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Upcoming Events
We are always adding events to the calendar, so look out for emails and check in Booth Groups.

GWB Quarter Kickoff
When:
Saturday, October 1, 12:15 - 1:15pm
Where:
Booth 455, Room 130
RSVP

GWB Homecoming
When:
Sunday, November 13; 10:00-12:00
Where:
Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba

Thanksgiving Pie-making Class
When:
Sunday, November 20; time TBA
Where:
Gingersnap Sweets & Such

Welcome to fall, GWB! And, happy first day of classes for many of you. Hopefully everyone was able to relax a bit over the last few weeks and is now ready-to-go for a brand new quarter. I was in Washington, D.C. for an internship all summer so I was not as plugged in as I would have liked, but I'm back and am looking forward to the next ten weeks with GWB (and school, of course).

It's shaping up to be a busy quarter with GWB and we're excited to bring you a variety of events this fall. We start off with the Student Group Fair this Saturday at noon in the Gleacher Lobby; please stop by our booth if you questions about joining GWB or just want to say hi to our board! October 1 we'll have our official kickoff event in Booth 455 at 12:15 for any current, new and potential members to mingle with fellow Booth students and learn a little more about GWB. We'll also be distributing our GWB t-shirts. If you've already paid for a shirt just show us your email receipt - otherwise, make sure to have cash on-hand! Shirts are $20.

We'll have our annual GWB alumni gathering on November 13. We'll be hosting the event as a brunch at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba. Beth Satterfield, '98 will be our keynote speaker. Beth is currently Managing Director, Head of Market Development in the Investment Banking group at William Blair & Company. The GWB Homecoming is a great opportunity for current students and alumni to connect - we'd love to see you there!

To wrap up the quarter, we'll have a Thanksgiving pie-making class on November 20. Come learn a little about baking at home while doing something good! Jen of Gingersnap Sweets & Such will walk you through how to make two different pies (flavors to be announced) and, at the end of the class, you'll take one home for you and the other will be donated to a Logan Square food pantry.

Please keep any eye out for GWB emails moving forward as we still have a couple events in the works. Have a great weekend and we hope to see you October 1!

Cleo Miller, President
Stephanie Larson, VP of Membership
Talla Mountjoy, VP of Professional Development
Elena Grotto, VP of Professional Development
Hannah Meyer, VP of Marketing

In This Edition:

• Alumni Corner: Where are they now? Updates and advice from Booth Alumni.
• Student Spotlight: Checking in with Chelsea Sprayregen!
• In The News: Interesting articles about women in business.

Alumni Corner

See what Booth alumni are doing now and what advice they have for current students. 
Know a Booth alum you think we should highlight in our next Newsletter? Contact Hannah Meyer.
 

Chris Kang Mironov, '12 
Chief of Staff to the CHRO
LinkedIn

When people ask me about my experience at Booth I tell them that it was like Disney World to me. I loved everything about it - what I learned, my professors, but most importantly the people I met. I never would have imagined that I'd make such incredible friends at this later stage in life - so good in fact that 2 of them stood by me at my wedding.
 
When I got accepted into Booth I was a sales manager at Careerbuilder. I was unsure of what I wanted to be when I "grew up" and had never really learned much in school despite getting great grades. It was at the Gleacher Center where I actually enjoyed my classes and stretched myself academically for the first time in my life. The program reinvigorated me and my career.
 
Fast forward to today where I am the Chief of Staff to the CHRO at LinkedIn. I never would have imagined myself in this type of role, on the leadership team, helping to make such a huge impact on the HR and Talent Acquisition industry 5 years ago. If it wasn't for my time at Booth I wouldn't have been able to find my passion and have the skills to get me there. I am so grateful for my time at Booth - it was truly life-changing.
 

Katheryn Develvis, '10
Director
The Claro Group

I started at Booth (then GSB) in 2007; I was 25. I was part of the Chicago Business Fellows cohort, a program designed specifically for students that didn’t meet the traditional business school years-of-experience requirement. I had been in consulting for only 2 years at a newly-formed firm, The Claro Group. I was growing anxious and impatient with my progress and needed a new intellectual outlet. Though business school seemed like the obvious path and I was open to going part-time while continuing to work, the management at my firm pushed back: I was, they said, too young and needed to give it a few years. I remember feeling like a few years seemed like a lifetime – and that 28 sounded so old. Obviously I needed to be on to bigger and better things by then, right? As any rational 25 year old would do, I decided it was just a big conspiracy to keep me focused on work and to delay what I was sure they assumed would be an inevitable career shift, so I enrolled that fall.

My firm was so young we didn’t have a formal tuition reimbursement policy. The negotiated reimbursement offer required me to stay with the firm for a set number of years after graduation, or - alternatively - pay back some sizeable portion of the reimbursement. Again, as any rational 25-year-old would do, I decided this meant that the faster I could get through 20 classes, the sooner I could graduate, the sooner my tuition reimbursement would be forgiven, and then I could be off to my bigger and better things, debt-free. So, with all the energy of a 25-year-old, I decided to complete my 20 classes on full-time pace. I was focused; the beginning of a quarter meant a substantial investment of time pouring over course schedules, concentration requirements, and those handy course reviews that tell you which classes require the least number of outside of class hours. Goal = maximize concentrations + minimize hours per week + minimize time in school. I carefully allocated my weekly hours to places they’d have the most impact, often disregarding assignments that didn’t have high point values and failing to study for quizzes that I thought I might be able to wing. 7 quarters later, I was part of the first graduating class of the newly-named Booth School of Business, managed to pull off some surprisingly decent grades, and I was exhausted.

Here’s the punch-line: I never left Claro. I’m still here (literally – it’s Sunday afternoon and I’m typing this from a conference room). What I learned in business school was that I actually had a pretty great gig and that I’d be best served focusing my energy on growing in my current career path, at my current firm. I used my MBA and the skills I collected along the way to create a niche for myself within Claro and carve my own path, doing the work I want to be doing with the people I want to be doing it with. I’m currently a Director at Claro and recently also became an Adjunct Lecturer of Statistics and Economics at Northwestern.

My advice to the next generation is to savor your time in school. You’ll never have this experience again, and you’ll miss it when it’s gone. Take your time. Wait for the exclusive classes from the best professors. Join clubs and go to events. Make friends. Grow your network. Do your homework! Needless to say, I feel a decent amount of hypocritical guilt when I talk to my Northwestern students about my expectations in terms of their involvement and focus on my class (do as I say, not as I do!).
 

Student Spotlight

Here we check in with current GWB members to learn about what they're up to and have a chance to get to know our community!
Know a GWB student you think we should highlight in our next Newsletter? Contact Hannah Meyer.
 

Chelsea Sprayregen
Class of 2017

When I enrolled at Booth as a part-time student, I was Director of Public Policy at Benestream, a startup social venture that connects low income workers to public benefits. I was responsible for research, training, compliance, and government relations. I quickly realized how much I enjoyed my courses at Booth and in May decided to leave my position and become a ‘full-time part-timer.’ In other words, I plan to take a full-time course load and will complete my MBA in Fall 2017.

I kicked off my “full-time part-timer” experience with a summer internship at Civic Consulting Alliance (CCA). CCA provides pro bono management consulting to local government agencies. I worked with the Cook County Forest Preserves on long-term budgeting and strategy. It was a great opportunity to learn the rigorous and structured approach of management consulting, while still engaging in mission-driven work.

After Booth, I plan to focus on increasing access to living wage jobs for Chicagoans without a college degree. Our labor market is broken. Rising inequality is one of the biggest problems in our country, and we need to focus on making good jobs accessible to more people. The solution to this problem is at the intersection of the private sector and public policy,  where I’ve always worked.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to immersing myself in the Booth experience. I’m excited to get to know my classmates better and connect with people who share my interests. When I’m not at Gleacher or studying, you can find me exploring Chicagoland by bike, reading books, and drinking local beers.

In the News

The truth about the gender wage gap Sarah Kliff, Vox

Why Mentoring Millennial Women Could Be The Key To The C-suite Kaytie Zimmerman, Forbes

How Women Leaders Emerge From Leaderless Groups Jared Lindzon, Fast Company

New Study: Women Entrepreneurs Ask For Less Financing Than Men Amy Feldman, Forbes

Why Women Don't Apply for Jobs Unless They're 100% Qualified Tara Sophia Mohr, Harvard Business Review

To Succeed in Tech, Women Need More Visibility Shelley Correll and Lori Mackenzie, Harvard Business Review

Why Role Models Matteer Tina Pettigrew and Johanna Pulgarin, Forbes

This Brilliant Tactic Helps White House Women Be Heard (and It Will Work for You, Too) Minda Zetlin, Inc.

The 12 Most Powerful Women Executives in America Zoe Henry, Inc.

Are Corporate Expense Policies Biased Against Women? Laura Vanderkam, Fast Company

Have other interesting news to share with us? Join and post to GWB's Facebook page or RT us @ChicagoBoothGWB.

Would you like to be profiled in a future newsletter? Please reach out to Hannah Meyer.

Not a GWB Member?  Join now to attend our events for free/discounted prices!  Lifetime student membership is only $50.  You can sign up here.

Not sure if you’re a GWB member?  Access BoothGroups.  Once in BoothGroups, click on the "Groups" drop-down menu at the top of the screen, (between "Home" and "Events"), where you can view your registered groups.

Graduate Women in Business (GWB) is a registered part-time student group.
President – Cleo Miller  
VP of Membership – Stephanie Larson  
VP of Professional Development – Talla Mountjoy  
VP of Professional Development – Elena Grotto  
VP of Marketing – Hannah Meyer   

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