To be both: A tech enthusiast and business leader
Victoria Lever ’25 is blending technology and business through the MBAi Program at Kellogg. She shares how she’s leveraging the degree program to transition from a technical role into a business leader. She also sheds light on how the MBAi Program goes beyond technical skills to develop well-rounded professionals equipped for the dynamic tech industry.
Hi, thanks for taking the time to chat with us! Tell us a little bit about your professional background. What motivated you to explore the MBAi Program at this point in your career?
I’ve always been interested in the business applications of technology and how different companies use technology to create value both within and outside the organization. This vision is what took me to start my career working as an analyst at CXTeam, a customer experience consulting firm — later acquired by Medallia, a customer experience management platform.
At Medallia, I was promoted to technical manager, overseeing the technical implementation and management of customer experience programs. After about a year in that position, I realized I was going down more of a technical path and away from the business aspects, so I decided I wanted to pursue a master’s degree. This would allow me to go back into management and business while allowing me to keep my technical expertise.
After researching some programs, I began to think that an MBA would be the most logical step for me. This was also around the time that ChatGPT 3.0 was launched and when I became really interested in artificial intelligence.
Then, I found the MBAi Program at Kellogg and it seemed like the right match for me. It had the business appeal I was seeking while also letting me study the rise and applications of new technologies that were — and are — becoming so popular.
At first, I was afraid this program was going to be very technical and really go deep into the science but after talking with some current students I was glad to learn that, while students do have to code and learn different coding languages, it’s done so to fully understand the functionality of the models to then be able to make more informed business decisions when managing its applications.
After this, my mind was set, and I was fully committed to the program and to Kellogg.
Given your technical and engineering background, how are you leveraging the MBAi Program to bridge the gap between business and technology?
For me, an advantage of the MBAi Program is that it provides a structure to the normal MBA course offering via its tailored AI specific classes. Throughout the program, you’re able to get an understanding of the model’s structure and build upon that in the following quarters while receiving the necessary tools to continue researching the models.
From the MBA part of my curriculum, I feel that Kellogg, and particularly the professors I’ve had, do a great job of including cases — with tech cases being well represented — from a wide variety of subjects within core classes. I feel like I’m able to tie the concepts I’ve been learning from my technical classes with what I’m learning from my business classes.
Additionally, I’m focusing most of my electives in building up my soft skills to better articulate the value of these tools that I’m studying once I graduate. By doing this I hope to one day be a leader that can bridge the gap between technology and businesses.
How do you feel your background has benefitted you throughout the program?
One thing about my background that has benefited me throughout the program is my previous exposure to different coding languages. From my undergrad, I learned how to code in Java but in my job, I was exposed to CSS, HTML and XML. That exposure to different coding languages helped me quickly get up to speed on programs covered in class including Python, R and SQL. That previous experience combined with the expertise from my classmates, empowered me to complete the required assignments for different classes even though I had never formally studied those languages before.
And, even though I had no formal experience studying Modern Software Architectures, I still realized that many of the concepts from the class were familiar thanks to my knowledge of the software I’d been implementing before. This helped me make the connection between what we were learning in class and how other companies might implement similar approaches.
So far, which class have you found most stimulating and valuable for your professional growth? And what about it has given you more confidence in how you’re approaching your industry?
It’s hard to choose, I can think of at least a couple of great classes I would love to mention, but I really enjoyed Applied AI for Business and Negotiations.
With new AI applications coming up every single day and things changing so rapidly, Applied AI for Business was fundamental for establishing a baseline for thinking about AI applications. Most importantly, our professor gave us all the tools we needed to continue researching a specific application of AI while learning to search and apply these emerging models. This class was so cutting edge that our professor often admitted he’d had to change the whole class examples before class to keep up with the news.
The other class I want to highlight would be Negotiations with Professor Victoria Medvec, which is one of the most popular classes at Kellogg having taken the class, I can certainly see why. This class not only teaches you how to negotiate in a business context but also how to negotiate for yourself. By learning to negotiate, you learn invaluable life lessons and Professor Medvec was great at highlighting how to use those skills to bring out the value we as individuals bring to every situation. The class was excellent for building those hard leadership skills in a risk-free environment.
You’re interning at Amazon where you’re working as a senior product manager - tech on the Alexa international team. How are you preparing for this experience, and are there any classroom or experiential learnings you foresee being able to apply in your role?
This is a particularly exciting time to be joining Amazon, particularly Alexa, and I’m very honored to be able to get to experience that. I think I've read Amazon specific cases in almost every class I’ve taken, so one way or another, I feel like I’ve gotten exposure to the company's history and strategy.
I've studied Amazon as a marketplace in my Omnichannel Strategy class and have also covered at least a couple of business cases. I also learned about Amazon’s famous “working backwards” methodology in my technical product management class, which I’ll be directly applying during my internship this summer. Recently, we studied AWS in our Modern Software Architectures class, which helped me understand the functionality of some internal processes.
You also find yourself a bit way from home (Mexico City) for both the internship and the MBAi Program. What has your experience been like creating community in Evanston given the intimate cohort size and within the broader Kellogg community?
Moving away from your home country is never an easy decision. Even though I had thought about pursuing a master’s degree outside of Mexico for a few years now, moving to live alone outside of the country had many challenges. There’s a lot of paperwork to be filled out and things to be done, new things to be learned and a new bureaucracy to deal with.
The good thing is that I felt supported and validated through a big part of the journey, which happens particularly when you’re going through the same things with about 300 hundred other students.
After I got accepted, I visited the school for the first time during Day at Kellogg (DAK). I felt incredibly overwhelmed, and when looking around I didn’t see many Mexican women. It was then that I realized what it was to feel like a minority for the first time.
I eventually ended up at an MBAi-only breakout session, and even though I don’t remember who from my current classmates were in that room, I suddenly felt like I was with people who shared something with me — the acceptance to the program and a love for tech. This feeling got stronger at the end of the day when I met a current second-year student, another woman from Mexico, who introduced me to many of the current students and prospects. At the end of the day, I was fully convinced of joining the program.
This past year, I’ve met and connected with a lot of incredible people from different Kellogg degree programs through immersive experiences like KWEST, the section get togethers, small group dinners and clubs. And while we’re fully integrated with all the programs, the MBAi cohort has always felt like a small group within the bigger MBA community.
With a cohort size of 40 students or so, you create many memorable moments like when we all decided to dress up as minions to surprise our Computational Thinking professor. Imagine seeing a bunch of students in yellow t-shirts walking to their different classes at the Global Hub and then seeing us all together for class. You also get moments like the time when one of our classmates got married, and we all went together after class to the ceremony and then returned to the Global hub for our evening classes.
Women are an underrepresented group in the tech industry, so what motivated you to enter this space, and how do you feel that the MBAi Program can help women break through the barriers?
I’ve seen a lot of women interested in working within the tech industry, but as I got into more specialized or technical roles, that’s when I started to see less representation. Often, women interested in the program express concern that it’s going to be too technical, something that I relate to from my own experience.
I can certainly see, at least in my generation, how women still second-guess their abilities. While I’m tired of being the only woman on every team over the last few years, this experience has fueled my determination to keep going in pursuing an area that truly excites me. By doing so I can help ease the same feeling from any incoming women and contribute to that growing representation.
The support of outstanding women professors and the student body helps foster a very inclusive environment while pursuing this degree. Specifically, I would highlight the Women’s Leadership Seminars series offered during the spring quarter which is meant to empower women to break through systematic barriers empowering them to reach for leadership positions.
Anything else you’d like to share?
Thank you for the opportunity to share my experience. I’ve enjoyed talking about my first year as an MBAi student, my work and my motivations. I hope this can help prospective students, and I wish them the best of luck through the application process.
Read next: Meet the MBAi Class of 2024