Career growth starts here
Taking the next step early in your career can feel daunting, but you don’t have to navigate it alone. The Master in Management (MiM) Program offers dedicated career resources to support you throughout your Kellogg experience. From workshops and unlimited one-one-one coaching sessions to the invaluable industry connections, MiM students build the confidence to take bold steps into their future.
A former Division III student-athlete, Taylor Sanchez ’26 MiM knew she wanted to pursue a career in the sports industry and was drawn to the MiM Program at Kellogg. The combination of a rigorous academic environment and access to an expansive network in one of the country’s leading sports cities made it a natural next step. This summer, she is interning with Riddell on the marketing and communications team while also working on the event crew with Chicago Stars FC.
As Sanchez pursues her path in sports, entrepreneurship has long been a calling for Ana Belén Coronel ’26 MiM — a desire to build something of her own. With a background in computer science and experience as a software engineer, Coronel knows how to build products, but running a company is another story. Recognizing that gap, she turned to the MiM Program to bridge the business foundation gap needed to bring her entrepreneurial vision to life.
Learn more about how the MiM Program is helping them build greater business fluency across marketing, operations and strategy.
What career goal did you start the MiM Program with, and how has it since evolved?
Sanchez: When I started the MiM program, my goal was to determine whether marketing was the industry function I was genuinely interested in. I had some preliminary experience in marketing through previous internships and on-campus jobs, but I was excited to explore the field through dedicated coursework. Professor Kevin McTigue’s Marketing Management course immediately drew me in, and I found myself captivated by concepts including positioning statements and ad strategies.
In Professor Ashlee Humphreys’ Critical Thinking in Digital and Social Media Marketing course, I gained experience using tools such as Brandwatch and Tableau. Using these tools allowed me to become more comfortable creating visualizations such as scatterplots, bar charts, topic wheels and word clouds. I am now able to successfully integrate these elements into written memos.
MiM has solidified my desire to pursue marketing-specific roles while providing me with countless opportunities to ask questions, make mistakes and continue growing as a young professional.
What’s one Career Service moment that changed — or reaffirmed — your career path?
Sanchez: My career coach was an incredible resource during my job-search process. During one of our meetings in January, I was feeling a bit defeated. I had undergone successful preliminary screenings and interviews with companies that I was interested in, but I was unable to move forward because they needed candidates who could start immediately.
During our meeting, she reminded me to trust the timing of everything. Although I could not pursue these roles in this exact moment, I was building up my network while gaining tangible interviewing experience. She reaffirmed that I was on the right path and encouraged me to continue going after my goals. After this meeting, I felt re-energized and ready to continue applying for open roles.
What tangible outcome can you trace back to the support from Career Services?
Sanchez: Throughout my job-search process, my career coach continuously encouraged me to remain authentic to myself. As I navigated countless job applications, we came up with a concrete plan of action. This looked like connecting with specific Kellogg alumni working in sports, monitoring job boards and taking time to recharge as needed. We also weighed the pros and cons of various roles while celebrating small wins along the way. Ultimately, my career coach helped me make the decision to accept my internship with Riddell. I am extremely grateful for her guidance and support!
What career goal did you start the MiM Program with, and how has it since evolved?
Coronel: I came in with a clear focus on product management. I wanted to bridge my technical background with business strategy. What I didn't anticipate was how much the program would open my eyes to areas I hadn't considered. Marketing and operations, in particular, reshaped how I think about a business. That shift was concrete: I'm now in a marketing operations role, a function I genuinely didn't know existed before Kellogg. It's a perfect blend of my analytical background and the business acumen I developed in the program.
What’s one Career Service moment that changed — or reaffirmed — your career path?
Coronel: My career coach had a genuine ability to understand what motivated me, recognizing not just my stated goals but the types of work I was most energized by. That guidance was a reaffirmation of my trajectory and encouraged me to pursue roles aligned with my strengths and passions.
What tangible outcome can you trace back to the support from Career Services?
Coronel: The combination of curated job alerts in the Chicago area, alumni connections and the Slack channel, surfaced companies I never would have found on my own. I ended up interviewing and ultimately landing a role with an organization I discovered entirely through those resources. That network made a real difference.
Read next: Diving headfirst into business
The views and opinions expressed in this post are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of the Kellogg School of Management or Northwestern University.