Meet Kristin John ‘20. Kristin received a BS in Business Administration, BA Economics, concentrating in General Management. She is currently a Senior Analyst, Climate & Sustainability at Boston Consulting Group. To get to know more about Kristin and her post-graduation journey, see the Q&A below:
Q: What did you like most about the program you were in?
A: The faculty & staff at Questrom are exceptional. They are excellent at guiding students in their career development and all are genuine, kind people who students can trust and look up to! This is particularly important for college students to have at a pivotal time in their lives.
Q: In what ways did your education at Questrom prepare you for your current role?
A: The many opportunities to learn from team projects were helpful, particularly as I work in consulting now. I am often working on global teams across time zones and my work depends on collaboration with my teammates. I’m glad I could get the crash course on team projects with peers from around the world during my Questrom years. I also practiced presenting and speaking so this wasn’t such a challenge for me when I joined the workforce.
Q: Was there a particularly impactful class, skill you developed, or club you were involved with at Questrom that has shaped your career path?
A: SM 131 Business Society & Ethics gave me a deep understanding into the role of corporations in societal impact and the potential ethical mishaps that come in the way of continued success. I can very clearly recall the company examples we discussed in this class and learning about the ethical concepts such as the slippery slope which helps me contextualize if these issues arise in the workplace. This class also heavily inspired my career path, giving me an introduction into how climate change and sustainability are addressed by corporations—this is my focus area in my consulting work.
Q: What is the most rewarding or challenging part of your job? Did anything from your time at Questrom help you prepare for either?
A: The Questrom curriculum can be quite rigorous and helped as a crash course for managing tight deadlines, different priorities, etc. In consulting, I am often presented with similar obstacles and have leveraged my experience from my BU years to be able to deliver on quality work.
Q: Based on your experience, what are some effective strategies for building and maintaining a professional network?
A: When I was in undergrad, I highly leveraged LinkedIn and my BU community. I would schedule coffee chats and phone calls with fellow students and alumni, write thoughtful thank you emails, etc. I always recommend this type of outreach to students. Now being in the workforce, I’m always willing to take a coffee chat to share advice with students and fellow BU alumni.
Q: Please describe how you’ve stayed engaged with the Questrom community during and/or after your studies. Has the engagement influenced or supported your professional life?
A: Yes, 4 years post-graduation I have stayed involved with Questrom by mentoring students, speaking at student conferences, panels, and other events on campus. I am very happy to come back to campus and share my experiences and learnings. When I’ve engaged with Questrom, I’ve always focused on what I can give back to the community. I’m confident my BU connections will continue to support my professional life.
Q: Do you have a fun fact or a unique story from your time at Questrom that you’d like to share?
A: During the CORE semester where we had a 4 hour block of class every day, I would often stash Reese’s peanut butter cups in my backpack and secretly snack on them during class!
Q: What were the key factors that influenced your decision to choose BU and specifically Questrom for your studies? How did these factors align to career goals or outcomes?
A: The first key factor was Questrom’s location in the heart of the city of Boston. This really ended up helping my career goals as I had my first corporate internship downtown and since it was only a ~15 minute commute on the green line, I could work during the school year which gave me 8+ months of internship experience. This paid off when I would apply for subsequent internships and work experiences. Being in the heart of Boston was also a huge plus to attend other relevant events in the city–I would attend conferences at Harvard and other networking events to meet with business people in the social impact space. Last, alumni like myself are more likely to come back to campus for in-person events since Questrom is so conveniently located. I know many people who went to undergraduate schools in small or rural college towns who have not been back to campus since graduation day. Boston is a major, cosmopolitan city that attracts people back for many reasons. My friends from BU who have moved across the country and even around the world still come back to visit Boston and attend BU events.
