.
As an expert in bioacoustics, Melcón studies the way sounds affect underwater ecosystems. Though her academic career was thriving, she knew her impact in the field could be more significant with a background in business.
“I wanted to get an MBA to become more employable,” she said. “I was interested in learning more tools and skills that I hadn’t developed during my scientific studies. I was drawn to Rady because of the high numbers of scientists active in the program.”
Within her first few weeks at the Rady School, Melcón immersed herself in a number of activities and organizations during her time at the Rady School, taking advantage of the wealth of opportunities to learn and grow. She interned as a marketing consultant at a small digital marketing company, and served as a business development for Sense4Baby, an innovative fetal monitoring system for expecting mothers. She also took a teaching assistant role, assisting with the Quantitative Analysis, Operations Strategy and Architecture-Based Enterprise Systems Engineering courses offered at both the Rady School and Jacobs School of Engineering.
Despite diving head-first into the business world, Melcón couldn’t shake her passion for research, so she joined the Life Science Club. “I joined the Life Science Club because I figured it would be an excellent opportunity to combine my new-found interest for data-driven analytics with my love of science,” she said.
Change of plans
With a more generalized love for data analytics, Melcón decided to take on a new career path. She leveraged her Rady School network and was offered a Pricing Analytics Manager position HP Inc., and has been flourishing in her career ever since.
“Getting into data analytics was the perfect transition for me,” she said. “It took me quite some time to realize that breaking what you love doing into single units gives you more opportunities. A big passion of mine is playing detective with data and I apply this task in many different settings beyond biology. Understanding this led me to take my analytical science and critical thinking skills and transfer them into real-world business applications, while truly enjoying my job.”
Though her full-time job kept her busy, Melcón still found the time to volunteer her expertise serving as advisor and consultant for Argentina-based cetacean (whales and dolphins) conservation foundation Fundación Cethus.
This summer, her scientific and business worlds collided when she was invited to the United Nations to serve as a panelist for the Nineteenth meeting of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea. Serving as an expert on bioacoustics and underwater noise, Melcón was called to share her experience and knowledge on “Cooperation and coordination in addressing anthropogenic underwater noise”. In this session she shared her story on how she was able to start from scratch in a developing country to get equipment, train human resources and build an international network that made it possible to be leading bioacoustics research on cetaceans in South America, and addressing important issues such as impact of noise on these animals.
“My time at Rady was instrumental for my success addressing the world leaders at the United Nations,” she said. “My courses helped me prepare a compelling argument to influence the audience. Also during my studies at Rady, I learned to collaborate with a diverse group of students to accomplish a common goal that turned to be a stepping stone to many of my accomplishments.”
Presenting her research on the world’s stage was a dream come true for Melcón. In addition to sharing her research in bioacoustics, she was able to make a case for cross-country collaborations and the benefits of working with scientists from developing nations to accomplish global sustainability and nature preservation goals.
“Rady exposed me to paths and opportunities I never knew were available to me,” Melcón said. “My MBA experience helped me open my mind and see how different backgrounds and disciplines can work together to solve problems and devise new, innovative solutions.”
From Scientist to Data Expert to UN Presenter was last modified: January 3rd, 2019 by Hallie Jacobs
The MBA program at the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego has been recognized as one of the top programs for entrepreneurship in the U.S. by the Princeton Review and Bloomberg Businessweek. The school’s MBA program ranked 16th in The Princeton Review’s “Top 25 Graduate Schools for Entrepreneurship of 2019,” and 24th in the Bloomberg Businessweek “Best Business Schools” entrepreneurship category.
Both rankings recognize the best programs for students aspiring to launch their own businesses. In the Princeton Review ranking, the Rady School ascended from 25th to 16th in this year’s 2019 ranking, placing the school’s MBA program among the elite programs for entrepreneurship in the U.S.
“Since its founding, the Rady School has been dedicated to providing an outstanding education focused on innovation and entrepreneurship,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “This ranking recognizes that the Rady School is a leader in entrepreneurial education. The incredible companies founded by our students and alumni are transforming our world and are proof-positive of the quality of entrepreneurship education the school provides.”
Since the school’s first MBA class graduated in 2006, students and alumni have started over 150 operational companies, contributing over $2 billion to the economy. The rapid success of startups originating at the school can be attributed to the unique structure of the Rady School’s MBA program, which integrates entrepreneurial education into the program through its capstone Lab to Market course sequence.
Two Prestigious Organizations Laud Rady School of Management MBA Program for Excellence in Entrepreneurship was last modified: November 14th, 2018 by Hallie Jacobs
As I entered my first year at the Rady School, I prepared to hit the ground running in search of my summer internship. It is true what the Careers Connections team warns about during orientation – the recruiting season is well underway by the time first year students start at Rady. It is important to start the job search early! In October of 2017, I attended an on-campus IBM panel featuring IBM employees in different roles, including distinguished engineers, offerings managers and Summit Program representatives. After the event, I used LinkedIn to connect with the Summit Program panelist to set up a call to get a more detailed perspective on what the Summit Program entailed. The Summit Program representative had gone through the program and was able to answer my questions and provide guidance on how to apply for the internship successfully. What I was not aware of initially was that this representative had direct access to the program’s recruiting team and recommended me on the back-end for a position.
Assignment
A few months before the start of the internship an IBM in San Francisco, the Summit Program managers paired me with an industry leader for the State of Washington. My assignment was to conduct a sales prospecting analysis to help implement best practices for the territory sales team. Working closely with each team member was valuable in that I got 15 different perspectives on what it is like to be an IBMer and learn about the company culture simultaneously.
Travel
The Summit Program sponsored travel to Dallas for orientation and to your host region for summer assignment purposes. Since the territory I was assigned was Washington State, my host manager and I planned for me to fly to Seattle twice, one for client-facing meetings and the second for internal planning meetings. The opportunity to travel was a nice perk to have as an intern and it also gave me a taste of life at IBM.
Takeaways
Participating in a summer internship is an invaluable experience for an MBA student pursuing the corporate track. What better way to “test drive” a new industry, company and geography? My experience this summer allowed me to explore the tech industry and live in the Bay Area where tech is king. While my summer was filled with travel and a heavy workload, I was able to find networking opportunities inside IBM and in the San Francisco area. Needless to say, it was nice to have a month off before my second year at Rady commenced!
Elizabeth Castaneda is a member of the Rady School of Management Class of 2019 MBA cohort. She is also the president of the Women of Rady student organization.
My Summer Internship at IBM was last modified: October 1st, 2018 by Elizabeth Castaneda
The MBA may be the most well-known choice for people looking to enhance their career prospects in business. However, it’s far from the only option. In fact, many students are choosing specialized master’s degrees over the traditional MBA path.
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
The MBA may be the most well-known choice for people looking to enhance their career prospects in business. However, it’s far from the only option. In fact, many students are choosing specialized master’s degrees over the traditional MBA path.
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
Consider the case of Swagata Chakraborty, a recent graduate from the Master of Science in Business Analytics program of the Rady School of Management at the University of California San Diego. After working for two years on Citi’s Global Decision Management team in India, he’d reached an impasse.
“Towards the end of my tenure at Citi, I was trying to figure out whether I wanted to pursue an MBA or wanted to hold on to my engineering roots. On one hand, I loved working with datasets and writing codes to come up with analytical insights and on the other hand, gaining a formal degree to prepare for the business side of industrial problems seemed imperative to me,” says Chakraborty.
Rady School of Management UCSD
Enter the Business Analytics specialized master’s degree at the Rady School. “When I learned about the Business Analytics Program at the Rady School, I realized that this is exactly the specialization I was looking for,” continues Chakraborty.
Not only do specialized master’s degree programs support the acquisition of advanced knowledge, but they often do so in less time and for less money — without the extensive work prerequisite.
Another appeal of specialized master’s degree programs? They can be tailored to respond to financial, environmental and other global disruptions,” according to The Globe and Mail. In other words, if you want a degree that will enable you to hit the ground running as an authority in an emerging area, specialized master’s degrees provide exactly that.
One other thing to keep in mind about specialized master’s degrees, recently declared by Forbes to be “the hottest new MBA [that’s] not an MBA at all?”, is that they do not preclude the possibility of continuing on to an esteemed MBA degree in the future if and when career advancement or a shift into general management mandates it.
Rady School of Management
Introducing Specialized Master’s Degrees at the Rady School
MFin program executive director and instructor Michael Melvin says, “The MFin program is a one-year quantitative program aimed at giving the students the skills required to be competitive in today’s financial industry. It is more technical than an MBA program and specializes in finance with an emphasis on data analysis.”
Meanwhile, MSBA executive director Raymond Pettit insists, “Our graduates learn not just how to code, for example, but also how to take results and relate them to business objectives. In addition, the program exposes the students to all the major areas of business where analytics play a key role. This cross-fertilization of learning and techniques across multiple business dimensions actually strengthens the insights and methods that our students can bring to the table when they do arrive on the scene of their respective jobs.”
This mindset of customizable curriculum and hands-on industry experience is also being rolled into the Rady School’s most recent specialized program, the Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc), which is currently enrolling its first cohort. In addition to preparing students for the CPA exam, networking and career services are a key component to helping MPAc grads get a jump on their careers.
No mention of Rady is complete without mention of its extraordinary location. Chakraborty says, “The location and the culture of California serve as an advantage. Proximity to the various companies in the Bay Area as well as the several startups that are booming in California just make networking and collaborating in the professional frontier easier for us.”
Pettit adds, “Data and the ability to make sense of data is endemic across nearly every facet of business today. Our students have outstanding local assets in the biotech, health sciences, communications, government, and analytical services industry, and our network and reach of possible experiences, internships, capstones, and job placement is rapidly extending further to include key US business centers, such as San Francisco, Boston, and New York.”
And while these programs may be shorter than their MBA alternatives, the intensive curricula are designed to pack in a lot, including sought-after practical experience.
“Every student gets a chance to work with a company to implement a real project. We get to interact with companies and solve real-world problems. This provides students with the experience and confidence required to navigate through the new field of analytics,” enthuses MSBA alumnus Snehanshu Tiwari.
Tiwari is also quick to point out Rady’s extraordinary faculty. “Each and every professor has a very strong research background. Profs [professors] go out of their way to help the student succeed in the program. They are always open to discussions and open to feedback. In fact, “Every staff member in the school wants us to succeed and do well,” Tiwari says.
The takeaway for everyone from recent grads to mid-career employees hoping to level-up? A specialized master’s degree may make sense from an advancement perspective.
But it is also important to note that all specialized master’s degree programs aren’t created equal. According to Forbes, education consulting firm Eduvantis founder Tim Westerbeck recently cautioned that “among the many useful programs are a few that were ill-conceived, and are less likely to give graduates the outcomes they want.” Because of this, choosing to pursue a specialized master’s degree is only part of the equation.
Also critical? Choosing the right school — which brings us back to Rady. If you’re looking not just for a degree, but also for the quality assurance that goes along with a degree from a top-ranked institution, Rady’s specialized master’s programsmay be the perfect fit.
The Benefits of Completing a Specialized Master’s Degree in San Diego was last modified: October 1st, 2018 by Joanna Hughes
Negotiating for what you’re worth can be a challenge even for seasoned professionals. Typically, people don’t like this part of the interview conversation or talking to their boss about a raise, yet they still fixate on it. Negotiating is an art, not a trick. At the UC San Diego Rady School of Management, graduate students learn these helpful tips from their Careers Team:
Forget about the money. Too much time is spent “researching” salaries and anticipating a low offer. Focus on getting the interview, then winning the interview. Without this, you won’t have an offer to negotiate. It is when the hiring manager determines that you’re the right person for the job that you now have leverage. Focus on what’s important.
Understandyour worth. That’s right, it is about your history, what you’ve learned in grad school, and how that all matches with what the employer is seeking. Also, all candidates are not made equal. Specific skills and experience are worth more to certain employers — it’s not only about the degree or years of experience. It’s best is to talk to someone close to the industry or the hiring market to get real time input on realistic salary expectations.
Be careful when doing the research – size of the company, the industry, where the job is located all factor into the numbers. A small public company in the southwest will pay differently than a public company in the northeast. Use validated compensation data tool, such as Payscale.com, which includes the complex factors, or again talk to someone close to the industry to help set your expectations.
Be a good judge of your counter negotiation. It’s not about the dollar difference, but the percent difference. If someone offers you $80,000, I’d strongly advise that you don’t counter with $100,000. You may be thinking “it’s only $20,000 more” but it’s really a 25% increase. I doubt anyone is going to try and lowball their offer to you by that much. It’s not logical. So take emotion out of it and think about what a reasonable response is (I suggest starting with a “thank you for the offer…can we discuss” approach). And remember, if you like the offer, it is ok to accept without negotiating. Some companies start with their best offer, knowing the market is tight and the best talent is important for the company’s success.
Last, set yourself up for a non-emotional conversation when it comes to compensation. Build a spreadsheet of either your last or current compensation package in one column (line item specific – base salary, bonus, 401K, vacation, benefits, stock, etc.) and then the offer in the adjoining column. This side-by-side comparison opens the conversation up to a simple business discussion and allows both sides to come to an offer that is fair.
Yes, it can be that simple! Remember, both sides want the offer to work out and to start you out as a happy employee. Keeping this in mind should decrease some of the stress you’re already feeling. Good people want to hire good people – the rest is simply a professional conversation. Happy negotiating!
Negotiating is an Art: Tips from Rady Graduate Career Connections was last modified: July 18th, 2018 by Terra Saltzman-Baker
Amy Bernal (MBA ’14) is the Vice President of Customer Experience at Aira.io, a local startup that is changing lives of individuals who are Blind or Visually Impaired through the interaction of smart wearable devices, artificial intelligence and real, remote people, called Aira Agents. Founded just over two years ago by CEO Suman Kanuganti (MBA ’14), the company has grown quickly, with almost 200 users, and plans to scale to over 2000 this year. Aira was recently awarded “Best New Technology” from PCMag, “Bet Accessibility Tech” from CTA, as well as “Most Innovative Product” by CONNECT San Diego.
Prior to Aira, Amy was a Senior Program Manager at Intuit in the Consumer Tax Group. Before moving into tech, Amy worked for West Health and the Gary and Mary West Foundation, partnering with organizations to reduce the cost of health care for older adults through technology or preventative care. She is a proud alumna of UC San Diego Rady School of Management, Flex Evening class of ‘14. In her personal time, Amy promotes women in technology through her involvement with Athena, Women Give San Diego, and the Rady Alumni Board. During her time at Rady she was part of the first US/Israel Center for Economic Development and Entrepreneurship trip.
What impact has Rady had on your career progression?
Rady has changed my career path in three major ways: allowed me to break out of the “non-profit” sector, something I felt was going to be extremely challenging to accomplish without a new network, it brought me into tech, and most recently, it brought me into the Startup Sector.
Has your Rady MBA enabled you to change industries or functional areas or even achieve a promotion?
All of the above! My first answer covers the high points but I would say when I started Rady I intended to get into the marketing field, however in the Evening program it is hard to swallow when someone’s advice is to quit your job and get an internship with the hopes you get hired on. I didn’t find a path to marketing, and when I graduated felt a bit dismayed with the ability I would have to radically change my career. It took almost 3 years but I did just that through joining Aira.
What event or realization served as a ‘turning point’ for you during your Rady School and/or professional career?
Half way through the first year I went from a Foundation to Intuit- that transition helped class material come alive for me, it felt relevant from operational costs to innovation frameworks.
Why did you decide to come to the Rady School?
I knew it was the best, and if I was accepted, I needed to challenge myself and go. I seriously feared how math and science heavy I perceived it to be, and I felt that it would be the only way I could actually challenge myself to get the new skills I was seeking.
What was your favorite class and why?
Strategy Planning — I had never thought this way before. I felt like a whole new world was opened up, a new conversation, that clearly had always been happening without me participating. I was fascinated by the ability to see industries a decade ahead, and the balance in planning for that future state and current state.
What is the best thing about being a Rady alumni?
You go to school to become an Alumni — you get an MBA to connect yourself to the best and the brightest, the Rady School offers deep, meaningful connections and resources that I would never achieve on my own.
Tell us a fun fact about you, or something people may not know about you.
I am from a really small town outside of Yosemite National Park, the elevation is higher than the population.
Alumni Spotlight: Amy Bernal was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Rady School
July 1 marks the 14th birthday of our Rady School. It’s hard to believe it has been 14 years; it’s even harder to grasp all the growth and successes for a school still in its infancy.
A little over a week ago, approximately 300 students graduated from our MBA, Master of Finance, and Master of Science in Business Analytics degree programs. Our alumni population now exceeds 1,600 – amazing and innovative individuals on paths for impact and professional success. And our faculty ranks continue to grow with extraordinarily gifted scholars and educators. By any standard, they’re among the best.
You know that our Rady School remains successful and growing because of its community – all of our faculty, students, staff, advisory council, alumni, and many more who have committed to excellence and impact. Many of you have persevered with us during these years.
Thanks to all of you for your contributions, and congratulations on an amazing 14 years!
With best wishes,
Bob Sullivan, Dean of the Rady School of Management
Happy Birthday to Us! was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Rady School
The Rady School of Management’s commitment to advancing innovation and entrepreneurship was recently recognized by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) by earning an extension of accreditation from the prestigious global business education alliance.
The Rady School, which is among the youngest business schools to receive AACSB accreditation, earned the coveted status in 2011. To achieve initial accreditation, an institution’s business program must undergo a meticulous internal review and evaluation process. Less than five percent of business schools worldwide have merited AACSB International accreditation.
“AACSB commends each institution for their exemplary work,” said Robert D. Reid, executive vice president and chief accreditation officer of AACSB International. “During this peer-review process schools must demonstrate alignment with AACSB’s global accreditation standards, as well as how they encourage engagement, innovation, and impact across the communities they serve.”
To be reaccredited, business schools must go through continuous improvement reviews, which are conducted on five-year cycles and include peer review and self-assessment. These standards require excellence in areas relating to strategic management and innovation; student, faculty, and staff as active participants; learning and teaching; and academic and professional engagement.
The Rady School has identified specific learning goals and objectives for each program that correspond directly to the Rady School’s mission. Those learning goals and objectives are further broken down to specific skills and knowledge. Collection, analysis, and dissemination of the assessed data is a key component of maintaining accreditation and essentially ensuring that our students are learning the goals and objectives for the program set forth by the Rady School.
“By once again meeting the rigorous standards for accreditation outlined by the AACSB, the Rady School has earned its place among the most elite business schools in the world,” said Rady School Dean Robert S. Sullivan. “The accreditation is a recognition of the extraordinary quality of our faculty and academic programs as well the commitment from the community to support the school and its mission.”
About the Rady School of Management at UC San Diego
As the world’s largest business education alliance, AACSB International (AACSB) connects educators, students, and business to achieve a common goal: to create the next generation of great leaders. Synonymous with the highest standards of excellence since 1916, AACSB provides quality assurance, business education intelligence, and professional development services to over 1,500 member organizations and more than 785 accredited business schools worldwide. With its global headquarters in Tampa, Florida, USA; Europe, Middle East, and Africa headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands; and Asia Pacific headquarters in Singapore, AACSB’s mission is to foster engagement, accelerate innovation, and amplify impact in business education. For more information, visit aacsb.edu.
Rady School Recognized with Extension of Accreditation by the AACSB was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Hallie Jacobs
Big changes are coming to the UC San Diego campus, and a Rady School of Management alumni is leading the charge.
It was recently announced that the Clark Construction Group was selected to construct the Living and Learning Neighborhood at North Torrey Pines. Carlos Gonzalez (MBA ’07) serves as the regional executive officer and senior vice president of Clark Construction Group California, and he and his team will lead the project’s implementation on campus. The unique design-build project will be the home for Sixth College, as well as the Social Sciences and Arts and Humanities.
Gonzalez recently visited Professor Vish Krishnan’s Project Management course to speak to students about his role at Clark Construction Group and the importance of leadership.
“As project managers, we are responsible for getting things done, and getting things done well,” Gonzalez said. “At Clark Construction, we don’t put shovels in the ground until we have done the proper planning, and we are truly prepared.”
During his presentation, Gonzalez shared the extensive Clark Construction project management implementation process, as well as the lengthy procedure the company went through to secure the award for the Sixth College project.
“We spent a ton of time researching the school and aligning with the University’s mission, challenging ourselves to think bigger and devising plans to maximize the potential of the space,” he said.
Clark’s team, in collaboration with its design partners, created a layout for the Living and Learning community featuring seven buildings connected with open outdoor spaces, underground parking for 1,200 vehicles, and public realm improvements that include pedestrian and bike-friendly pathways. The space will include student housing, academic buildings and research spaces, and community service programs to provide students, faculty, and staff with an immersive learning experience.
Gonzalez also emphasized the importance of leadership in his presentation.
“As a project manager, you have to treat people with respect,” he said. “You need to lead by example and treat people fairly. Communicate your expectations and goals, work ethically, provide feedback, and most importantly, listen!”
The project, which is designed to achieve LEED® Platinum certification, will begin construction in summer 2018 with an expected completion date slated for 2020.
“Being a part of the Rady School of Management was instrumental for my career success,” Gonzalez said. “I’m thrilled our team was awarded this opportunity because this project is special to me – I’m excited to return to UC San Diego to help shape the campus that gave me so much.”
Rady Alum Spearheading Design-Build Project at UC San Diego was last modified: September 5th, 2017 by Hallie Jacobs
Earning an MBA from the Rady School of Management was another accomplishment on Mariana Melcón’s (MBA ’14) long list of academic and professional achievements. Boasting a resume that includes a Ph.D. in Animal Physiology, publications in top academic journals and research experience in world-renowned laboratories, Melcón is well-versed in what it means to be a dedicated scientist.
This summer, her scientific and business worlds collided when she was invited to the United Nations to serve as a panelist for the Nineteenth meeting of the 
Assignment
Here’s what you need to know about this increasingly popular option, along with one San Diego school helping students position themselves for career success with specialized master’s degrees.
background. Profs [professors] go out of their way to help the student succeed in the program. They are always open to discussions and open to feedback. In fact, “Every staff member in the school wants us to succeed and do well,” Tiwari says.
Big changes are coming to the UC San Diego campus, and a Rady School of Management alumni is leading the charge.